Buffalo Grove Real Estate

05/15/2019

502 S Grove Avenue, Barrington, IL 60010 mls #10329406

Very excited that this listing closed today! We accepted a contract in 9 days and it was smooth sailing! Well priced, nicely updated home and the second home we sold for these wonderful clients!

https://blog.lucidrealty.com/lucid-realtys-chicago-area-homes-for-sale/502-south-grove-avenue-barrington-il-60010/

502 S Grove Avenue, Barrington, IL 60010; Completely Updated Barrington Farmhouse With 3 Bedrooms and 3 Bathrooms – $649,850

05/10/2019

361 Dickens Street, Northfield, IL 60093 mls #10321308

Open House - Saturday, May 11th - 1 to 3pm - come check out this fantastic home in Northfield.

https://blog.lucidrealty.com/lucid-realtys-chicago-area-homes-for-sale/361-dickens-street-northfield-il-60093/

361 Dickens Street, Northfield, IL 60093;; Magnificent Custom 4 Bedroom, 3.5 Bathroom Farmhouse In Northfield - $1,189,850

05/08/2019

Buffalo Grove Real Estate Market Conditions - April 2019

Buffalo Grove sales increased during April. #BuffaloGroveRealEstate

Buffalo Grove Real Estate Market Conditions - April 2019; Inventory levels, market times and closings were up over last year for April in Buffalo Grove.

05/01/2019

Discount Chicago real estate broker: Lucid Realty

Discount Chicago real estate broker: Lucid Realty

The Case Shiller Chicago area home price index is now rising faster than in all 3 major California metro areas - because those areas really suck. #ChicagoHomePrices #HomePrices #CaseShiller

04/20/2019

Discount Chicago real estate broker: Lucid Realty

Discount Chicago real estate broker: Lucid Realty

What a horrible idea. As the article says "He calls the private marketplace a disorganized market. If you want $1 million for your home, he says, someone will buy it privately for $950,000. But if you put it on the public market for $1 million, you don't know if it might sell for even more."

04/18/2019

Defying Logic, Real Estate Commissions Rise

You would think that lots of new real estate brokerage models would result in lower real estate commissions but not so! #RealEstateCommissions

RealTrends is a residential real estate brokerage industry publishing and consulting company that analyzes various industry trends. Not quite a year ago they ran an article on the impact of inventory, brokerage models, and referral fees on real estate commissions. One of their more compelling argume...

04/13/2019

361 Dickens Street, Northfield, IL 60093 mls #10321308

OPEN HOUSE SUNDAY 4/14 FROM 1pm – 3pm – Magnificent Custom 4 Bedroom, 3.5 Bathroom Farmhouse In Northfield – $1,189,850

https://blog.lucidrealty.com/lucid-realtys-chicago-area-homes-for-sale/361-dickens-street-northfield-il-60093/?fbclid=IwAR0h_eI13gDXGhYl_LojmZufMYbmLnnWkC96t2rtB6PAn-f9jUC-johPyRE

361 Dickens Street, Northfield, IL 60093;; Magnificent Custom 4 Bedroom, 3.5 Bathroom Farmhouse In Northfield - $1,189,850

04/08/2019

Buffalo Grove Real Estate Market Conditions - March 2019

Buffalo Grove market times were super low in March. #BuffaloGroveRealEstate

Buffalo Grove Real Estate Market Conditions - March 2019; Buffalo Grove had moderate gains in inventory and the number of closings were down.

04/02/2019

How Home Buyers And Sellers Can Navigate The Cooperating Commission

There is flexibility in setting cooperating commissions but home sellers and buyers need to understand the real and imagined consequences. #realtors #reasestateagents #realestatecommissions #coopcommissions

On Thursday I explained how cooperating commissions work, who pays them, and what impact it has on real estate transactions. What I put off until today was the various options that home buyers and sellers have in lowering the cost of these commissions – although I did mention how home sellers....

