Naperville Condo and Townhome Market Report

New this month – Market Stats Report on Condos and Townhomes in Naperville. This will be following the same format as the monthly single family homes report but will focus on this segment of the market. Industry news in recent weeks has included the expansion and extension of the Home Buyer’s Tax Credit. Essentially, the program for first time buyers requires a contract date no later than April 30, 2010 and a close date no later than June 30, 2010. The amount is 10% or a maximum of $8,000. Income limits have been adjusted upward so more people may be eligible. Existing homeowners (not just upgraders) who have owned and lived in their home for five consecutive of the last eight years may be eligible for up to $6,500. This chart has a good summarization of the changes. And for a Frequently Asked Questions or FAQ, go here.

Data comparisons* are made for the current 12 week period vs the previous 12 weeks.

Homes Under Contract, 12 vs 12. We have seen a bit of a slowdown in homes going under contract. This is typical of the seasonal nature of real estate. This is the first down month after 7 consecutive months on the uptick. Homes Sold went from 12 to 10 or a decrease of 16.7%. Again, this is not unusual give the time of year.

Continuing the trend started last month, Homes For Sale decreased 3.6% from 552 to 532. With fewer homes on the market, we should begin to see some stabilization in pricing.

Median Price for Homes Sold in October 09 is down 1.2% from $197,519to $195,071– an insignificant change. The median for Homes Under Contract however, dropped from $204,705 to $181,352– a decrease of 11.4%. Median List Price remained flat: $189,975 vs $189,288.

Condos and Townhomes in Naperville, IL

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*(Source -Terradatum/MRED, LLC). Numbers shown are based condo/townhome data. Contact me for further individual breakdowns. Other data  and charts from Altos Research. Information is also available by zipcode. It can be requested in the chart to the right or by clicking here. It will be emailed to you shortly.

Naperville Healing Field display

This morning I took a walk thru the Healing Field of Honor at Rotary Hill in Naperville. It is a display of 2,009 United States flags placed over the last two days in honor or our service men and women. The Healing Field of Honor program began in 2002, as a way of honoring those who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks of 9/11/01. Fields continue to encourage unity, remembrance and healing. Fields of Honor pay tribute to those soldiers who have fallen and/or are in our military, protecting our very freedoms.

If you have a chance, go take a look – walk around the display, walk through it. Take a tour of the Millennium Carillon and with the display from above. It is hard to describe the feeling as you walk among the flags. The unique sound of flags snapping in the breeze is almost hypnotic. To see Veterans standing their, paying their respects to comrades and their memories, and what looked to be parents of current service personnel with tears in their eyes, makes for a pretty powerful experience.

If you are so inclined, for $35.00 you can sponsor a flag and place a tag on it with the names of those you are remembering. I tagged the 4th one in from the left on the 9th row (my Dad’s birthday) in his name, and that of a brother-in-law, brother, and 3 nephews who have served or are serving.

Thinking of renting that Naperville home? Scam Alert

While this video comes from Dallas, TX, if you are thinking of renting your home or investment property, it’s worth a watch. The basic message is if your potential renter wires you or mails you funds and asks for the money to be deposited and a portion of it returned, odds are it is a scam.

If you want help renting that property, screening potential renters and getting the most out of your investment, give me a call and let’s talk about how I can help.

Naperville Home Sales for September

The latest buzz in the housing market is the efforts in Washington to extend the Home Buyer’s Tax Credit. Just this week several local politicians announced their support for expansion and/or extension. Meanwhile, here in Naperville, the numbers are in for the end of September. And market momentum is continuing. Shown below are summary stats for all of Naperville. If you want zip code specific breakdowns fill in your info in the table to the right. AS promised last month, the issue of Shadow Inventory was discussed in another post.

Last 12 Weeks vs Previous 12 Weeks: (Source -Terradatum/MRED, LLC). Numbers shown are based on single family and townhome/condo data combined. Contact me for further individual breakdowns.

Homes Under Contract, 36 vs 40, up 8.5%. The trend continues, now in its seventh consecutive month here in Naperville. There are good values out there and buyers continue to advantage of them.

Median Price for Homes sold in Sept 09 is down 2.1% over the same period one year ago, and -5.7% over Sept 07.  At the same time, Average Price is -8.7% over Sept 08, but up 4.1% over Sept 07.

