I’ve seen a lot of folks predicting a lot of things about the housing market. First, know that real estate is local. Market conditions in other parts of the country will change differently than our area. I feel it’s impossible to “peg” the market in general as far as what’s going to happen. However, in our area, I see a lot of optimism for this year. Let’s take a look at the factors:

There hasn’t been a lot of market activity over the past couple years. Buyers have been waiting for a good deal. Foreclosures are moving briskly but there’s an ever-plentiful supply. This has made it difficult to impossible for existing home owners to move. This pressure has created pent-up demand in the market.

Mortgage rates are extremely low right now. Close to the levels they were back in 2005 before Greenspan messed them all up. Lenders have tightened restrictions but those that can buy will be getting a good deal on loan rates.

There is increasing national attention being put on the housing crisis and the extreme number of foreclosures. The government may be stepping in at some point this year to stem the tide of foreclosures. Once the foreclosures slow, values will begin to rise.

Rentals are now getting harder to find and rent prices are rising. Rent prices are now getting higher than the cost of owning a condo or single-family home. This increases the number of buyers in the market as renters decide it’s better to buy than pay more in rent.

We’re now entering the spring market - a naturally busy time. This should reduce inventory as buyers begin to take up the slack. If the number of foreclosures begins to slow, we’re going to see a further reduction in inventory for the fall. This points to the possibility of an uptick in the market beginning this fall. I predict conditions will remain flat during the spring and summer as the existing inventory begins to be eaten up by buyer demand but this fall we should see a slightly better market.

What does this mean for home buyers? If you haven’t yet entered the housing market, now is the time. You want to buy when the market is at or close to bottom - not after it has started to recover. If you’re looking for the point at where there’s the biggest inventory at the lowest prices, put yourself in the position to purchase this spring and summer.

In today’s tough seller’s market, homeowners are looking for as many ways as they can to make homes stand out of the crowd. During the winter months, many sellers focus on the interior of a home to make it stand out. While the ground is blanketed in a thick layer of snow, improving the exterior of the home doesn’t make a lot of sense. Many buyers don’t linger outside and other features like a patio or deck are difficult to sell as important features when they’re unusable. However, as spring arrives, sellers must shift gears and the exterior of the home often becomes its biggest seller.

As the weather starts to warm here in Aurora and surrounding Fox Valley communities and the snow starts to disappear, homes that have particularly nice exteriors begin to shine. If your home features a big yard, beautiful garden, nice patio or deck and other fun summer features such as a three-season room, you are now entering the best time to show off these important assets. Perhaps one of the best ways to do this is through landscaping.

Landscaping, when done properly, is one of the easiest, most cost-effective way to get your home to stand out and also perhaps one of the biggest factors in creating buyer interest. It’s no secret that “curb appeal” can make or break a sale right from the beginning. As spring approaches, sellers should be carefully planning out how to use landscaping to help generate potential buyers.

The biggest dividends in helping a home look “homey” can often be some of the cheapest - flowers. Almost everyone loves the look of a nice bed of growing flowers around the home, even if they don’t particularly like to garden. If your home doesn’t have any ready places to plant flowers around the outside of the home, a good investment would be several hanging or free-standing pots full of nice bright spring flowers spaced strategically around the entrance. If you have flower beds, now is the time to make sure the leaves are cleaned out and a fresh bed of mulch is laid.

If you have a patio or deck, consider bringing out the patio furniture even if it’s still a bit too cold to enjoy. These spots are also great locations for plants - either potted or planted around. Make sure they are kept clean and neat at all times. A patio or deck can be a huge asset when selling a home.

I have personally toured the new community of Verona Ridge in Aurora several times. Verona Ridge by Orleans Homes offers luxury homes in a serene community surrounded by woods priced from the low 400’s. I have just received word this week that Verona Ridge has just started liquidating it’s current models and will be designing brand new models for this fall going forward. These new models are expected to bring the entry price for homes in Verona Ridge down into the 300’s - a plan that Orleans Homes likely hopes will spur additional interest in the community. This move is a bit suprising because these model homes are brand new this year but the current market has led many builders to change plans in order to create additional interest to offset flagging sales.

For current buyers who are looking for quick-delivery homes between $500,000 and $850,000, this opens up at least three beautiful homes for consideration. With prices slashed deeply on these homes, they represent an excellent opportunity for a few lucky buyers to get option-packed model homes at a discount. For additional information on these and other quick-delivery homes being offered by Orleans Homes in Verona Ridge, you can call me directly at 630-346-1041.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve received more rain than I can remember here in the Fox Valley. It wasn’t as un-relenting of a deluge as the Century Rain of 1996 where we got 17 inches in 24 hours, but it was a consistent build up of rain over the course of perhaps a week or so. There were several smaller violent storms that blew through causing wind damage to certain areas and dropping trees throughout the region.

