From The Mayor's Desk...

Property Values In Riverwoods

There is great concern in our community and throughout the country as to the condition of the real estate market. The National Association of Realtors recently announced that 2006 was the 5th best year in real estate. Despite this fact, 2007 was the first year in recent history that home values declined.

Property values in Riverwoods however, are still among the highest in the nation, I thought a few hard facts would be of interest to everyone in our community as to what home values have been and currently are. Below is a comparison of sales for existing homes for the past 9 years:

Year		Average List Price		Average Sales Price		% of L.P. to S.P.		Average Market Time		Number of Homes Closed
1999		$530,704		$500,313		94%		86 days		69
2000		557,118		532,536		96%		61 days		58
2001		691,139		660,139		96%		140 days		58
2002		675,365		638,032		94%		67 days		58
2003		739,717		690,725		93%		163 days		58
2004		883,126		829,990		94%		107 days		51
2005		967,964		913,750		94%		130 days		65
2006		991,324		936,516		94%		126 days		49
2007		940,585		864,129		92%		130 days		34

The average sales price in Riverwoods has gone up 73% since 1999, but dropped 8% in 2007 as compared with 2006. The number of home sales closed per year has dropped from an average of about 56 homes to 34 homes. This drop has left a number of homes unsold or taken off the market.

All the reports predict a slow market for 2008 despite the low interest rates. A turnaround is not expected until 2009. In the meantime, homes are still selling if they are priced right.

As of February 12, 2008, for the year 2008, there were 41 homes on the market with an average market time of 207 days and an average list price of 1,213,464. Seven homes listed under contract and one home closed.

Historically, in my 50 years in the real estate business, when the market finally turns around, home values rise rapidly.

Sincerely,

William S. Kaplan, Mayor

William S. Kaplan, Mayor
Phone 847-945-3990 x 25
williamskaplan@comcast.net

Serving the Village since 1995

	Redevelopment Project Area Boundary (PDF)
	Home Rule Presentation 2/21/06 (PDF)