Exciting news for Schaumburg – I know I just wrote about the Woodfield Mall and the surrounding shopping district - well we are soon to get an exciting addition to the restaurant offerings just across the street!

A Seasons 52 is to open next month on May 10th here in Schaumburg!

Orlando, Florida based restaurant group, Darden, owners of Oliver Garden, Red Lobster et al, is to open a Seasons 52, another part of its group, the popular fresh grill and wine bar restaurant will be the first the group have opened in the midwest. The restaurants itself include a warm, welcoming atmosphere with fresh, seasonally inspired cuisine. There is live music nightly at the piano bar and a selection of 100 wines. Seasons 52 debuted in 2003 and currently operates locations in Florida, Georgia, New Jersey and Pennsylvania and its new location in Illinois will certainly please many!

For those who have never dined at a Season’s 52 here is a selection of items from the menu:

Menu highlights include:

Year Round Favorites – Cedar Plank Atlantic Salmon, Grilled Rack of New Zealand Lamb, Caramelized Sea Scallops and Char Crust Filet Mignon and more!

Seasonal Specialties – Chicken Tortilla Soup, Steak & Cremini Mushroom Flatbread, New Zealand Venison Chop, Blackened Mahi-Mahi and Wood-Roasted Pork Tenderloin

Lunch Selections – Spicy Chicken Chile Relleno, Mediterranean Shrimp Salad, Blackened Fish Sandwich, BBQ Grilled Chicken Salad and Oak-fired Western Buffalo Burger

Award-Winning Mini Indulgences – Perfectly portioned servings of Key Lime Pie, Pecan Pie with Vanilla Mousse, Mocha Macchiato, Old-Fashioned Carrot Cake, Rocky Road with Belgian Chocolate, Mango Cheesecake, Market Fresh Fruit and Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse

It all sounds delicious and shows that Schaumburg and the region as a whole are an area on the grow!

Whether you are a first time buyer trying to determine how much you can afford, or an experienced buyer who is selling your current property and ready to buy your next home I can help you with all your real estate needs in the Chicagoland Northwest Suburbs Area.

Finding your dream home or finding a buyer is only part of the challenge of a successful transaction. Click here to search Bartlett IL, Schaumburg IL and the Hoffman Estates using our complimentary MLS Search service. You can also view our fantastic range of featured properties!

Alternatively please contact me today if you need more specific assistance in your real estate needs. You can call the office on: 847-874-6731 or Cell phone on: 847-913-2606 or of course email me at: Joe@JoeStacy.com

My expertise, experience and dedication to you and your specific needs are anything but average – it’s why this office is number one in the Northwest Suburbs year after year!

Joe Stacy
2570 W. Schaumburg Rd
Schaumburg, IL 60194

NEWS JUST IN REGARDING HOME SALES DATA FROM NAR:

While home sales in January slowed, home sales are still way above January 2009 levels!

Nationwide existing home sales dropped 7.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate1 of 5.05 million units in January from a revised 5.44 million in December, but remain 11.5% above the 4.53 million-unit level in January 2009.

As expected it is the delay between shopping for a home and closing on a home that has caused the slight drop.

However, more excitingly again is the news that the level of inventory fell again, this time by 0.5% to 3.27 million existing homes for sale which represents a 7.8 month supply at the current sales pace. Raw unsold inventory is 9.6% below a year ago and is the lowest since March 2006!

Spring is around the corner and sales activity should pick up dramatically in that time as the extended tax credit it taken advantage of. Particularly as buyers are realizing that values are firming up as the inventory at the bottom of the market is snapped up!

The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $164,700 in January, unchanged from a year earlier. Distressed homes, which accounted for 38 percent of sales last month, continue to downwardly distort the median price because they typically are discounted in comparison with traditional homes in the same area. Also, it was noted that first time homebuyers represented 40% of home sales in January while investors accounted for 17% of sales. Buyers shopping for homes also increased 9.4%.

With rates still around the 5% range it is no surprise that an increase in home sales is expected.

Here in the midwest home sales only declined 6.9% but are 8% higher than January 2009.

What is for sure is that buyer interest in the Northwest Chicagoland area is increasing. With exciting times ahead buyers should get in touch to purchase that great home today!

Whether you are a first time buyer trying to determine how much you can afford, or an experienced buyer who is selling your current property and ready to buy your next home I can help you with all your real estate needs in the Chicagoland Northwest Suburbs Area.

Finding your dream home or finding a buyer is only part of the challenge of a successful transaction. Click here to search Bartlett IL, Schaumburg IL and the Hoffman Estates using our complimentary MLS Search service. You can also view our fantastic range of featured properties!