Reflecting a seasonal trend, the number of Homes for Sale is down 4.6% for the current 12 week period over the previous 12 weeks – a typical occurrence for this time of year. Homes Under Contract is down a similar level -4.4%.

Units Sold has flattened out this period which is typical from a seasonal perspective.. The current average of 40 vs 36 in the previous 12 week period is an increase of 8.5%. The continued change in this metric is a measure of strength in the market. And it is not just foreclosures that are selling!

Market Action Index has climbed to a point where it is exceeding last years level!  still indicative of a Buyers Market. (Neutrality is when the mark is around 30) but a 22% jump from the previous level. With several months of inventory available at the current sales rate, buyers should still find ample inventory. For sellers, properties need to be in the best possible condition to get the market’s attention at their price point.

Summary For the sixth month in a row the Naperville market continues to show signs of recovery. Homes are going under contract and closings are increasing. Inventories are up decreasing as more homes are absorbed and pending sales continue to be stable..

Note: If you would like to be updated regularly on housing statistics in your area, enter your info in the block to the right.

New Look for Naperville Market Stats

There is a new look to the Market Stats charts for Naperville, IL. The flash charts shown below allow you to look at different time frames, hover over data points to get detailed information and more. Play with them, change the view period (top left), move the sliders (bottom right) to select different ranges, or hover over a data point to see the details. Don’t forget to peek at the Inventory bar graph to see how that is tracking with the graphed stats.

Play with them and please, let me know what you think. (And if I am getting too geeky with the stats, let me know that too!)

All Naperville, Single Family Homes

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Adjust the slide bar above to change the view period.

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Naperville, 60540 Single Family Homes

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Adjust the slide bar above to change the view period.

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Naperville, 60563 Single Family Homes

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Adjust the slide bar above to change the view period.

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Naperville, 60564 Single Family Homes

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Adjust the slide bar above to change the view period.

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Naperville, 60565 Single Family Homes

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Adjust the slide bar above to change the view period.

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Naperville Labor Day Parade

What a great day for a parade in Naperville. I watched it from a house on S Main where my friend Kristin Jungles and her husband Kevin host a party every year attended by 200 or so friends and neighbors. (btw, Norm makes great omelets in the back). Even Mayor Pradel stopped by in his Park District uniform before the start. There was even a cotton candy machine cranking out pure, fluffy, sugar buzz for all who wanted.

Scare whipping up cotton candy

Along with the bagpipes, floats, marching bands, community groups, dancers, a few union groups (IBEW and Plumbers and Pipe-fitters) and the politicians running for office, there was a group marching that didn’t quite sit right with me. For lack of a better term, I will call it a “political protest group”.  (They shall remain nameless). They were quite vocal pushing their cause and graphic with their signs – and it bothered me.

Naperville Municipal Band

Why did it bother me? I’m not sure, but maybe its because I viewed the parade as a celebration of Labor Day and what Labor has done for this country. Also as an event where any group, approved by the organizers, may enter and participate. I guess I just never expected an aggressive protest group. Maybe I’m getting old and stodgy, but hey, parades are for fun and candy and flying discs and balloons for the kids, and for parents and kids to march together etc. Let’s find another venue for protesting.

Supplemental candy distribution.

New Apple Store in Naperville

Saturday, August 15, 2009 saw Apple open its newest store on West Jefferson St in downtown Naperville. Not being a total Apple fanatic and not needing another logo t-shirt, I was not one of the hundreds that started lining up on Friday evening and camping overnight just to be one of the first into the new store.

Naperville Apple store opens

I did stop by shortly after noon, and after running into some old friends from the swimming community, was warmly greeted by several Apple employees at the entrance. The store itself appears to be somewhat larger than the Oakbrook one I had visited before, was well laid out and overall had a good feel to it. I spent some time wandering around looking at various displays and eventually made my way to the accessories wall.

It has become apparent that to use my new iphone 3gs the way I do, some type of supplemental battery device would be needed. I’m telling you, 4 hours is not an acceptable level of performance for a tool of this caliber.

After looking over many of the add-on batteries – some extend a full inch below the phone, others are a wired power pack you carry in your pocket – I settled on a “mophie juice pack air“ a hard shell case with integrated battery. I tried to include a pic but they have them copyrighted so just click on the above link to check it out. It seems to hold a backup charge that provides another 4 hours of life for the phone. And its not that heavy or bulky so it still fits well in a pocket.

