Chicagoland Area Real Estate Blog & News

Questions You Should Ask in Agent Interviews

Four great questions to ask when you’re interviewing listing agents.


If you’re interviewing agents to sell your home, what questions should you ask? Of course, you want to ask about what’s important to you in an agent, but there are a few ideas you might not have considered.

One of the most important questions is, “How many homes have you sold personally?” New agents are trained to say how many homes the office has sold instead of their personal count. You want to figure out whether you’re working with an experienced agent or not.

Another great question is, “What’s your average list-to-sales price ratio?” If someone has a low ratio, that means they’re listing your property too high and selling it for too little. The average list-to-sales price ratio is 97.4%, so if they have a ratio of 95%, for example, that means their pricing strategy is less than ideal.

"Experienced agents will always get you more money."

You should also ask, “What type of marketing will you do to sell my home?” Most agents just put your home on Zillow or social media, but understand that these methods are pretty basic. You’re looking for someone who will do more to help drive people to your home.

Don’t forget to ask, “Who will I communicate with?” You won’t always connect with the person you’re hiring, and you might not always communicate as often or in the way you would like....

What’s Happening in Chicagoland Real Estate?

Here is your march 2022 Chicagoland real estate market update.


Let’s talk about the March 2022 real estate market in Chicagoland.

Our average sales prices went up significantly last month, almost 10%. The peak last month was $395,000. In February, the average sales price was $368,000. Our highest ever sales price was just over $400,00 in June 2021, so we are almost back to that same number.

This increase might seem weird since our interest rates just increased so much. However, understand that this average sales price is from properties put under contract 30 to 60 days ago, so they weren't affected by the increased rates. We anticipate that the average sales price will fall over the next few months.

"Our market should adjust over the next few months. "

The average days on the market went down to 58 from 66 in February. This is normal; the days on market always increases in January and February and decreases in March. It will probably continue decreasing as we head into summer.

The number of homes for sale is just over 12,000. A year ago, that figure was about 18,000. We have about a third fewer homes for buyers to buy. 15,000 new homes went on the market, and just over 12,000 properties went under contract. We’re putting inventory on the market, and it’s almost all selling immediately. Right now, we’re living in a low-inventory market, but that should change soon. There are fewer buyers...

Buying and Selling at the Same Time

Here are six options when buying and selling a home at the same time.


Recently, I’ve noticed a lot of sellers are excited to sell their homes, but they’re less enthused to buy. Since inventory levels are so low, I understand the concern. Don’t worry; if you’re looking to sell your home and buy a new one, you have options, and I want to go over a few of them with you today: 

1. Negotiate a long closing with your buyer. Instead of a typical 30-day close, try and have a 90-day one. In this seller’s market, many buyers are willing to accommodate this need. With such a long close, you should have plenty of time to find a new home.

2. Use a reverse contingency. In this scenario, you would insert a clause into your purchase agreement that makes your sale contingent on finding another home to buy. This is very convenient, but some buyers may not be interested in a house with one in place.

3. Negotiate a rent-back agreement. In this situation, you close on the house as normal, then rent the property back from your buyer while you look for a new home. These are increasingly popular, but some mortgages limit the amount of time you can rent the property from your buyer.

"Each option has its pros and cons. "

4. Find temporary housing. After your home sale, you could rent for a year and give the market time to settle. This option is popular with people who don’t know if they want to stay in their area since there...