What is the Private Listing Network in Winnetka & the North Shore Updated 2022TWO THINGS HAPPENED IN REAL ESTATEIn 2018, our Northern Illinois Multiple Listing Service (MRED) introduced the “Private Listing Network” (PLN) to real estate agents.  Then, last November (2019) the National Association of Realtors banned the use of “pocket listings.”   WHAT IS A POCKET LISTING?First, what is a pocket listing and why is it problematic? A pocket listing (sometimes called an exempt listing) is an agreement between the home seller and real estate agent (more specifically, the brokerage) that the house will not be listed on the  Multiple Listing Service (MLS,) but rather sold behind the scenes. There are multiple reasons sellers might not want their homes publicly listed. They may have work to do... 02/05/2020

  What Sold in Your Village in January - scroll down to see.  WINNETKA   Current Winnetka Real Estate Market:Homes for sale: 97Price range: $399,900 to $9,500,000Current median for sale price: $1,250,000Under contract: 25Condos for sale: 11 Price range: $205,000 to $1,075,000SEE ALL WINNETKA HOMES FOR SALE  WILMETTE    Current Wilmette Real Estate Market:Homes for sale: 91Price range: $330,000 to $2,699,000Current median for sale price: $899,000Under contract: 40Condos for sale:  36Price range: $112,000 to $1,599,000SEE ALL WILMETTE HOMES FOR SALE  KENILWORTH No closed sales in January.   Current Kenilworth Real Estate Market: Homes for sale: 36Price range: $635,000 to $13,750,000Current median for sale price: $1,695,000Under contract: 4SEE ALL KENILWORTH HOMES FOR SALE   GLENCOE    Cur... 02/05/2020

  HUBBARD WOODS January 2020 It’s been a busy month for new listings in Hubbard Woods. There were many more than this but the others were re-listings of homes that had been on the market last year. NEW HUBBARD WOODS LISTINGS IN JANUARY 2020806 Locust (under contract)4 beds/2 ½ baths$649,000        1507 Edgewood4 beds/ 3 ½ baths$799,900         117 Old Green Bay4 beds/2 full, 2 half baths$899,000        130 Old Green Bay5 beds/ 4 ½ baths$1,099,000       871 Burr5 beds/ 3 ½ baths$1,159,000        1353 Tower4 beds/ 4 ½ baths$1,395,000          There are also two new listings in the Private Network: 1449 Scott - $995,0004 bedrooms, 3.2 baths       735 Ardsley6 bedrooms on almost an acreNo price listed at this timePlanned market date: early February         CLOSED HUBBARD WOODS HOME SALESAs ... 02/04/2020

 13 Reasons to Buy a Home on the North Shore Updated 2022The Chicago North Shore has been described as a string of pearls lying along the shore of Lake Michigan just north of Chicago. The villages included in this “necklace” are Evanston, Wilmette, Kenilworth, Winnetka, Northfield, Glencoe, Highland Park, and Lake Forest. Some people also include Glenview, Northbrook, and Deerfield which are slightly more west. If you are considering a move to this area, let me help you decide with these 12 great reasons to live on our beautiful Chicago North Shore. 1. Lake Michigan The North Shore revels in its national status as the “Third Coast.” Every village has at least one public beach and many offer sailing clubs. Living alongside the lake offers another advantage - the weather is cooler in the ... 02/03/2020

 Condo sales in 2019 compared to 2018 were remarkably similar. The numbers across the board varied just slightly with some villages selling more condos and others selling fewer but for a higher median price. The one thing that has definitely stayed the same is the lack of North Shore condo availability in Winnetka, Wilmette, Kenilworth, and Glencoe. To find more inventory, buyers need to head to either Glenview or Evanston. The One Winnetka project which was expected to bring some relief to the condo market has been canceled. In its place, the current plan is to offer 90 rental units. While I agree that rentals are hot and will bring needed revenue to local restaurants and retail, I doubt they’d ever fill that many spaces. Several high-end condos came on the market in Winnetka and sold ... 01/23/2020

 Hubbard Woods Winnetka Year-End Housing Review Home sales in Hubbard Woods were remarkably similar in 2018 as in 2019. Here’s how the numbers looked:    It’s interesting to see that overall sales were down but the median price was up by 18%. I agree that that is an encouraging statistic but I haven’t seen individual home prices actually rise. I’m not a master statistician, but I can say that it’s probably due to the fact that the number of homes that sold in 2019 happened to have a higher price point than the ones in 2018. The numbers can also be skewed when the reporting number is as small as 68 or 69 homes. There have been several home sales that I’m aware of that sold for economical prices. Prices that suddenly made Winnetka more affordable than it’s been for years. A 4-bedroom/3 ½ ... 01/10/2020

 Winnetka/North Shore 2019 Real Estate Market Review  Most North Shore agents would say they’re glad 2019 is behind us. It was not as robust as 2018 and many of us felt that sales were sluggish with some outliers throwing the numbers out of whack. In the information below, for example, Kenilworth had 22% fewer home sales in 2019 but both the average and median prices rose.  I saw some of the best values (aka as deals) that I’ve seen since the recession. Buyers caught on that they could now afford homes in Winnetka and prices dropped by substantial increments. It was a buyer's market all year long in every North Shore town. New construction is still popular but taking longer to sell. Ultimately, the less work that needs to be done to a home, the faster it will sell. Homes on larger parce... 01/08/2020

