March 2006 comes in like a lamb and the Chicago real estate market is picking up. There has been a marked increase of Condos and homes on the market. The increased number of listings may tilt the market in favor of the buyer, like in Glencoe, Illinois.
When you look at the actual number of Condos in Chicago and the number of listings you can see that the situation is getting more favorable for the buyer. There are currently 71,876 residential listings as of March 1st in the Chicago area. This compares with about 58,821 last year, 2005.
Visit the Chicago Condo Buyer Blog if you want more information about condos and Chicago lofts. You can also discover more information about suburban housing markets with a Wilmette Real Estate Agent.
Now the housing situation this Spring of 2006 out in the West...
The Las Vegas market has cooled off considerably. About 11,000 homes are currently on the Las Vegas MLS as of February 20,2006. Buyers looking for Las Vegas real estate will find that there are still no bargains there. The average value of a home has almost double in the last four years.
The Las Vegas luxury condo market has been rocked by the cancellation of the high profile Icon project. The cancellation was announced in early February. Buyers of Las Vegas condos should beware that many of the proposed projects may never break ground. Location, location, location and in this case ...property located near the strip probably offers the best value in high rise condos. You should also Check our the way cool Las Vegas Real Estate videos.
Single family Las Vegas homes offer probably the best long term value for buyers. Henderson and Summerlin, in particular, are prime locations. You will need to find a patient, hard working Las Vegas realtor who will work with you and not rush you. Traditionally, the buying season starts now in March and runs all the way through October. This year, 2006, should not be any different except that homes will be on the market longer, and prices will not appreciate much from here. Basically...a normal real estate market.
Hurricane Katrina in August of 2005 will probably be considered to mark the current high tide (in this phase, anyway) of the Florida real estate mania. Listings have sprouted like mushrooms this spring and total listings statewide are up almost 75% over last year.
Sales of condos in Florida> are particular slow. In Boca Raton down 10% in February 2006 from the same period in 2005. Miami is down 6%, Orlando down 4%, Sarasota down 7%, and Brevard County down 7%. The median price, however, of residential real estate in Florida is up about 20% over last year. So this slow down in sales can be viewed as a market returning to "normal".
Again (isn't it always) it's location, location, location. Ocean front Florida real estate is still commanding premiums because there is a finite amount of property...common sense.
Please return to the Real Estate Investment Forum, next week, because by March 15th we should have a completely new site up.
The real estate market in most Chicago suburbs is slanted toward the buyer; an abundance of homes on the market has driven down
prices a bit (although home prices are up 2-5% from last year). Realtor Mark Nash says, "Real estate consumers are looking at more
properties and taking longer to make a decision," recently.
Realtors in the North Shore communities of
Northbrook, Winnetka,
Deerfield, Lake Forest,
Highwood, Kenilworth, Glenview,
Lake Bluff, Evanston, and Highland Park
are feeling pressure from sellers to speed up sales (the average home only gets one bid). Some speculate that high oil prices and the economic downturn are mostly to blame
for finnicky buyers. The average time a house spends on the market in these communities is around 90 days - quite a long while, but
it is important to take into account the prices of these homes as well. North Shore single-family homes (the hottest housing commodity now) in these communities on average go for about
$800,000. Homes under the average price typically sell quicker, especially those in the $400,000 - $600,000 range.
Realtor Broderick Perkins
gives another reason why the housing market may be slowing down:
"Migration patterns reveal Americans are fleeing Northeast and West markets where housing is often expensive and putting down stakes in the South and elsewhere where homes are less expensive, according to a recent U.S. Census Bureau study."