January 2014

I am happy to announce that for the first time since I've started recording Orland Park real estate sales statistics, 2013 brings increases in both categories - the amount of properties sold and average sale prices.  These increases were for both single family Orland Park homes and attached properties (condos and townhomes).

Not only were there increases, but there were double digit increases in the amount of properties sold as follows:

• 35.4% increase in the amount of single family homes sold in Orland Park in 2013 vs. 2012
• 34.4% increase in Orland Park condos and townhomes sold

A surprise statistic - average sale prices

I'm always kind of surprised each year with sale stats, although we've come to expect decreases in some of the data

My last post was about IL being tops on Realtor.com's home search in 2013.  The specific search was for Chicago's Old Town real estate and you can click the link to read all about it. IL once again is featured in another list, 15 states where deeply underwater foreclosures still remain.

The Washington Post states the following:

"The data measure underwater status by comparing the value of a home loan to the value of the home itself. A foreclosure was defined as “deeply underwater” when the homeowner owed at least 25 percent more than the value of the property. (The loan-to-value was 125 percent or greater.) A foreclosure with equity was defined as one where the value of the loan was equal to or smaller than the value of the home. (A loan-to-value

Real Estate Portals

Realtor.com used to be the #1 site for national real estate searches, but I believe it has been overtaken by Zillow and possibly a couple other real estate portals.  Of course, we always suggest using a local real estate site such as this one for the most accurate, updated listings, such as our Orland Park real estate page.  

What many people don't know is that websites like Zillow do not always have accurate information.  Even when an agent marks their listings as Sold they sometimes pop up again as Active listings at no fault of the listing agent.

Zillow and some other large real estate portals are also showing properties that are not for sale.  Zillow began what real estate professionals feel is a controversial practice of