Cost of Living Calculator

Have you ever thought about relocating to a different part of the country, but were unsure of how it might effect your ability to maintain or enhance your current lifestyle? We all know that the cost of living in New York City or Santa Barbara or even Miami is probably at least as high as it is in Chicago's North Shore, but how about Ann Arbor or Walla Walla? Here's a tool from CNN and Money Magazine that could help you make some general conclusions about a distant location:

http://cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/costofliving/costofliving.html

Don't use this as your final decision-maker, but at least it can set you off on beginning that dream.

Ten Most Overpriced Places To Live

High home prices got you down? Well, remember, everything's relative. According to Forbes Magazine, the ten most overpriced housing markets are at least 1000 miles away from here. They based their results on factors like slowing job markets, cost-of-living, lagging salaries as well as the cost of home ownership. Try and guess which communities are on the list and then go to this link to see if you were correct:

http://realestate.msn.com/Rentals/Articleforbes.aspx?cp-documentid=648559

So... How's the Market Doing?

Time to take a look back at the month of May here on the North Shore. We thought it would be interesting to see how many properties came on the market in May (defined as a listing date between May 1 and May 31), and how many of them are already under contract (or perhaps even closed!) This is just a quick snapshot, covering the broad spectrum of property offerings: new construction, resale, a cancelled/new listing situation (ask your friendly realtor what that means!), etc. Generally speaking, it seems there is plenty of buying opportunity on the North Shore.

ROLL CALL:
Single family/ condo or townhome
(# under contract or closed) (# under contract/closed)

EVANSTON 10/ 193
(24, or 22.4%)/ (27, or 13.9%)

WILMETTE 84/ 4
(15, or 17.8%)/ (0)

KENILWORTH 4/ 0
(1, or 25%)/ (0)

WINNETKA 45/ 1
(8, or 17.7%)/ (0)

GLENCOE 26/ 5
(5, or 19.2%)/ (2, or 40%)

Life Expectancy...Home Appliances/Components Extreme Edition

This survey by Bank of America Home Equity and conducted by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) gives real world estimates of the life expectancy of a variety of home components. Some examples:

1. refrigerators 13 years


2. dishwashers 9 years


3. decks less than 20 years


4. gas range 15 years or more

See this article for more info:

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/real_estate/0703/gallery.home_longevity/index.html

Happy Memorial Day

One of the newest sports to reach our provincial midwestern shores is the frantic search for “slightly” less expensive gasoline for our gas guzzling second (third, forth, and fifth in some cases) homes. Many of us think nothing of driving several miles to save a nickel on every gallon. Here is a website that allows consumers to let their fingers do the walking:
http://www.chicagogasprices.com/map_gas_prices.aspx

Give it a try!

Love that "new house" feeling?

New construction abounds on the North Shore, just as in the City of Chicago. North Shore Home Advisors will pause briefly to list a limited number of them here. We can provide greater detail for our blog readers on any of them, of course, upon request. So for your consideration:

Mallinckrodt In The Park - a magnificent project to convert the former Mallinckrodt College into condominium residences. Located at 1041 North Ridge in Wilmette, prices range from

$349,000 to $1,990,000. This is an 180,000 square foot Italian Renaissance structure, part of Wilmette's community since 1918, originally a convent and college, and more recently associated with Loyola University. Sales are targeted to buyers of a minimum age of 62 years.

The 900 Chicago Avenue Condominiums - brand spanking new construction at the corner of Chicago Avenue and Main Street in southeast Evanston. Where once stood a bank, there is now a modern mixed-use project of small retail outlets and residential units on the five upper floors. Not all units are sold yet, still time to get in. Literally across the street from the Main Street Purple Line "L" train station and Metra station, and across the other street to a smorgasboard of dining establishments that include seafood, Japanese, Italian (Trattoria D.O.C. rules!) and Americana (the Lucky Platter is a fixture in Evanston - at least stop in for a look at the ambiance.). And did I mentioned the choclatier? Yummy!

And then we have the Winthrop Club at 1567 Maple in Evanston. It is being billed as not only an

elegant condominium building, but a decidedly "green" one. Winthrop Club has earned some 25 "credits" under the guidelines of the LEED rating system, developed by the United States Green Building Council. These credits were earned for sustainable site measures, water and energy conservation, characteristics of materials, resources and indoor environmental quality. Prices start in the $300's.

Moving up the Shore a bit to Wilmette, which has not seen a new construction project in quite some time, eventually there will rise from the former site of the Ford automobile dealership on Green Bay Road between Wilmette Avenue and Central, a lovely red brick mixed used project. The plans have just recently been approved by the Village of Wilmette, so details are sketchy right now. But North Shore Home Advisors have seen the renderings of the building designed by the architectural firm of Otis, Coglin, and Wilson, and we promise you will not be disappointed. It has a strong flavor of Prairie School of Architecture, and will be set back some distance from the sidewalks to avoid overpowering the block visually. The ultimate address for Metra commuters, this new condominium building will face the train station in Wilmette. Line up now to save your space!