Minor annoyances include separate charging cable/link than the phone – and the two have to be separated to charge both, and the shallow rim on the top. Other than that, it will get a good test later this week when I attend another RE Barcamp in Ohio – where search for the power outlets is the name of the game.

Naperville market stats continue to improve

The numbers are in for the end of July and are continuing to improve. Numbers released in the past week show that nationally, we may be starting to recover from the housing crisis. Sales of existing homes were up again in June 3.6% over the prior month, yet still slightly lower than a year ago. Our interest though is more local, and from that perspective the Naperville market momentum is continuing. Shown below are summary stats for all of Naperville. If you want zip code specific breakdowns they are also available.

Last 12 Weeks vs Previous 12 Weeks: (Source -Terradatum/MRED, LLC). Numbers shown are based on single family and townhome/condo data combined. Contact me for further individual breakdowns.

Homes Under Contract, 44 vs 35, up 25.4%. The trend continues, now in its fifth consecutive month. There are good values out there and buyers are taking advantage of them.

Median Price , $346.9k vs $297.6k – an increase of 16.5%. This metric started climbing in late April, and is usually related to increased demand in the marketplace. This represents the third month in a row of double digit growth in Median Price.

Average Units for Sale of 1,657 vs 1,595 or an increase of 3.9%. We are starting to actually see a decline in the weekly numbers over the past 6 weeks. This is inventory reduction and helps sellers strengthen their position with less competition.

Units Sold has continued to climb on a weekly basis. The current average of 41 vs 25 in the previous 12 week period is an increase of 66.1%. The continued change in this metric is a measure of strength in the market. And it is not just foreclosures that are selling!

Market Action Index has climbed close to 11 which is still indicative of a Buyers Market. (Neutrality is when the mark is around 30) but a 22% jump from the previous level. With several months of inventory available at the current sales rate, buyers should still find ample inventory. For sellers, properties need to be in the best possible condition to get the market’s attention at their price point.

Summary Again, for the fourth month in a row the Naperville market continues to show signs of recovery. Homes are going under contract and closings are increasing. Inventories are up slightly as are pending sales.

Naperville housing stats thru May 2009

The numbers are in for the end of May and are continuing to improve. While the national numbers have not come out yet, our concern is more local, and from that perspective the Naperville market momentum is continuing. Shown below are summary stats for all of Naperville. If you want zip code specific breakdowns they are also available.

Last 12 Weeks vs Previous 12 Weeks: (Source -Terradatum/MRED, LLC). Numbers shown are based on single family and townhome/condo data combined. Contact me for further individual breakdowns.

Homes Under Contract, 40 vs 22, up 84.5%. This is a trend that we have noted for the last three months and is indicative of a market regaining its health. There are good values out there and it seems buyers are taking advantage of them.

Median Price , $305k vs $299.9k -an increase of 1.9%. While volume in May is up vs April. This is the first monthly uptick in a while that we have seen in this number. One of the reasons may be the slight decrease in homes available as shown below.

Average Units for Sale of 1,608 vs 1,429 or an increase of 12.1%. The recent trend had been steadily climbing since early February with a flattening in April. This number has moved slightly downward since mid-April – lower inventories could be the cause of the slight upturn in prices we have seen.

Units Sold has continued to climb on a weekly basis. The current average of 28 vs 16 in the previous 12 week period is an increase of 69.2%, possibly indicative of renewed confidence in the market.

Market Action Index is still hovering around the 10 mark (with a slight upturn) which is indicative of a Buyers Market. (Neutrality is when the mark is around 30).

Summary Again, for the third month in a row the Naperville market continues to show signs of recovery. Homes are going under contract and closings are increasing. Inventories are stabilized to slightly down.

Note: If you would like to be updated regularly on housing statistics in your area, just drop me an email and the data will be sent to you automatically.

Naperville Housing Stats Weeky Update

NAPERVILLE THIS WEEK:  April 27, 2009

The median single family home price in Naperville this week is $499,625. The 1186 homes have been on the market for an average of 219 days. Inventory and days-on-market are climbing while the Market Action Index has been flat, continuing a trend of the past several weeks.

For a more detailed view of the market, including breakdowns by zip code, go to the Market Statistics tab and select the town you want to study. Those charts are updated weekly. Interested in a no charge subscription? Drop me an email and I’ll set you up to receive weekly reports via email.