03/28/2019

The Truth About Coop/ Buy-side Real Estate Commissions

With all the misinformation and mystery around cooperating commissions it's time to demystify the whole process. #RealEstateCommissions #CooperatingCommissions

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about those allegations of conspiracy and collusion. No, not Russian interference in our election. I’m talking about that class action lawsuit regarding alleged price fixing with regard to real estate commissions. It centers around cooperating (buy side) commissio...

03/27/2019

Case Shiller: Chicago Area Home Price Gains Slowest In A Year

The Case Shiller index shows the slowest home price growth across the nation since 2015 while Chicago prices rose at the slowest rate in a year. #CaseShiller #HomePrices #ChicagoHomePrices

The folks at Dow Jones S&P CoreLogic released their much awaited January Case Shiller home price index for the nation and the Chicago area (along with 19 other metro areas) this morning. The big headline making the rounds today is that for the nation as a whole year over year home price gain of....

03/19/2019

Real Estate Experts More Optimistic About Home Prices Except For Chicago Area

Real estate experts are much more optimistic about home prices over the next 5 years but the futures market disagrees - especially for the Chicago area. #ChicagoHomePrices #HomePrices #HomePriceForecast #Pulsenomics

Zillow and Pulsenomics recently came out with their first quarter home price expectations survey of more than 100 real estate experts. The graph below provides their updated view (the orange line) from December, dropping 2018 appreciation from the time horizon and just focusing on the next 5 years,....

03/14/2019

Home Sellers File Real Estate Commission Class Action Lawsuit

Last week a class action lawsuit was filed alleging that realtors are colluding to fix real estate commissions. Here's why it's groundless. #Realtors #RealEstateAgents #RealEstate #RealEstateCommissions

Wow! On some level I’m really enjoying this. I’ve always maintained that real estate commissions are just too damn high. So imagine my amusement when a class action lawsuit is filed, claiming that 4 of the nation’s largest franchised brokerages conspired with the National Associati...

03/12/2019

It's Not A Realtor Conspiracy Keeping Real Estate Commissions High

Rumors of a realtor conspiracy inflating commissions are greatly exaggerated. Home sellers just fall for the fantasy that you get what you pay for. #Realtors #RealEstateAgents #RealEstate #RealEstateCommissions

Last week an editorial appeared in the Wall Street Journal: When You Buy or Sell a Home, Realty Bites. The article was written by the guys at REX, an early stage company that helps sellers sell their homes off the MLS without paying a cooperating commission which I wrote about last month: $75 MM Inv...

03/06/2019

Buffalo Grove Real Estate Market Conditions - February 2019

Check out my monthly Buffalo Grove Real Estate Blog post - the level of listing inventory is increasing nicely which will provide buyers more choices!

Buffalo Grove Real Estate Market Conditions - February 2019; Inventory levels have increased providing buyers more options!

03/06/2019

Buffalo Grove Real Estate Market Conditions - February 2019

The big news for Buffalo Grove real estate through two months of 2019 is that inventory levels have increased providing buyers more options! #BuffaloGroveRealEstate

Buffalo Grove Real Estate Market Conditions - February 2019; Inventory levels have increased providing buyers more options!

03/05/2019

Tax Reform Hacks For Real Estate A Bit More Complicated

Evaluating investing in your own home vs. buying an investment is tricky enough that you probably need professional help in figuring it out. #PropertyTaxes #RentVsBuy #TaxReform #TCJA

On Thursday I posted some ideas on how to retain the benefits of the mortgage interest and property tax deductions under the new tax law. But I think I oversimplified it a bit so I wanted to backtrack for a few minutes. Let me clarify a few things. First, I want to make sure that...

02/28/2019

Real Estate Tax Reform Hacks: Renting, Buying, And Investing

Tax reform eliminated many of the benefits of home ownership. Here are some ideas for getting them back. #PropertyTaxes #RentVsBuy #TaxReform #TCJA

Last week I posted on how the new tax reform law has increased the attractiveness of renting a home vs. buying a home because of the increase in the standard deduction and the $10,000 limit on the deductibility of state and local taxes. As I pointed out in a November 2017 post the real problem...

