Home Prices Slide thru 2011- land UP!

Nationally, as of December 2011, real estate prices continued to fall with average prices down 1/3 from the top of the market. The data shows us what most had already guessed - Chicago has fallen with the national average, Las Vegas fell by 60%. In general, prices have been falling about 1% a month for the past four months.

Locally, open house traffic has been brisk, but despite warm weather, many buyers and sellers are waiting for the official frost date to pass. I have 34 acres listed at the Fall Creek Gorge. Photos on House & Land on Facebook.

In searching for buyers for this tract and for a seller with 10 acres above the high water mark along Illinois RT 57, I have visited with nearly every owner between Seehorn and Marblehead. Most do not want to part with what they have, but a couple tracts are possibly available, though not listed for sale, atop the bluffs, one with a fabulous view. Also, clients tell me class A farmland in the South Quincy bottoms recently received auction bids above $11,000 per acre. They left the proceeding when the bidding reached $11,400. (Photo "Dawn's Foggy Light" courtesy of Jim Meinbendir productions)

Call me!

Just listed 34 acres SW of Payson!

Point your rocking chair towards the west, ...

or your camouflaged bow ... here's a hard to find parcel that is just the right size for hunting, for niche farming, for adding to your larger farm operation, for a show-stopping home site, or for producing some income while you refurbish the barn into a hunting lodge with storage for all the ATV's. Adjacent to Fall Creek Gorge property owned by State of Illinois. More photos at http://www.facebook.com/217house. Call me.

February 2012 transaction data - Quincy

There were 31 Quincy closings in Jan 2012 and 28 in Jan 2011.


According to MLS tonight, March 1, there were 29 closings in Quincy during February 2012. The Median Sold Price was $85,500, the least expensive home was $34,000; the High Price was $310,000. The Average Price was $111,282.Of the 29 closings 4 were above $200,000, 4 more above $125,000.

For February one year ago, there were 35 closings; 4 above $200,000; 8 above $125,000. The Median Sold Price was $105,000 and the Average was $126,000, with a higher high and a lower low - $464,900 vs $15,000.

There are 246 active Quincy listings today which at thirty closings per month is about an 8 month supply. That favors the buyers. However, homes priced to sell went as quickly as 18 days. Average days on market is currently 100 days. There are 69 properties in contingent status.

All in all, we are about the same as last year. The market small so the difference between 29 closings in Feb this year versus 35 in Feb last year may NOT be significant. We'll see if the trend continues.

For a house or land in Quincy and Adams County, call me!

Retiring? Think Quincy Illinois and the Good Life

Check this out ... and other homes like these are for sale ... at very reasonable prices! <http://www.seequincy.com/PrivateHomeTours_Gallery.pdf>

(Note: you may need to view link at 100% size to open. Mine needs to be changed from 102% to 100%, then it pops up.)

The 20 Quincy Illinois homes on the attached link just scratch the surface. Quincy and the surrounding villages and farms offer hundreds of choices. Amazing architecture, plenty of room and reasonably priced. Quincy and the surrounding environs are a great place to retire to - a small Midwest university town with great medical facilities and easy drive (or short hop by air) to St. Louis. Compared to the big city there are virtually no crowds, no traffic, or crime, and a slower pace, but great restaurants, museums, and music with four seasons and welcoming Midwestern people.

As for historic houses, the area has plenty. Real stone masons and brick masons and wood workers, most from Germany, completed hundreds of homes for well known architects at the turn of the 19th century for the lumber and brewing barons of the day. Some need nurturing, some have simply been preserved. Many have all the latest amenities in addition.

See one you want that isn't listed? I'll knock on the door and ask if its available.

Tired of all those years in Vegas, LA, or the big city where you are? Looking for a pleasant change?
If you are looking to retire, you should check this out! Call me.

We are Now Taking Listings for 2012

Here is my new Listing Flyer just to remind folks that I have done this before.

Often in Quincy and rural Adams County there may not be comparable sales within a few blocks or even a few miles. A house near Payson may be very similar to another that sold in or near some other Adams County town. Likewise, yours may be the only home like it on your street, but there will be a comparable house within a reasonable distance. Even then, the house must be priced "in the market" in order to sell.

This said, lenders may still rely on appraisals that may not be able to fit your house into their rules. That doesn't mean a buyer won't want it at a reasonable price, but it may mean they'll need more cash if the appraisal comes in low. That buyer just takes longer to find.

Houses are so unique here that sometimes you have to think outside the box.

Call me!

Quncy Residential Sale Data - Prices trending UP!

It appears from Quincy MLS stats that residential sales for the past year, 2011 (660 units), have fallen slightly from the preceding year, 2010 (671), a difference of 2%. The good news is that Average Prices have risen 4%, from 120K to 125K, and Median Price (half the sales above and half below this mark) has risen 7% from 98K to 105K. Median price bodes well for sales in the higher end. Residential inventory has FALLEN 11% from 1565 to 1400 units!

(Photo - Seymour home, Payson, circa 1880)

Things look healthier than I thought. My own informal research from the open house at 3125 Rutledge Place indicates that there is plenty of buyer interest. On three consecutive weekends from 1 to 3 PM, I have consistently had over a dozen people through each Sunday. Most are shopping for a home this spring and some have a house to sell first.

3125 Rutledge Place is a move-in ready 3 bed room house in the under $100,000 category.

If you want to buy an investment rental, downsize, or get a bigger place, spring 2012 is looking good.

Call me!

If Bank-Owned Houses were Rentals

If all the bank owned properties could just be turned into rentals, the idea goes, what a wonderful world it would be.

(Photo by Jim Meinbendir: a great Quincy home listed with Rodemich & Sons LLC by a private owner on Rutledge Place that would be perfect for you!)

If you own investment property, go to Google News and look up "REO" plus "rental" and see what you get. One of the recent posts is http://www.housingwire.com/2012/01/11/the-fight-over-bernanke-reo-rental-plan-shows-political-divide. This article says the government doesn't have a clear strategy for real estate. You knew that I think. We must remember, when the elephants dance or make love, the ants take a heck of a beating and they seem to be trying to decide which to do. If they double the number of rental properties available, what happens to rental income in the Southwest?

This won't affect Quincy, Illinois, very much because bank owned properties are rare here, about 1 in 60 homes, more or less. But, if you, like some of my clients, own houses for lease in Las Vegas, Phoenix, etc, you might want to pay close attention.

If the legislators push the idea through, the bloom is probably off the rental investment rose in foreclosure ridden cities like Vegas. Quincy, Illinois, missed the boom, the bust, the crime, the traffic, etc. It is not the land that time forgot, but it is a beautiful, Midwestern University town with housing prices so low that attractive ROI's can be realized. Call me!