Listing broker is Helen Oliveri, Call 847-967-0022 for more information. Rarely available 5 bedroom brick Colonial Home in HWCC. Double French front doors provide a graceful entrance into this spacious 5 bedroom, 2.5 bath home with additional bonus room and 2-Story foyer. Features include a fabulous gourmet kitchen with center-island, a pantry closet and a wonderful eat- in area overlooking a custom cedar deck. 1st floor extended family room has a brick fireplace and a lovely private office with great space. Also, home features a separate living and dining room and a convenient first floor laundry/mud room with slate flooring. Main floor also has a 6 zone speaker system including outdoor speakers. This home is 1 block away from the wonderful new Heritage Oaks Park. This community has many amenities for complete lifestyle enjoyment. This is a home not to be missed. View the many pictures we have to offer at www.helenoliveri.com and call today to schedule a viewing of this property at 847-967-0022. This property is exclusively represented by The Helen Oliveri Team of Keller Williams Realty.

Looking to spruce up your home and wondering what will give you the most bang for your buck at resell time?

Install new fiber-cement siding. That cost an average of $13,382 and returned 80% of the investment, according to Remodeling magazine’s 2010 Remodeling Cost vs. Value survey, done in partnership with the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

Like every other renovation job though, it returned a lower percentage of its costs in added home value this year than it did in 2009.

In general, anyone planning a home remodeling will pay a lot more for the job than they will get back in return when they sell. Only 60% of remodeling costs in 2010 would be recouped by homeowners, the report said.

Exterior improvements mostly performed better than interior ones, owing to the necessity of maintaining a home’s “curb appeal.”

“In today’s buyers market, given the large inventory, where people have so much selection, it’s important to have the exterior catch the eye so they’re willing to step inside,” according to Lawrence Yun, chief economist for NAR.

The cost vs. value equation has been getting less attractive for years, but 2010 has seen a particular decline in the percentage of home improvement costs recouped.

On the average remodeling job, homeowners recouped 16% less value than they had in 2009, the steepest slide the survey has recorded in its nine-year history. This happened despite the fact that construction costs declined for the first time since 2004.

Adding a new mid-range bath, for example, returned nearly 100% of its approximately $15,000 cost back in 2003. Today, the same job costs more than $40,000 and only returns about half its cost.

In general, the more spent for a job, the lower the percentage of return. That’s apparent in comparing kitchen remodels.

A mid-range kitchen remodel costs nearly $60,000 and returns just 70% of that expense at resale. A high-end renovation adds just 60% of its $113,000 cost.

The lowest return of any job was for a midrange home office renovation, which cost an average of $28,888 and added $13,235, just 45.8%.

Low cost exterior improvements do well. An exterior steel door replacement return 102% of its $1,218 cost and new garage doors recoup 84% of theirs.

Two jobs tied for the best return on any midrange remodeling investment costing more than $10,000. Adding a wood deck or doing a minor kitchen remodeling, which involves replacing cabinet doors and counters, buying new appliances, sinks and faucets and repainting walls and trim et al, both recouped 72.8% of their costs.

Source cnn.com

Lovely end unit Townhome with 3 beds, 2.5 baths, fireplace, & patio. Move in ready, come & see this wonderful home today!  Buyer responsible for any/all compliances, escrows etc if required. All inspections/systems tests are at buyer’s expense. Offers require pre-approval & EM due in certified funds at acceptance. Addendum required after seller accepts offer. Cash deals require proof funds. Buyer to verify room count, PIN #’s, zoning, schools etc. View the many pictures we have to offer at www.illinoisforeclosuredeals.com and call today to schedule a viewing of this property at 847-967-0022. This listing is exclusively represented by the Helen Oliveri Team of Keller Williams Realty.

Lovely 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom duplex condominium in Dearlove Cove.  Unit features hardwood flooring and balcony with eat in kitchen.  Bring your buyer today and see this wonderful condo.  Buyer responsible for any/all compliances, escrows etc if required. All inspections/systems tests are at buyer’s expense. Offers require pre-approval & EM due in certified funds at acceptance. Addendum required after seller accepts offer. Cash deals require proof funds. Buyer to verify room count, PIN #’s, zoning, schools etc. View the many pictures we have to offer at www.illinoisforeclosuredeals.com and call today to schedule a viewing of this property at 847-967-0022. This listing is exclusively represented by the Helen Oliveri Team of Keller Williams Realty.

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Distressed properties may not be driving the spring home-selling market, but they can be considered a co-pilot.

Sales of existing homes in Chicago recorded their sixth consecutive month of year-over-year improvement in February, the first month of what is traditionally the start of the buying season. But for every 10 single-family homes and condominiums sold within the city last month, four were distressed properties.

Foreclosures, once dismissed as unseemly, are increasingly in upscale neighborhoods and in move-in condition, and their bargain-priced sales are causing a ripple throughout the market.

In the past six months, the median sales price in Chicago has plummeted 21.6 percent, to $176,500 in February from $225,000 in September, according to data from the Illinois Association of Realtors. For the Chicago area as a whole, the median sales price has dropped 17 percent, to $165,000 in last month from $199,000 in September.

Meanwhile, the Illinois Association of Realtors reported Monday that February sales of existing single-family homes and condos in the Chicago area rose 32 percent last month compared with the same month a year ago. It was the eighth consecutive month of year-over-year sales-volume improvement. Compared with a year ago, the median price fell 10.3 percent.

Within Chicago, sales posted a 41.5 percent increase in February over the year-ago period, representing a sixth consecutive month of year-over-year gains. Sales of Chicago condos rose 44 percent. The February median price for the city as a whole was down 19.3 percent year over year, and down 10.7 percent for condos.

The growing disconnect between sales volume and price is a concern for homeowners looking to list their home for sale this spring, real estate agents say.

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