PANTONE COLOR OF THE YEAR 2020 For 20 years, the Pantone company has come out with a “color of the year” meant to influence design and color trends across many industries. Some have been bold while some have been subtle but over the years, pundits have either criticized or praised the choice. But who really is Pantone? I’ve known the name forever because of my previous career (1975-1986) in the publishing and printing fields. My job as a production manager for a children’s book publisher and later as a sales rep for a printing firm put me in contact with the Pantone color book on a regular basis.        I was involved in four-color printing which basically combined the four primary colors (yellow, cyan, magenta, and black) into beautifully rendered printed photos and drawings. But often... 12/27/2019

Updated 2022Why are Homes Priced with the Number 9? Same reason that just about everything is priced that way! Car prices always end with a lot of 9s. Same with clothing, groceries, gas, appliances, $ .99 cent stores, you name it. It’s called  “charm” pricing. Of course, it’s a psychological trick -  buyers want to pay less for products and $9.99 sounds like a better deal than $10. There is something called the “left-digit effect” which says that buyers place more importance on the left-most number so that $49.99 feels closer to $40.00 than $50.00. The experts say that round numbers are better used for luxury items, particularly clothing. High-end retailers know that buyers want quality and thus will price a cashmere sweater at $400. However, when that cashmere sweater goes on sale, a d... 12/13/2019

  Homes in New Trier School District Under $1 Million There’s a good supply of homes you can buy for under $1,000,000  n the North Shore villages that feed into New Trier High School. Winnetka, Wilmette, Kenilworth, Glencoe, and Northfield have ample inventory and styles for you to choose. In west Wilmette you might be able to pick up a home that’s just a few years old, while in Kenilworth this price point would most likely be an older home needing some updating. Whatever it is you are looking for I’ve made it easy for you to search for homes under $1,000,000 in each village. There is also a small section of Glenview and Northbrook that feed into New Trier and I’ve also included those since they are, in general, lower priced than the towns directly on the lake.NEW TRIER HOMES PRICED UND... 11/22/2019

  NORTH SHORE MARKET REPORT for OCTOBER 2019Winnetka, Wilmette, Kenilworth, Glencoe, Northfield The green chart below shows that home sales and prices were down slightly this October over October 2018 across the North Shore villages of Winnetka, Wilmette, Keniliworth, Glencoe, and Northfield. The ratio of the list price to sell price is very low at 90% (based on original list price.) This means that most sellers are overpricing their homes.     CURRENT NORTH SHORE REAL ESTATE MARKET This blue chart shows current market stats across all North Shore villages - Winnetka, Wimette, Kenilworth, Glencoe, and Nothfield. Wilmette and Glencoe are considered a balanced market (4-6 months of inventory or absorption rate), Winnetka and Northfield are higher and have tipped over into a buyer's market... 11/08/2019

NORTH SHORE REAL ESTATE PERSPECTIVES FOR 2020 A recent report by RIS Media asks the real estate experts what they think is coming for 2020. While there may be broad and sweeping thoughts on real estate, usually these articles are national in scope. We all know real estate is local, right? (RIS Media delivers real estate industry news, trends, best practices, events, social media, and technology for agents and their clients.) Here’s what the experts say and how I interpret it (in red) for the North Shore communities of Winnetka, Wilmette, Kenilworth, Glencoe, Glenview, and Northfield. RIS MEDIA:Everyone felt it at the start of the year—conditions leveling, the market yin and yanging. About half of Power Brokers sensed it, too—that the current cycle’s ending, and a different dynamic’s eme... 11/07/2019

  HUBBARD WOODS REAL ESTATE OCTOBER 2019  NEW HUBBARD WOODS LISTINGS IN OCTOBER 2019There were 2 new home listings in Hubbard Woods in September: 1480 Tower Road$1,300,000          834 Boal Pkwy.$1,799,000     SOLD HUBBARD WOODS LISTINGS IN SEPTEMBER 2019 4 homes closed in September:  1487 TowerOriginal list price: $850,000Sold price: $460,000Days on market: 370          1411 EdgewoodOriginal list price: $875,000Sold price: $680,000Days on market: 214         955 Tower ManorOriginal list price: $1,199,000Sold price: $899,000Days on market: 353         205 ScottOriginal list price: $1,499,000Sold price: $1,415,000Days on market: 103CURRENT HUBBARD WOODS MARKET: Homes for sale: 34 (down from 45 last month)Price range: $515,000 to $6,999,900Under contract: 14Absorption rate: (6 months - 4-... 11/06/2019

 Where do Your Winnetka Property Taxes Go? For what we pay locally in property taxes, I think it’s wise to understand how they are divvied up. In the North Shore communities of Winnetka, Wilmette, Kenilworth, Northfield, and Glencoe, it’s understood that a large percentage goes to the schools. That’s why many of us moved here.  Supporting a strong educational system is good for our children as well as our resale values. The Village of Winnetka will be having a public budget meeting on October 29 and they posted this image which shows precisely how the taxes are spent: We can see that education spending - covering elementary schools and New Trier High School, account for 64.7% of every tax dollar paid. Beyond that, the Village, the Park District, The Water and Reclamation District, and C... 10/27/2019

