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Business & Tech

Are Housing Prices Down in Palos Hills? Depends on Where You Look

Housing prices in Palos Hills have fallen from 2007 through 2009, but they've shown signs of life in 2010. This is Part 2/2 in a series on the Palos Hills housing market.

Are housing prices falling or rising in Palos Hills? It depends on what statistics you cite.

The average housing sales price in the city fell steadily from 2007 through 2009, according to data from the Mainstreet Organization of Realtors. But the average housing sales price from January through July of this year actually rose when compared to the same period in 2009, though it was down from the 2008 numbers.

What isn't up for debate, though, is the importance of price for sellers trying to move homes in Palos Hills. David Dornbos, a real estate agent with RE/MAX Action, said that homeowners have to price their properties at the right levels today to even have a chance to sell their homes.

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"Today's buyer is pretty much looking for one of two things: They want a home that is move-in ready or they are looking for an incredible deal," Dornbos said.

This leaves sellers in Palos Hills with a decision: Do they spend money to update their kitchens and bathrooms, the rooms that buyers most want to see modernized, or do they leave their homes in as-is condition and price them accordingly?

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The worst decision that sellers can make is to both refuse to update their homes and to list them at prices that are too high for the current market, Dornbos said.

"Pricing is important in every market," Dornbos said. "But it's especially important in this market. If you overprice your home, you're not going to get many, if any, offers."

The average sales price for a single-family detached home in Palos Hills stood at $213,710 in 2009, according to the Mainstreet Organization of Realtors, a trade association serving real estate agents in suburban Chicago. During the same year, the average listing price of these residences was $227,060, meaning that in most real estate transactions in 2009 in Palos Hills, buyers chipped away about $13,000 from the list price.

The disparity between list price and final sales price was higher in 2008, according to the Mainstreet Organization. The average list price that year stood at $258,108, while the average selling price came in at $241,362, a difference of nearly $17,000.

In 2007, the average home in Palos Hills sold for $319,481 after being listed for an average price of $333,796. This was before the full impact of the housing crash hit, though.

The numbers vary slightly when looking at January through July of this year, according to the Mainstreet Organization of Realtors. During this period, the average sales price of a home in Palos Hills was $226,240.

During the same period in 2009, the average sales price came in at $205,770. That number stood at $234,135 in the same period in 2008.

Bill Hanson is both a resident of Palos Hills and an alderman for the city. His focus these days is on economic  development. He knows that the Great Recession and its painfully slow recovery has had a negative impact on the many small businesses in Palos Hills – the city is not known as a big-box city – and on housing values.

But like others here, he says that Palos Hills and its housing values are positioned well to rebound once the national economy gains momentum.

"People are attracted to Palos Hills. I think if people look at the education offerings for our students in their elementary years and junior high years, they'll find that we have some great options in Palos Hills," Hanson said. "We are close to retail. Palos Hills is close to all the big-box retailers in Orland Park and some other areas. We are close to interstates 55 and 294. And people buying homes here can live in a wide variety of areas. They can live up against the forest preserve or they can live in a typical suburban community. There are simply a good range of residences available in Palos Hills."

For those buyers in Palos Hills who do want to list their homes for the highest prices possible, Dornbos had one piece of advice: Update those kitchens and bathrooms. And to truly solidify interest among buyers, add or refinish hardwood flooring.

"Those are the key things to focus on," Dornbos said. "You need to have a home that's been updated if you want to get your price."

To read Part 1 of this 2-Part series click here.

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