02/26/2019

Case Shiller: Chicago Area Home Price Gains Advance To 3rd From Bottom

Chicago area home prices continue to advance slower than the rest of the nation but we don’t look as bad as we used to because everyone else is slowing down faster. #CaseShiller #ChicagoHomePrices

This morning’s release of Dow Jones S&P CoreLogic’s Case Shiller home price indices for December show the nation’s home price appreciation slowing down further. The Chicago area’s gains also slowed slightly but since the nation slowed down much more it’s giving us a...

02/21/2019

Renting A Home Suddenly Looks Better Under Tax Reform

Tax reform has reduced the benefits of homeownership for higher income/ wealthier households. Before moving you need to do some analysis. #PropertyTaxes #RentVsBuy #TaxReform #TCJA

As people are working on their tax returns I suspect the reality of the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is starting to kick in – and I’m not talking about the withholding/ refund drivel that the media is obsessed with. The bigger issue is the $10,000 SALT (state and local tax) deduction limita...

02/14/2019

The Real Estate DANGER Report: Agent Competency

The #1 threat to the real estate industry is realtor competency. Illinois barbers take 1500 hours of classes. Guess what realtors take. #RealEstateAgents #Realtors

Several years ago (I think it was around 2014) the National Association of Realtors commissioned Stefan Swanepoel, a real estate industry consultant, to conduct a study of the chief threats facing the real estate industry. He and his colleagues surveyed close to 8000 real estate agents, interviewed....

02/12/2019

$75 MM Investment In Rex Homes Makes No Sense

Rex Homes is another new real estate brokerage model but how could investors pour $75 MM into something any real estate agent can do? #RealEstate #RealEstateAgents #Realtors

A few weeks ago Rex Homes, another real estate startup with a unique business model, raised an additional $45 MM in a third round of financing, bringing their total to $75 MM. God knows the real estate industry is in sore need of new business models. Home buyers and sellers willingly waste billions....

02/06/2019

Buffalo Grove Real Estate Market Conditions - January 2019

Inventory levels improved in Buffalo Grove in January. #BuffaloGroveRealEstate

Buffalo Grove Real Estate Market Conditions - January 2019; Inventory levels have improved, hopefully it will keep up with demand as we approach Spring.

02/05/2019

How Dual Agency Affects Commissions And Rebates

Depending upon the type of commission arrangement in place between realtor and home seller the buyer may get no benefit from dual agency. #DualAgency #RealEstateAgents #Realtors

Last week I wrote about how some researchers had measured the cost of dual agency transactions. They were able to determine that home sellers lost roughly 1.4% of the purchase price even when dual agency was disclosed. However, there are also some additional impacts on the home buyer and the seller....

01/31/2019

The Cost Of Dual Agency In Real Estate Transactions

Lots of realtors suspected that dual agency could be bad for home sellers and buyers. Someone actually measured the impact. #Dualagency #Realtors #RealEstateAgents

In numerous past blog posts I’ve alluded to the problems of dual agency. The fundamental problem is that when there is only one real estate agent “representing” both sides of the transaction whose interest takes priority? In Illinois the way it’s supposed to work is that the....

01/31/2019

Buffalo Grove approves 187-home Link Crossing subdivision: 'It's been a long time in the making'

It's official, it looks like the controversial new subdivision will become a reality in 2020!

The Buffalo Grove Village Board gave final approval Jan. 22, 2019 to plans that pave the way for construction of the 187-home Link Crossing subdivision.

01/31/2019

Home For Sale, Lake Zurich IL Real Estate

Just sold by Eddie Nusinow with Lucid Realty.

Rarely available 5 bedroom / 2 1/2 bathroom colonial on a quiet cul de sac in the established Old Mill Grove subdivision of Lake Zurich. Featuring an open floorplan with large and bright living spaces, this wonderful home is highlighted by the 24x20 family room with a cathedral ceiling and 3 sides o...