The majority of the worry that many homeowners in the area have felt has been due to the water. Many of the Fox Valley communities are river communities. There are several large waterways that run through the area including the Fox River and DuPage River. River levels were running at decade-high levels and in some cases spilling over bridges and banks and flooding lowland areas. Another issue has been the that when you have that much constant rain, storm sewers can become clogged or just overwhelmed.

For the last week, we’ve seen a reprieve in the rain - there has been several dry days and the water levels have fallen drastically giving homowners a chance to clean up and dry out. Perhaps one of the most prevalent issues people experienced during the rain was water in the basement. If you are a Fox Valley homeowner dealing with water in the basement, the first thing you need to do is protect your belongings - get them up out of the water and get them dry. Next is pumping out the standing water and cleaning up the debris and finally, a good humidifier is a requirement. Remember, concrete is porous and retains its moisture well. Moisture is a good breeding ground for molds and other fungus. You need something to take the excess moisture out of those spaces.

Despite the spring season, traditionally a hot time for sellers, it remains a buyers market in the Fox Valley. One of the biggest trends in Aurora real estate and Naperville real estate right now is the large amount of inventory for sale right now. Basically, there are much more homes for sale than buyers. This is perhaps not due to the fact that there are significantly less buyers now than in previous years (excepting 2006) but we also have a lot of long-term inventory on the market. These are the homes that were originally put on the market in 2006 and are either continuing to be listed or have been put back on the market after being removed over the winter season. The end result is that there are more homes to go around, more selection for buyers and the end doesn’t look like it’s in sight. This is great news for buyers - the selection continues to be great along with falling prices and interest rates are actually going down this summer from levels that are already considered good. If you are a buyer in this market, you can expect to get a good deal on a home. However, it’s important to also be realistic. There are a lot of buyers out there that have dreams of getting a great home at 20% under market values. While getting a great deal on a home is a definate possibility, buyers have to remain reasonable and understand that except in extreme cases, most sellers are not going to give a home away. However, if the buyers remain savvy and get good advice from their REALTOR, getting a great deal is almost assured.

The Edgebrook Estates Subdivision is a small group of homes just south of Arrow Wood Subdivision on the west side of the city. Numbering perhaps 25 or 30, the homes of Edgebrook Estates feature expansive floorplans, modern features and reasonable values. Perfect for homeowners on the go, Edgebrook Estates homes are located close to the center of the west side of Aurora. Edgebrook Estates is also conveniently located closeby I-88, and Galena Blvd. Perhaps one of thie best features of this Aurora subdivision is the relative value of homes. Ranging in price from the high-$100,000s to the mid-$200,000s, homes in Edgebrook Estates represent both spacious recent construction and one of the best price-to-square-foot ratios in all of Aurora real estate. Located on the north side of Illinois just to the east of Randall Road, the area also features two small retention ponds and is close to area shopping.

I have just completed my feature page for the Aurora Subdivision known as the Rollingwood Colony Subdivision. This small group of attached homes is found in western Aurora and features perhaps 28 townhome-style homes. Although many of these homes feel like townhomes with attached garages, multi-story living and vaulted ceilings, this is actually a condominium community which means it’s perfect for owners who don’t want the hastle of exterior maintenence (lawns, siding, etc). These newer homes were built between 2004 and 2005 and many feature brick exteriors, small porches and patios, nice landscaping as well as luxyry interior features such as vaulted ceilings and gourmet kitchens. If you are shopping for an attached-style home in western Aurora, take a look at these spacious condos - between 1200 and 1600 square feet - from the high 100’s to the mid 200’s.

Just finished looking at the figures for December and things were looking fairly bad for detached single-family homes in Aurora. The good news is, the number of homes on the market dropped significantly (1,304 - 1,127) and number of homes sold rose (130 - 134). However, sales data shows a $21,250 drop in median home sales figures for the month of December - the lowest its been since January of 2005.

Attached single-family homes did much better in December - actually posting a median increase in sales figures from $170,875 to $175,000. Likewise, inventory also dropped but the number of sales flattened slightly as well - going from 68 in November to 64 last month.

For more information about Aurora Real Estate Market Trends - visit my website to download the graphs and raw data.

As the weather in Aurora, Illinois is very mild and looks to remain so for the next few days, tomorrow I’m going to be taking down our outdoor Christmas decorations. For those who are selling aurora real estate, now is the time to do the same. There is nothing that screams “I don’t care about my home” more clearly than Christmas decorations up until Easter. So, if you have time over the next few days, do the same. It will help keep your home from looking like a holiday hangover.