And one more for today's blog, last but not least, is the elegant Winngate Condominium at 718 Green Bay Road. There are 13 planned units on three floors. Underground garage parking is featured, with choices of 1, 2, or 3 bedrooms. Each unit will have either a balcony or a patio.

Designed for people looking for a maintenance free lifesyle, there are only seven units still available for your consideration. Six units have already been pre-sold. The first occupancies are planned to begin in early September. Construction is well underway now, so drive by the site, and then stop into the Winnetka Baird & Warner office at 714 Elm Street to get more detailed information from the sales team for The Winngate. Please call ahead to ensure a private appointment time: 847-446-1855.

This is but a small sampling of what's "new" on the North Shore. We'll outline more in coming days. Happy shopping!

Glencoe – A Gem on the North Shore



There sits Glencoe, just north of Winnetka, south of Highland Park. It is a smaller community, some 8,762 souls according to the 2000 Census. But just as the other communities we have highlighted in our North Shore Home Advisors blog, this village has a rich history that has molded its character of today.

Back in the days of a wilder Chicago (have you read “Devil in White City” yet? You’ll know what I mean!), one Anson Taylor decided he needed some fresh air and peaceful days for his family; so he packed up and started exploring the shores of Lake Michigan to the north of Chicago. The year was 1835, and this young entrepreneur settled on a bluff overlooking the lake with his wife. Several children and a post office and a hostel and a general store later, Taylorsport became a waystation for travelers headed north, and west. Logging came to Taylorsport, and its pier was crucial in the transport of cord wood back to the big city a few miles to the south. Farmers came to Glencoe as well. We know the train lines were starting to run north to Milwaukee, and the travelers needed way stations, and the trains needed wood for their engines. Taylorsport would have been a natural site for a station, but the wise Anson Taylor denied the train lines any land on which to build a station as long as he could; a train station would have drained his stagecoach way station business!

But it was impossible to stop Progress. A wealthy retired physician, Alexander Hammond, became enchanted with the natural beauty of the young community and simply bought up some 520 prime acres of land with the intention of building a planned town. And he did just that! By 1869, the community was incorporated as “Glencoe” with some 150 residents. And now Glencoe boasts about the talented and famous folk who have either grown up there, or lived there: poet Archibald MacLeish, actors Bruce Dern and Lili Taylor, the “Hoover” in vacuum cleaners, advertising mogul Leo Burnett, and Judge James Wilkerson who put Al Capone in a compromised residence (that is to say, jail).

(Hollis Root house at 1030 Meadow Road, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright)

Visit Glencoe today and enjoy the varied architectural styles of its homes: the Ravine Bluffs subdivision from the genius of Frank Lloyd Wright, Tudor, Colonial, 1950’s Keck & Keck subdivision characterized by flat roofs and skylights, bi- and tri-levels, and into the glass and metal contemporaries of the 1970’s. New construction homes are also part of the residential fiber. Glencoe has a strong commitment to its architectural history, and empowers its Historic Preservation Committee which designates and certifies landmark homes on the basis of historical or architectural significance.

Downtown Glencoe is charming, and no parking meters deter the avid shopper or errand-runner. The public library on Park Avenue feels more like somebody’s elegant living room than a public gathering place. There are many specialty shops, banks, and eateries to satisfy every palate. (Enjoy a leisurely meal at “An Apple a Day,” one of our favorites.) And today there most assuredly is a train station for the commuters who enjoy a Metra ride to the city instead of driving their car. Is golf your passion? Glencoe wants you to know about the 18-hole course right in town. And the most lovely spot to spend a day anywhere in Chicagoland is the Chicago Botanical Gardens, located at the edge of the Edens Expressway at 1000 Lake Cook Road. A very special upcoming event at the Gardens is the Antiques and Garden Fair, April 20-22. Here is a link to the details. http://www.chicagobotanic.org/antiques/

Families with school-age children are pleased with their education choices: public schools that feed to New Trier High School, or private schools such as North Shore Country Day School in neighboring Winnetka.

Single family homes that are currently on the market in Glencoe range in price from $499,900 to $10,995,000 (a 2-acre restored 1930’s estate, with 9 bedrooms and 9 ½ bathrooms). Need something in a condo or townhouse? Glencoe has it all – condos from $196,000 and townhomes up to $839,900.

We hope this brief overview of Glencoe is enough to pique your curiosity about this lovely village. Come spend a day in Glencoe and expect to be charmed.