Alternatively please contact me today if you need more specific assistance in your real estate needs. You can call the office on: 847-874-6731 or Cell phone on: 847-913-2606 or of course email me at: Joe@JoeStacy.com

My expertise, experience and dedication to you and your specific needs are anything but average – it’s why this office is number one in the Northwest Suburbs year after year!

Joe Stacy
2570 W. Schaumburg Rd
Schaumburg, IL 60194

Exciting news for us here in Bartlett, Schaumburg and Hoffman Estates!

The real estate market has long been tooted to have started its road to recovery and the facts and figures back this up.

January 2010 housing sales declined a little from Decembers but remain above a year ago (January 2009) with the price trend continuing to improve with HOME PRICES UP 7.9% FROM A YEAR AGO!

A report by REAL Trend show the housing recovery slowing in unit sales while prices climb in biggest monthly gain in nearly three years. Unit sales up 8.6% in January 2010 over January 2009 while average price of homes sold jumps 7.9% for largest year over year gain in nearly three years. This is very exiting news! Existing home sales rose 8.6 percent across the nation in January 2010 compared to the same month in 2009 – and, sales units were up 17.1 percent over December 2008!

Here in the midwest things were encouraging with the number of home sales however, with unit sales up 9.6 percent over the same month a year ago.
 
The decline in January from the December unit sales rate was expected, due to the extension of the tax credit from November 2009 to April 2010.

Now it appears the only way is up for the numbers – stay tuned for more as it develops!

Whether you are a first time buyer trying to determine how much you can afford, or an experienced buyer who is selling your current property and ready to buy your next home I can help you with all your real estate needs in the Chicagoland Northwest Suburbs Area.

Finding your dream home or finding a buyer is only part of the challenge of a successful transaction. Click here to search Bartlett IL, Schaumburg IL and the Hoffman Estates using our complimentary MLS Search service. You can also view our fantastic range of featured properties!

Alternatively please contact me today if you need more specific assistance in your real estate needs. You can call the office on: 847-874-6731 or Cell phone on: 847-913-2606 or of course email me at: Joe@JoeStacy.com

My expertise, experience and dedication to you and your specific needs are anything but average – it’s why this office is number one in the Northwest Suburbs year after year!

Joe Stacy
2570 W. Schaumburg Rd
Schaumburg, IL 60194

Going to the park is something which we all enjoy, whatever our age – if we are young it is to have fun, meet up with friends and play. When we are older it is to relax or to keep fit – lets face it, I know we could all still lose a few pounds after the holidays!

Well here in Schaumburg we have an excellent parks system which helps add to the aesthetic quality of the city.  In fact, the parks system is quite literally, award winning! From the park directory you can see that there are dozens and dozens of parks which are managed by them – from a skate park to a ball field, through to an ice rink!

In addition to parks and other outdoor recreation areas it also looks after several community centers - which are used for many different events. Speaking of events, don’t forget that you can locally tune in to their cable tv station!

You may wonder why a park is important? Well, any community facility is sought after and in the case of parks they really add to the small town community spirit and help attract those relocating from areas which lack green space. Here in Schaumburg, we are lucky to have such beautiful green space to enjoy and use on a regular basis. So if you are looking for a property in Schaumburg near to a park then call me and I will help you in your search.

Whether you are a first time buyer trying to determine how much you can afford, or an experienced buyer who is selling your current property and ready to buy your next home I can help you with all your real estate needs in the Chicagoland Northwest Suburbs Area.

Finding your dream home or finding a buyer is only part of the challenge of a successful transaction. Click here to search Bartlett IL, Schaumburg IL and the Hoffman Estates using our complimentary MLS Search service. You can also view our fantastic range of featured properties!

Alternatively please contact me today if you need more specific assistance in your real estate needs. You can call the office on: 847-874-6731 or Cell phone on: 847-913-2606 or of course email me at: Joe@JoeStacy.com

My expertise, experience and dedication to you and your specific needs are anything but average – it’s why this office is number one in the Northwest Suburbs year after year!

Joe Stacy
2570 W. Schaumburg Rd
Schaumburg, IL 60194

Now is the Time to Invest in Schaumburg IL Real Estate

Hindsight is always 20/20, but if people knew, absolutely knew, the exact time to buy stocks, real estate, or any other investment, financial worry wouldn’t exist.

I may not know what the future holds, but I do know that people who are looking to invest in Schaumburg real estate should invest now. 

Interest rates won’t be this low forever, and the Northwestern Suburban real estate market has either already hit the bottom, is about to, or is already on its way up – of course, we will only know for certain sometime in the future. If you really want to buy near the bottom, don’t wait until it’s too late. 

