The 2013 home-buying season looks to be one for the history books. Confidence in the US housing market is coming back strong. Recent statistical surveys indicate that prices are on a significant upswing, such as shown in the following graphic from Case-Schiller and KCM.

Is 2013 “the opportunity of a lifetime” for homebuyers? It looks that way, for quite a few reasons:

• Investors have once again moved their money into housing, this time as landlords, according to the Wall Street Journal. And the prices of foreclosed and bank-owned properties have quickly re-stabilized as a result.
• Interest rates are at generational lows. If you need to borrow money to buy real estate, your purchasing power is now as strong as it will likely ever be. Run the numbers to compare monthly payments on a mortgage at both today’s rates of 3.5% and projected year-end rates of 4.5% or higher. A 1% increase in interest rates typically results in a 10% drop in purchasing power for homebuyers. “Interest rates like this aren’t going to last forever;” says David Bailey, Managing Broker of Baird & Warner’s Evanston Office. He thinks the combination of low rates and comparably lower prices is the perfect storm of opportunity for renters and move-up buyers. “Never again in our lifetimes will interest rates be this low,” advises Bailey. (If you doubt him, check out this helpful chart that tracks interest rates during the past 40 years, by clicking here.)
• Expectations for real estate market appreciation have returned to “pre-bubble” levels. The following chart tracks expectations for appreciation in the real estate market (HT Case-Schiller and KCM). Confidence has apparently returned to normal levels, and market-endangering speculative attitudes do not appear to be returning.
• Based on conservative estimates of housing price appreciation, the value of the home you are thinking about buying today will likely be 10-15% higher in just 3-5 years. Once again, Bailey offers sage advice for current homeowners in Evanston: “If you’re a homeowner who wants to move up but is waiting for a price gain of just a couple of percentage points on your current home, you’re missing out on this opportunity today’s real estate market provides for serious homebuyers. 2013 is shaping up to be a once in a lifetime opportunity to buy with the high-value-creating combination of lower sale prices and borrowing rates. The housing values available today will no longer be around just a few months from now.”

As you can see, there are strong reasons to make a housing purchase in 2013.

As I often say on this blog, “Through the mechanism of buying and selling, we can all obtain a much higher standard of living…”

By approaching real estate with the right ways of thinking, we can not only have a great buying or selling experience, we can also get the best price possible in the shortest time required. The real estate market can be a tough place, and I can help you learn it’s customs and quirks so that you don’t just survive it, but actually thrive through your participation in it.

Visit my other site at Baird & Warner. Let’s go do some “housing” together.

Take a virtual mini-tour of homes currently available for sale in Evanston.

Only Evanston Gives us Living Spaces Like This.

Well-Lit Attic Staircases Always Look Better.

Sturdy and Well-Designed Balcony Railing

This is what a well-maintained stucco exterior looks like.

Another Tasteful Tiny Sink Design.

Scary Stairs to a Basement.

Want to go on a real tour of houses, townhomes or condos in Evanston? Let’s do some housing for good.

What’s going on in the Evanston Real Estate Market? Are the trends being reported in the national media happening here too? Does the Evanston housing market now favor buyers or sellers? Let’s take a closer look:

In the Buyer’s Favor:

• The cost of borrowing money (a.k.a. interest rates) remains low, around 3.5% for a conventional 30-year fixed rate mortgage. This means that buyers now can afford to buy higher-priced houses than ever. Ask your grandparents if they can remember interest rates as low as the rates we are being quoted these days. Low interest rates make this a great time to be a home-buyer.
• Prices are still generally well-below the peak seen in 2007. A number of properties have recently sold at prices not seen since the early 2000′s. You don’t have to worry about getting caught up in a “housing bubble” these days like in the mid-2000′s.
• Foreclosures and Short Sales are still happening, albeit at a slow pace. When buyers get a house through a short sale or that has been foreclosed upon, they pay less than market value on average.
• It takes both a seller and a buyer to complete the sale of a home. Sellers still need buyers.

In the Seller’s Favor:

• The number of homes available for sale in March was drastically lower than the last two years. As the number of buyers has rebounded this year, these lower numbers have turned the Evanston market in the favor of sellers.
• The rate of sales continues to be strong, so the time it takes to sell a home is very low on average. The attached chart shows how this is to the advantage of Evanston home-sellers in all price ranges, compared to the past two years.

• Median sale prices in every price range show substantial gains in every price range over the past 24 months. This should make most Evanston seller’s happy, except those who either 1) bought at the peak of the “bubble”, or 2) insist on listing their house for sale at 2007-peak prices.

• Sellers in March 2013 were able to negotiate for a higher percentage of their original listing price than we’ve seen in many years. This trend also favors Evanston home-sellers.

In the Favor of Both Buyer and Seller:

• The number of closed sales increased in March, particularly in the price ranges that contain the majority of Evanston’s housing stock. This is a fundamentally good thing on many levels. On the Evanston-wide market level, this means that confidence has returned to the real estate market. Neighborhood-to-Neighborhood, this means that there is likely more recent transaction data to support the value of property in your neighborhood or even on your block. This also means that two real parties, a buyer and a seller, both came to an agreement that it was in the best interest of both of them to enter into a contractual agreement to buy and sell a particular parcel of property. Both now benefit from a higher standard of living than they were experiencing before their transaction took place. Understanding Real Estate like this is at the heart of what I mean by “Housing for Good.”

There’s a lot more data out there than can help you as you make your housing-related decisions. You can get a lot of it yourself on your smartphone. But that data can also confuse and deceive you if you don’t analyze it correctly. I have the experience and expertise to help you analyze all that voluminous data correctly so that you can make the wisest decisions possible given your current life situation. Let’s talk! Let’s go do some housing for good.

And thanks for reading my blog!

I love the real estate business. Every week I tour houses in Evanston that are currently offered for sale. And every week I see things that I’ve never seen before. Houses are interesting because the people who build them and live in them are interesting. Every homeowner is different. And thus every home is different too.

Vive la différence! (That’s French for “Long live the difference!” you know.)

I hope you enjoy these photos of things that caught my eye this week.

Wood-Burning Pizza Oven in a Northwest Evanston Kitchen.

Frog Handle on a Peep-hole Door-within-a-Door

I know some little people who would love this jungle-themed space for play and naps.

Sunshine Highlights the Vertical Lines on this Townhome Exterior.

It was the butler, in the dining room, with the candle stick.

Beautiful and Well-Crafted Porch on a Mansion in the Ridge Historic District.

Cleverly-designed small vanity sink for a small half-bath.

Another awesome doorknob.

Shiny Reproduction Doorbell.

Great View of Raymond Park from the 6th Floor of the Hinman Grove Building.

Spring has arrived! Let’s go look at some houses together! Let’s do some housing for good. Call, send an email, or text me to set an appointment.

Check out my other site too and register for email alerts so you can know about each new listing as it comes on the market.

Since the North Shore Channel bends it’s way through Evanston carrying dangerously dirty water from the sewers of Chicago to it’s exit point at Wilmette Harbor, the Evanston Water Plant plays an essential role in our quality of life.

Thankfully, this excellently-administered local government facility has once again received perfect scores on tests of it’s water-purification work.

How does it work? See the graphic and photos below:

Graphic by Chelsea Sherlock/Northwestern Daily Senior Staffer

Sand Filters at Evanston Water Plant

View into Clean Water Storage at Evanston Water Plant

Turbidity Demonstration at Evanston Water Plant

Pump Room at Evanston Water Plan