American Tribal Map - Winnetka & North ShoreA Canadian mapping company has developed an innovative map called “Native Land” that shows where indiginous tribes once lived on the land we live on now.   For those of us living in the Chicagoland area, these Native American tribe names sound familiar. There’s Peoria (now a large city downstate,) Miami (well known city,) and Potawatomi (now more known as a hotel and casino in nearby Milwaukee, Wisconsin.) What’s unusual about the map is that it shows boundaries covering the United States that we’ve never seen before. We’re familiar with our state boundaries with their sense of order and straight lines. Theses Indian tribal boundaries swirl and overlap across the country showing at once their relationships to each other. You can enter your add... 10/15/2019

Winnetka/North Shore Chicago 3rd Quarter Real Estate  Below is a chart comparing home sales in the 3rd quarter of 2018 to 2019 for the villages of Winnetka, Wilmette, Kenilworth, Glencoe, and Northfield. Even though these towns abut each other and are very similar, their home sale statistics vary in different areas. WINNETKAIn Winnetka home sales fell in 2019 by 4.5%, and prices went down 7.5%. The list-to-sell price ratio remained the same at 91% and sales days on market went up 6%. WILMETTEWimette home sales rose slightly from 304 to 309, the average sale price dropped by almost 8%. The list-to-sell ratio improved slightly while market time increased by 15%. KENILWORTHHome sales increased dramatically in 2018 - there had been a long slump there and buyers came out in droves to pick at... 10/06/2019

  HUBBARD WOODS SEPTEMBER  2019 NEW HUBBARD WOODS LISTINGS IN SEPTEMBER 2019 There were five new home listings in Hubbard Woods in September, with one already under contract. 1367 Edgewood$629,000         1039 Pine$775,000 (under contract)         855 Boal Parkway$1,025,000          110 N.Sheridan$1,750,000        SOLD HUBBARD WOODS LISTINGS IN SEPTEMBER 2019 7 homes closed in September:   1192 ScottList price: $550,000Sold price: $496,000Days on market: 110        1069 ChatfieldList price: $749,000Sold price: $575,500         1430 EdgewoodList price: $1,1975,000Sold price: $900,000Days on market: 87         1443 AsburyList price: $1,199,999Sold price: $1,060,000          841 BellList price: $1,750,000Sold price: $1,595,000Days on market: 64        1240 AsburyList price: $2,599,000Sold ... 10/04/2019

 RESTAURANT TOCCO in Winnetka Updated 2022Bringing his passionate and inspiring vision of Italian food and culture to Winnetka, Bruno Abate opened his new restaurant in October 2019.. Tocco, named after his popular Wicker Park restaurant that he closed in February, is located at 507 Chestnut directly across from the Winnetka post office. Bruno was born on the Amalfi Coast and raised in Milan - he came to the United States to visit his brother in 1999 and stayed for good. In Italy, he was closely involved in the food business, buying and selling the highest quality and freshest ingredients to chefs across the country. His knowledge of the country’s diverse regions and their unique offerings, whether it be parmesan cheese, white truffles, or prosciutto ham, made him realize the wealth of ... 09/18/2019

WINNETKA HOME SALES for AUGUST 2019 30 homes closed in WINNETKA in August. The median price of these sold homes was $1,225,000, the list to sell price ratio was 92%, and the average days on market was 92.  The absorption rate is currently at 7.5 months (Absorption rate is an indicator of how long all the current inventory would take to sell if no new properties were added.) At this rate, it's a buyer's market with a balanced market being around 4-5 months. The list to sell price ratio of the sold homes shown below is 92% - which shows that Winnetka homes are entering the market priced too higg.  WINNETKA REAL ESTATE MARKET TODAY Homes for sale: 144Price range: $439,000 to $9,500,000 Under contract: 26Absorption rate: 7.5 months (trending toward a buyer’s market)Condos for sale: 9Price r... 09/10/2019

 Two new homes were listed in Hubbard Woods in August and four sold and closed.    NEW HUBBARD WOODS LISTINGS AUGUST 2019 - 2   800 Green Bay - $514,900           1271 Asbury - $925,000         SOLD HUBBARD WOODS LISTINGS AUGUST 2019    1364 EdgewoodOriginal list price: $850,000Sold price: $682,310Days on market: 204       1046 VineOriginal list price: $959,000Sold price: $959,000Days on market: 3            1030 Hubbard Pl.Original list price: $2,295,000 in 2009, $1,899,000 in 2015, $1,599,000 in 2019Sold price: $1,475,000Days on market: on and off since 2009       1363 HackberryOriginal list price: $3,425,000Sold price:  $3,250,000Days on market 193      PRIVATE HUBBARD WOODS LISTINGS - not yet public but available for sale 1095 Merrill1bed/1bath condo$220,000      1183 Tower4bed/4.1b... 09/05/2019