Give me, Joe Stacy, Schaumburg IL real estate agent a call and I will help you invest today. Phone me at 847-874-6731 or contact me by email.

Holiday Wonderland Festival in Schaumburg IL (photo courtesy of uriel1998 on flickr.com)

The Schaumburg IL Community Recreation Center will be hosting the annual Holiday Wonderland Festival this year on December 12th from noon to 3pm. 

This fun Schaumburg IL family fun event will feature holiday games, toys, entertainment, and prizes.  Children will have a chance to get their picture with Santa and Ms. Claus, make their parents a present at the arts & crafts station, and ride on the kiddie train. 

Come support this Schaumburg IL community event by pre-registering your child for $6, or purchase the day of the event tickets for $8.  Parents and children under 2 are free. 

For more information on other Schaumburg IL community events or Schaumburg IL real estate, please visit my blog or contact me at (847) 874-6731 or by email.

A NW Suburban IL Real Estate Professional

Next time you are buying or selling your Chicagoland IL Northwest Suburban home, look to a NW Suburban IL real estate professional such as Joe Stacy. 

Joe Stacy has been in the Northwest Suburban real estate market for quite a while and knows the ins and outs of selling or buying real estate.  Joe Stacy’s areas of expertise are the following:

Joe Stacy, a Northwestern Suburban IL realtor, is available to help you with your Northwestern IL real estate goals.  For more information on buying or selling a Northwestern Suburban IL townhouse or home, contact Joe Stacy at 847-874-6731 or email him.

Blue Flowers in Schaumburg IL (photo courtesy of boliyou on flickr.com)

For the week ending November 10th, the Schaumburg IL real estate outlook is still considered the perfect buyer’s market.  The average listing price in Schaumburg IL is $242,960 which is up 0.5% or $1,165 compared to the prior week. 

The median sales price is $193,000 and is down from the same period last year 10.2% or $22,000.  Currently there are 534 Schaumburg IL homes for sale with 344 of those homes for sale are in some step of the foreclosure process. 

Home sales decreased 2% despite a 17.3% drop in average price per square foot for Schaumburg IL homes. 

Joe Stacy, a Schaumburg IL realtor, can help new Schaumburg IL home buyers find their perfect home.  Joe Stacy can be reached at (847) 874-6731 or by email.

Woodfield Mall, Schaumburg IL (photo courtesy of futureshape at flickr.com)

Without doubt, Schaumburg IL is a shopper’s paradise. 

This northwest Chicago suburb is the retail center thanks mainly to Woodfield Mall, which is one of the ten largest shopping malls in the US.  The IKEA store nearby is also a huge draw to homeowners, and if you are looking for a car, a drive along Golf Road will give you selection between all the major car manufacturers. 

All this shopping in Schaumburg IL also translates to not only convenience for Schaumburg IL homeowners, but also to lower property taxes due to the commercial real estate taxes, and a large budget for the Village of Schaumburg to provide better services to it’s residents. 

Needless to say, there are definite benefits to buying Schaumburg IL real estate. 

If you are in the market for a Schaumburg IL property, call Joe Stacy, a Schaumburg IL realtor.  Joe Stacy can be reached at (847) 874-6731 or by email.

This last Wednesday, the Senate approved an extended and expanded tax credit for home buyers. The First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit has been seen by many in the past years as a huge success nationwide and throughout Illinois. Its expiration on November 30 had many in the Chicago-land real estate industry feeling nervous about how that would affect the real estate industry as a whole. 

Luckily, those fears can now be put aside.  While the bill still has to pass through the House, which it is expected to do next week, is was overwhelmingly approved by the Senate in a 98-0 vote.

The new and improved tax credit is still for first time home buyers and will include:

• home buyers who have owned their current home for 5 years or more
• a credit increase up to $6,500 for current homeowners of 5 or more years
• the $8,000 credit will remain the same for first time home buyers, or home buyers who have not owned a home in the past three years
• an income restricted tax credit, regulating individuals that make more that $125,000 annually and couples that make more than $225,000 jointly
• the new home must be a primary residence and valued at $800,000 or less
• the property must be under contract to purchase by April 30, 2010
• the property must close by June 30, 2010.

The passing of this new and improved tax credit is good news on the Northwest Suburban home sales front and is expected to be the last tax credit offered for a long time to come. 

Joe Stacy, a Northwest Suburban realtor, can help you find the perfect Bartlett IL home, Schaumburg IL home, or Hoffman Estates IL home to take advantage of the new and expanded tax credit for home buyers.

Joe Stacy can be reached at 847-874-6731 or by email.