‘Realistic’ sellers faring well in Lake Forest, Lake Bluff housing market

• Reprints

Updated: March 11, 2012 8:13AM

The real estate market is moving forward in Lake Forest and Lake Bluff, according to a presentation at the Gorton Community Center last week sponsored by @properties. While sales and prices are not at the peak levels of 2005, activity is picking up.

“I’m definitely encouraged,” said Deb Fischer of Koenig & Strey in Lake Forest, speaking a day after the gathering. “Realistic sellers who are willing to price properly for the market and negotiate aggressively with qualified buyers are selling their homes.”

In the past 12 months, 223 single family homes sold in Lake Forest, with 31 of those closing for more than $2 million. During the same time period, 100 single-family homes sold in Lake Bluff, with 13 of those selling above $1 million, according to Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED).

Since Jan. 1, 2011, 18 homes in Lake Forest and Lake Bluff combined have gone under contract with a list price of $3 million and above, an encouraging sign, Fischer said.

“Astute and well-informed buyers recognize value,” she said. “The combination of a value-priced home and historically low interest rates is compelling.”

In 2005, the best year for the two communities, 320 single family homes sold in Lake Forest, with 49 above the $2 million. In Lake Bluff in 2005, 147 homes sold, with 29 above $1 million, according to MRED.

Three years later, in 2008, sales of single-family homes in Lake Forest dropped to 148 — less than half the 2005 level, with 16 above the $2 million mark. In 2009 in Lake Bluff, that community’s slowest year, 67 single-family homes sold, according to MRED.

‘Do it today’

Peter Moulton of @properties of Lake Forest, a newcomer to the Lake Forest/Lake Bluff real estate scene, told more than 100 attendees at the market presentation at Gorton that the spring market will be busy.

“If you’re going to put your house on the market in the spring, don’t do it in May. Do it today to get ahead of the rush,” he cautioned.

Moulton noted, however, that sellers must readjust their thinking with today’s economy in mind.

“It’s incredibly important you come in with realistic expectations” in terms of pricing, he said.

Citing Zillow market research, Moulton said prices are down 41 percent in Lake Forest from their peak in 2005 and down 43 percent in Lake Bluff.

“There are pockets of inventory — in the $700,000 to $900,000 range — where there are not enough houses” for sale, he said. “At $2.5 million, there is a glut of inventory.”

Moulton also cautioned that “33 percent of contracts fail today based on appraisals,” he said. “Appraisal companies are under extreme pressure to correctly value a home.”

That’s why he suggests sellers have an appraisal done before they put their house on the market to get an unbiased opinion of what the home is worth and what can be done to boost its appeal.

“If there is no price reduction, a home will sell at 93 percent of its asking price,” he said. “If there is one or more price reduction, that drops to 83 percent.”

A home under contract appraised for lower than the price offered is one of the main reasons for home sales to fall through today, he said.