Real Estate in Barrington & The Northwest Suburbs: Illinois: Arlington Heights

Hot on the heels of my Palatine Town Homes Market report, I am back again with one for Arlington Heights. I think it's a fair assumption to assume that marketing times and average sales prices are going to be very similar to Palatine. Lets take a quick peak at that for the current year before I move on.

• Palatine: Average Market Time 2011 was 178 Days
• Arlington Heights: Average Market Time 2011 is 150 days.

That's about 1 month less, a bigger difference than I expected.

What about average sales price?

• Palatine: over the last 12 months was $176,546
• Arlington Heights: over the last 12 months was $232,942 Now that's a considerable difference. 

Arlington Heights town homes are on average sold at a 32% higher price than Palatine.

I took a look at single family homes, the average price there is also higher in Arlington Heights but not by as much. $297k v $275k, only an 8% increase.

So let's get to sales prices and price cuts because that's where I really wanted to go with this. A recent publication states that 3 of 4 homeowners still believe their home to be worth more than it is. On the other hand buyers or at least 53% of them still consider homes are priced too high. How does this translate into sales of town homes in 60004 and 60005?

Regardless of what percentage homes sell for in relation to the asking price, it's really important to see how they got  to the sale. Did they sell at the original asking price or not?  The answer is not, however I have to say the differences here are nominal. On average a price was reduced by less than 3%. The sale achieved was 97% of the final asking price or 93% of the original asking price.

Pricing is critical in a buyers market, and it appears Arlington Heights town home owners are reviewing the data they are given to establsih a list price, and being rewarded with less time on the market that their counterparts in Palatine.

Go Arlington Heights Sellers & Realtors...Job Well Done!

It really isn't all doom and gloom out there in the world of real estate. I have had several buyers in the last two years that either had cash in the bank ready to buy, or did not have to sell the current home so they could buy the new one. The advantage for the buyer is positioning themseleves to find that perfect home, as long as they have the patience.

Last summer I was approached by some buyers. They wanted help with a house they were interested in that checked almost all their boxes. They did not want to have the listing agent help them, they considered it to be a conflict of interest and were really looking for some help from a buyers agent. About 80% of my personal real estate business is helping buyers. I love working with buyers so was thrilled to be able to work for them.

Our first attempt at buying their new home was the one they had already found. So had 2 other buyers, so we ended up in a 3 buyer race. Unfortunately we did not win the race. So for the rest of 2010 we kept looking, through sun and rain, wind and snow, but nothing was as good. Early 2011 we picked up the pace a little. Back out in the snow to much disappointment. In the spring I though we had it, he wanted to make an offer, she was not impressed. We moved on.

Finally in Septemeber we hit the jackpot. Remember that wish list, everything was checked off. Given that one of the items on the list was a garage big enough to store a pretty sizeable boat, it was the one thing we had never checked off, until now. The house was over-priced. We knew it's market value and tried to buy it at market value but the sellers would not budge. So we waited, one price cut, still not enough, second price cut and now it's within reach. It was still a tough time negotiating and took longer than usual but we did it.

We had looked far and wide for their home. My buyers started out looking for a house in the Barrington area, but that perfect house ended up being in Arlington Heights. Yesterday they closed their purchase. Congratulations, it may have taken 17 months, one failed purchase, and two attempts before  you made it but I do believe you got the perfect house for you. It was worth the wait, the heartbreak, the need for patience and for sticking to your guns.

I know that your family, including the boat :) will be very happy. Congratulations!

Terramere Arlington Heights is an established neighborhood at the north of the city just south of Lake Cook Road and on the west side of North Arlington Heights Road. A subdivision of larger homes, Terramere is close to schools with children attending Longfellow Elementary, Cooper Middle and Buffalo Grove High School. 

Terramere's real estate is single family homes and offers many different styles, Georgian, Colonial, Federal, Ranches most of which were built in the early 1980's. Brick front elevations are common in these 4 and 5 bedroom homes, you'll even find waterfront homes here in Terramere as some of the properties have Lake Terramere in their back yard. The lake is a magnet for activities and is part of Lake Terramere Park, so as you can imagine there is plenty of play area for children. Property lot sizes are on average 0.25 acres.

Situated close to the shopping along Dundee Road you wont need to go far to find what you need day to day, and there are plenty of restuarants just a few minutes away. It's also right next to Nickol Knoll Park and 9 hole golf course. There are no golf course homes here but if you want a quick round of nine you need to drive out to Dundee Rd and then up Kennicot to find the park entrance. Or for a leg burning walk, there is a walking path around the park which has a pretty good climb to get to the top. Read more about Nickol Knoll and take a look at my photos.

Snapshot of the sales in Terramere during the year October 2010 - 2011

Terramere Arlington Heights is well located if you work in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, or if you are relocating here. I would be happy to introduce you to the area, it was an old neighbor of mine when I lived in Arlington Heights in the 1990's. Take a peak at the available homes in Terramere Arlington Heights.

If there is one thing true of my daily life as a real estate agent selling ranch homes in Arlington Heights Illinois it's this. I can always find subjects to write about that are true life.

We are back to talking about over-priced homes in Arlington Heights, whether they are ranches or not, finding the right listing price to attract great buyers and get a quick sale, and why ignoring data might just cost you dearly. Arlington Heights does have it's fair share of ranch homes, they are spread out among the two story homes. It's not that difficult for a good agent to estimate market value, so why do owners ignore the proof and list far too high?

You are lucky to get a buyer in the first month of marketing, a buyer that will put down a hefty proportion of the cost, is well qualified for the finance, can close quickly, can carry their existing house so make the offer non sale contingent. Now you dig your heels in and ignore the fact that the buyers agent has also proved market value. Your Arlington Heights Ranch home works well for the buyers, they liked it enough to make you an offer.

But you are refusing to budge off your emotional platform so the buyer is off to look at other properties. How long are you going to wait to find the buyer has disappeared, lost interest or worse bought another ranch in Arlington Heights?

After all when it comes to relocation buyers they are ready to buy. They have to move but they are never desperate and will not overpay for a ranch home in Arlington Heights when they are working with a good buyers agent. Of course I wonder if you were told about selling your home three times. To the buyer, the buyers agent and then the appraiser?

Many a good working relationship between owner and Realtor goes sour not because anyone did anything wrong but because there was no meeting of minds at the beginning. If you price your Arlington Heights ranch home right at the beginning you should attract buyers and pass the buyers agent and appraiser tests too.

Visit Relocation House Hunters for all Arlington Heights ranch homes.