Realtors hope buying trend continues

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Updated: April 2, 2012 1:55AM

The last few years haven’t been a great time to be a Realtor.

But recent reports indicate that things are starting to look up, and local Realtor and broker Budd Simons of ReMax County Line in Burr Ridge agrees.

“It’s going substantially better,” said Simons, a Realtor for 17 years and a broker in Burr Ridge for four.

Simons said he was counting on an upward turn when he chose to expand his office in June.

“The prices are still low,” he said, but houses are selling.

In January, Simon’s office closed on 11 homes.

“That’s not a bad month,” he said.

News for other local Realtors is equally good, with the Multiple Listings Service reporting slightly higher median and average prices on Burr Ridge properties sold in December 2011 as compared to December 2010.

While only 11 properties sold in Burr Ridge in the last month of 2011 — two fewer than the same month in 2010 — the median selling price was $355,000, up nearly 9 percent from $325,611 the year before, according to the MLS report.

Numbers recently released by Midwest Real Estate Data, however, indicate a dip in the median price as compared to the fourth quarter of 2010. The median price for homes sold within the 60527 ZIP code was down 4.9 percent on the Cook County side and 18.9 percent on the DuPage side.

The number of properties sold increased on both sides of County Line Road since the last quarter of 2010, according to the Midwest Real Estate Data report

With prices still relatively low and mortgage rates to match, it’s a good time to be a buyer, said Carrie Kenna, a Realtor with ReMax in Hinsdale.

“There are more people buying than I’ve seen in the past few years,” said Kenna.

She has been helping Andy Pillari and his family search for a new home in the area. Like many of Kenna’s customers, the Pillaris are not in a hurry.

“We’re going to be picky,” said Andy Pillari, whose job recently moved to Burr Ridge.

While he’s looked at a few homes in Burr Ridge, Pillari said he’s focusing his search on La Grange and Western Springs.

As it is for Pillari, the train tracks are a big draw for home buyers, Kenna said.

“The tracks are huge, as far as location goes,” Kenna said.

No matter where a customer is shopping, Simon said, it’s a good time to be in the market for a home.

“The prices are still low,” he said. “They’re never going to have another opportunity to buy something so inexpensive.”

Data released this month by the National Association of Realtors shows that home sales are on the rise, and have been for three consecutive months. The latest monthly data shows total existing home sales in December rose 5 percent from November.

That’s a trend that everyone in the real estate business hopes will continue.

Sarah Gordon of ReMax Elite in Hinsdale says there is more activity in the area these days and more opportunities for potential home buyers.

“The sales were lower in price, but there were more sales,” Gordon said. “I think people who are out there buying are looking for a deal and the houses that appear to be the deals are the ones that are selling.”

Gordon, who has 30 years’ experience selling homes in Burr Ridge, Oak Brook, Hinsdale, Clarendon Hills and Western Springs, sees a slow improvement. She says the number of showings are up and low interest rates have increased the number of interested buyers.

“It really is improving,” Gordon said of the real estate market. “I think sellers have become adjusted to the property values in their area and are more realistic.

“It is a buyers market. As long as we have the abundance of inventory that we have in all the areas, it will continue to be that way.”

Midwest Real Estate Data’s numbers show median home prices in the 60521 ZIP code rose 11.4 percent from the fourth quarter of 2010 to the fourth quarter of 2011.

The 60523 ZIP code saw a median home price drop of 10.1 percent during that same time, but the number of closed sales rose 11.5 percent to 29 sales in the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to the fourth quarter of 2010.

Gordon feels the market does have more properties to come as many people resorted to renting their homes rather than list them in a down market. This could flood the market and provide more options to individuals seeking to purchase a home in 2012.

“Even when the market does use up some of this inventory from foreclosures and short sales, there is still back-up inventory of people who chose not to sell their homes (at that time),” Gordon said. “People are more secure about the economy than they were a couple years ago.”

Free-lancer Steve Schering contributed to this report.