Sherry Spengel | Wheaton IL

Gotta love a map that shows how close a neighborhood really is to town. Glencoe Crossing is a neighborhood in the middle of two towns. It has a Wheaton, Illinois address, taxes, library and water. It is also only 1.4 miles to the Glen Ellyn Train station. The children attend Glen Ellyn District 41 and 87 schools and are members of the Glen Ellyn Park District. It is the best of both worlds.

Click on the map for a large image.

Here is another example of how you can live in a place for years and not know everything about it. I am even more ashamed because this relates directly to my business. I was driving down Main Street, Wheaton today and a small sign caught my eye – DuPage Homeownership Center. So, I turned my car around and went inside to see what I was missing.

A nice man welcomed me inside and give me all sorts of information about their first time homebuyer’s program and educational classes. The mission of this nonprofit, charitable organization is “to increase accessibility to and preserve homeownership, with an emphasis on serving first-time homebuyers and low- and moderate- income persons.”

They offer two first time homeowner classes each month. The next one is on July 26, 2008 from 9am – 1pm at St. Raphael Catholic Church in Naperville. Reservations are required, so call 630-260-2500 to reserve your spot.

The DuPage Homeownership Center created the Homestead Program in 1992. This financial program allows buyers to pay less in interest charges so they can afford more house for their money. There are restrictions to enter this program, such as the home can not cost more than $275,000, you must be able to put 3% down and be up to date on all local, state and federal taxes.

The Center also offers help to people facing foreclosure. In the last five years, The DuPage Homeownership Center has help 75% of their clients avoid foreclosure. It’s good to know that there are organizations out there helping people achieve the American Dream of homeownership. And in our current economic climate, groups like this are needed now, more than ever.

I’m around people in social situations all the time – I have been to my fair share of baseball games, football equipment pickup, coffee houses and graduation parties lately. Inevitably, the subject of work crops up and the first thing people ask after I tell them I’m in real estate is, “How’s the market doing?”

Here are my general answers this month.

I have seen a great increase in buyers looking at my 10 listings. Some homes have had as many as 5 showings in one day!

When I call for agent feedback the answer is either the home I represent is in their top three favorites or they have picked another home to bid on. Either way, I like that answer much better than the one I heard 2 months ago (we’re still looking). This means people are making decisions and buying something. I wish it was one of my listings (and so do my sellers) but at least people are buying. That is a very good sign. We need to burn through the current inventory.

Speaking of current inventory, there is a lot of it out there right now. There are 490 single family homes on the market in Wheaton and 403 in Glen Ellyn. Glen Ellyn has more active condos/townhomes at 191 and Wheaton has 166 available. That is an amazing amount for buyers to look at. There can be as many as 50 homes in a single $50,000 price range!

Buyers these days know they are in high demand. They know which sellers have been on the market a long time, which home is headed toward foreclosure and how the other homes compare to it.

This leads me to my next point and it’s not a pretty one for sellers. I have been seeing agents and buyers come in with really low offers (some as low as 89% of asking price). They put out the offer and see how low they can get the house for. If they don’t feel the number is low enough, they move on to the next home hoping the seller is read to give them a bargain.

So, the good news is people are buying homes; the bad news is that they want a deal – now more than ever.

There are many wonderful perks about Wheaton, Illinois: amazing parks and recreation areas, great schools, Wheaton College, great shopping, fabulous restaurants, proximity to Chicago, and beautiful housing (you know I just had to throw that in)!

There are also many, many events that take place in spring and summer that bring us together as a community for fun and entertainment. If I missed any, please let me know and I will add them to the list.

French Market 8am | 2pm Saturdays from April 26^th to November 1^st

Memorial Day Parade | 10am May 26^th

Vintage Rides | 6:30 – 8:30pm on Fridays from June 6^th to August 29^th

Cream of Wheaton | June 6^th and 7^th in Memorial Park

Summer Concert Series | June 5^th to August 7^th in Memorial Park | Wheaton Municipal Band

Farmers Market | 8am - 1pm on Thursdays from June 12 to October 30 in the Wheaton Public Library Parking Lot

Entertainment in the Park | 7:30 – 8:30pm Mondays June 30 to August 11 in Memorial Park

4^th of the July Parade | 10am in Downtown Wheaton

Wheaton Fine Art Fair | July 19th and 20^th at West Liberty Drive

Sidewalk Sale | July 24^th to 27^th in Downtown Wheaton

Autumn Fest | September 11^th to 14^th in Memorial Park

I look at all these events and I can’t believe how lucky I am to live in such a great town.