ANDERSONVILLE MARKET UPDATE – IT’S TIME TO SELL

Am working with a couple who happened to purchase their east Andersonville condo in Chicago, at or near the peak of the market. They would like to sell and move to a single family home for their growing family, possibly relocating out of state, and would rather not bring a ton of money to the closing table. When I met with them in February it looked pretty bleak with most of the sales being short sales or foreclosures at very low prices.

I am going to recommend they go ahead and place the condo on the market. It may be worth taking a little pain on the sale of their condo, in order to reap the gain in savings when they purchase a much more expensive property. And as we know in the business, it is family situations, such as desire to relocate to another part of the country, or to have more or differently configured space, or a yard that truly motivate people to move, not market pricing. When the home no longer fits one’s lifestyle, it’s time to move. For more information about Andersonville and the nearby communities of Lincoln Square, Edgewater and Ravenswood, visit Chicago-Househunter.com.

I just checked the multiple listing service of Northern Illinois to see that prices on at least two bedroom condos in Andersonville are beginning to rise. Buyers are paying good prices for two bedroom, one bath condos with parking, outdoor space, nice finishes and floorplans. They are approaching $285,000 to $295,000 at this point. Market times have almost cut in half, from 60 to 35 days. Although prices are still about 8-10% below peak market levels, it may not be wise to wait for a recovery that may take years. Plus prices on replacement homes are rising. The economists tell us that the job market has to get a lot better for prices to jump a lot, based on lower unemployment and increases in wages.