01/31/2019

Discount Chicago real estate broker: Lucid Realty

01/29/2019

Case Shiller: Chicago Condos Show Weakest Price Gains In Almost 4 Years

The Case Shiller Chicago area home price index reflects slowing home price appreciation but not slowing as much as the rest of the country. However, Chicago is still ranking second from last place among 20 metro areas. Condo price appreciation slowed much more than single family home price appreciation.

Dow Jones S&P CoreLogic just released their November Case Shiller home price indices and they show further slowing in price appreciation for both the nation and the Chicago area. For single family homes year over year appreciation in the Case Shiller Chicago index slowed only slightly to 3.1% vs...

01/25/2019

Understanding your Buffalo Grove Property Tax Bill

I hope you find this blog post useful - did you know there are 15 different tax rates in Buffalo Grove!?

https://blog.lucidrealty.com/2019/01/25/understanding-your-buffalo-grove-property-tax-bill/

Understanding your Buffalo Grove Property Tax Bill; Property taxes are a contentious topic in Illinois and they are pretty complicated to understand.

01/22/2019

Chicago's Most Expensive Condo Sales Of 2018

2018 blew 2017 out of the water in terms of expensive condos (>$4 MM) closing in Chicago. Most of the difference was driven by one building. #ExpensiveHomes #ChicagoExpensiveHomes #Condos

Last week I looked at Chicago’s most expensive single family home sales of 2018 and last year was a bit stronger at the high end than 2017 – 14 homes sold above $4 MM vs. 11 the year before. However, now I’m turning my attention to the most expensive condo sales of 2018 and last......

01/22/2019

Discount Chicago real estate broker: Lucid Realty

Old habits die hard. #RealEstateCommissions

01/15/2019

The Cost Across Time [INFOGRAPHIC]

Here is some very interesting perspective pertaining to interest rates over time ... even though you might have missed the lowest rates a couple of years ago, we are still at historically low levels.

Some Highlights: With interest rates still around 4.5%, now is a great time to look back at where rates have been over the last 40 years. Rates are projected to climb to 5.0% by this time next year according to Freddie Mac. The impact your interest rate makes on your monthly mortgage cost

01/10/2019

The Five Golden Rules of Home Staging

Here are some good ideas for preparing your home for sale, most of which are easy and inexpensive.

Looking to sell your home for maximum profit? Don't forget these critical home staging tips.

01/09/2019

Buffalo Grove Real Estate Market Conditions - December 2018

The Buffalo Grove real estate market is solid and poised for another good year in 2019. #BuffaloGroveRealEstate

Buffalo Grove Real Estate Market Conditions - December 2018; Buffalo Grove real estate market posted generally solid results for 2018.

01/08/2019

Top Renovations to Complete Before You Sell Your House [INFOGRAPHIC]

Here is some good perspective on renovation ideas that can help you get top dollar for your home. Happy New Year!

Some Highlights: If you are planning on listing your house for sale this year, here are the top four home improvement projects that will net you the most Return on Investment (ROI). Minor bathroom renovations can go a long way toward improving the quality of your everyday life and/or impress

12/30/2018

Discount Chicago real estate broker: Lucid Realty

Happy New Year!

12/29/2018

Case Shiller: Chicago Home Price Appreciation Strengthens While Nation Slows

The Case Shiller Chicago area home price index shows stronger appreciation just as growth across the nation weakens. Yet, Chicago remains 3rd from the bottom of 20 metro areas. #CaseShiller #ChicagoHomePrices

According to the October Case Shiller home price index recently released by Dow Jones S&P CoreLogic the nation’s single family home price appreciation slowed down a bit in many of the nation’s markets. While year over year gains for the nation as a whole stayed the same from Septembe...

12/20/2018

Discount Chicago real estate broker: Lucid Realty

12/17/2018

Discount Chicago real estate broker: Lucid Realty

It's a wonderful time to buy a home!

12/13/2018

Discount Chicago real estate broker: Lucid Realty

Discount Chicago real estate broker: Lucid Realty

Numerous rankings of home price appreciation place the Chicago real estate market at the bottom of the list. What's driving this? #ChicagoHomePrices