My husband and I bought our home in the fall, and we are just now finding out what master gardeners the previous homeowners were. Perennials are popping up everywhere. My little dachshunds are running up and down the yard and in and out of the flowers. This may be one of my favorite springs ever. Our new home, mostly our new backyard and patio, brings us a lot of joy.
But, now to the topic of money: Do you regret buying in the fall? Don’t you wish you had waited until the market crashed? A friend of mine asked me this the other day. I couldn’t be more certain that the answer is “no.” We got a good deal on our home, and we love it. We weren’t buying to flip or to make an immediate profit. For us, buying a home had a financial dimension to it, but it was only one of many factors we considered. The number one consideration for us above all others was the neighborhood. Heck, we bought a home with the ugliest brown exterior you’ve ever seen. Ick! It’s awful. But, we loved the location of the home, the neighborhood, and the possibilities it offered us for a long-term enjoyable investment. (But, we are calling painters to have the exterior re-painted!). 
We are also glad we didn’t wait for a crash, because there is not going to be one, –at least not in the Barrington-Palatine-Inverness area and its immediate environs. What I expect is just more of the same: continued low appreciation for a couple years, then a return to normal appreciation.
There are misperceptions in the market today: people think that just because the volume of sales is way down, prices must be tumbling, i.e., down from previous years. However, so far, the median home sale price in the Chicago Metro area has been stable; for 2007, the median sale price increased 2.4% (cf. entry 2/24/08). And, even this March, when sales were down an abysmal 29% in the Chicago Metro area, the median sale price was still up 1.2% over last March.* There have been market crashes in different areas of the country and even in various areas of Illinois, but our pond-laden, berm-spotted neck of the prairie has been pretty stable.
This does not mean that there are no great deals in the market. There are! The inflated market of a few years ago is in a major correction, and this correction is causing a considerable amount of market flux and confusion that is not apparent in statistical averages. But, you have to be knowledgeable, lucky, and patient to get a great deal (cf. entry 1/18/08, Home Sale Anomalies in Barrington and Palatine). Regardless, however, some buyers care more about getting a coveted piece of property in an amazing neighborhood near their favorite schools than getting a bargain. “A good deal” is a very relative term.
Today, I estimate that my home is worth just a little more than what we paid for it in September. It may have gone up in value because of various remodeling projects we’ve undertaken, but for now that is the major force behind any substantial appreciation. Still, we feel fine about our investment. We don’t plan to move for a while. Life is good on the patio.
*All data from IAR News Release 4/22/08
Filed under: Barrington, For Buyers, General Real Estate, Inverness, Palatine, Regional News
