The median sales price for Bourbonnais is $267000. This has increased by  6.8% since September 2022, which was $250,000. The average market time is 37 days. The average price per square foot is $147 compared to last year's figure of $139. This is an increase of 5.8%. At the end of September, there were only 25 homes actively on the market compared to 34 homes in September 2022. This is a decrease of 26.5%, with only a 1 month supply of inventory. The inventory is down 16.7% from last year. If you would like to discuss your home value, please contact me at 815.790.1646. To listen to the full report with the results for Kankakee County, click the link below

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Interior designers have great ideas to make your home look more expensive, while real estate professionals know how to make your home more appealing to homebuyers. You can take advantage of both worlds of experience to sell your home faster and for more money.

The best interior designs reflect the beauty and character of the home’s origins, whether you have a Tudor, Cape Cod, or contemporary home. Your interior design should be cohesive, intentional, and well edited from room to room. It may take some remodeling to both the exterior and interior to get the tasteful results you want, but it’s well worth it. 

To make your home look more expensive and appealing to homebuyers, consider the following:

• Conceal all wiring and cables in boxes, inside walls, and in crown moldings, wainscotting, and shoe moldings.
• Mix in elements like metal, ceramics, wood, and fabric to make each room’s décor more appealing.
• Hang drapes from the ceiling for an elegant, elongated look.
• Neutral décor in beige, white or gray is ideal, but to keep it interesting, add a lot of texture through rugs, fluffy bedding, pillows, and upholstery.
• Fine oil paintings and area rugs help provide focus points as well as pops of color. But take them with you on moving day!
• Update the electrical panel, increase the outlets, and upgrade switch plates.
• Replace carpet with hardwood floors, or affordable engineered wood.
• Arrange a vase of fresh flowers in the living area.
• Use apps for picture, light fixture, rug and drape placements.

In 2022, housing inventory dropped to its lowest since 1999, causing many homebuyers to become discouraged by rapidly rising prices and too much competition. By mid-year 2022, home prices began to moderate on rising mortgage interest rates. As the Federal Reserve continued to battle runaway inflation, homebuyers pulled back slightly, but so did home sellers who declined to sell high and buy another home at a much higher price and mortgage interest rate. New home construction lags demand by the millions, exacerbating housing shortages.

So, what’s changed? With mortgage interest rates that have risen to the point that 7% is “the new normal,” the housing market is reacting in surprising ways. Despite slower sales and lower prices throughout the first half of 2023, there are currently three offers for every home on the open market, according to Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of REALTORS^®, suggesting that homebuyers are shrugging off higher interest rates.

Housing market analyst Black Knight says that housing sales could be on the verge of a resurgence and that housing prices will move higher in certain regions. Year-over-year, home prices are down 0.1%, but the reheating of the housing market is already underway in 27 of the 50 largest markets at or above their previous home price peaks, say researchers.

Ask your Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices network professional to explain your local market conditions. Get prequalified for a mortgage loan so you can move quickly before home prices rise again before 2024. 

According to Solar-estimate.org, costs can vary depending on the climate where you live, what your local electrical provider charges for service, the type of solar system you install, how many stories your home has, and whether your roof needs repair or replacement before solar installation begins, among other factors.

The national home electricity cost is about 14.96 cents per kilowatt hours (kWh) according to solar energy research. Home solar systems have a national average price of $2.95 per watt of installed capacity, a cost of about $17,700 for a 6-kW solar system that generates 9,000 kWh of energy. Federal energy tax deductions can reduce your expense by about $5,310 to a net cost of $12,390, or about $300 on every $1,000 that you spend. Solar panels can last 25 years or more, saving you an average of $1,346on annual energy bills.

You can choose solar panels or solar roof tiles to make your home more energy-efficient, but both are expensive. Are either worth the cost? That depends on numerous factors. CleanEnergyAuthority.com explains that while solar panels are an older technology, they can be installed on more existing roof types. Solar roofs are currently more expensive, but experts believe costs will decline in the next few years, and that they’re best employed in new construction or as a total roof replacement.

Last, solar panels or roof tiles can improve the value of your home with a few years of useful life left for the homebuyer.