Elm Tree Village sales in 2007 - tough!

There is a unique and lovely townhouse complex in south Evanston called Elm Tree Village. Built in the mid-1950's, this collection of 36, 2 bed/1 bath red brick homes covers the length of an entire city block, from Washington south to Cleveland, along Dodge Avenue.

It is not unusual to see anywhere from 2-5 of these units to change hands in a year. But to experience 5 of them all on the market simultaneously? Wow. Each seller has a very different reason to be selling: one is relocating to Wisconsin to enter a graduate program at the University in Madison, another is moving to northern Illinois to be closer to the workplace, yet another is moving within the complex to gain the advantage of an updated kitchen and bathroom!

The significance of this glut of units for sale is this: the small pool of buyers who are interested in this type of property will pick off first one of these units, and waiting for the next buyer to step in and make an offer could potentially take many more weeks, if not months, given the slow market we are experiencing. Each of the units has its advantages and disadvantages, and each buyer will perceive those units very differently, depending on their preferences for end unit vs. being a "sandwich," updated kitchen and bath vs. original equipment, etc.

The somewhat happen ending is that suddenly, 3 of the 5 are under contract. The first one to go (contract dated June 12) was a surprise, imho, to most agents. The next contract did not happen until July 5, and then quickly another one on July 6.

Getting a home sold under these circumstances takes extra diligence; I worked the reverse prospecting tool very hard, stirring up energy and interest in my listing among the 5. Ultimately, it was the networking that paid off, bringing in a buyer.

More topics for another day.