Scoopin' Up September's Market Numbers... with MORALES!!

			Jul '11		Aug '11		Sep '11		Averages
St Charles
# Active			535		515		504		518
# Sold			62		57		43		54
MKT Time			191		178		200		190
Med Sold $			$399,500		$383,400		$332,000		371633
Geneva
# Active			257		237		213		236
# Sold			34		30		20		28
MKT Time			122		114		144		127
Med Sold $			$319,000		$288,000		$286,000		297667
Batavia									0
# Active			190		187		165		181
# Sold			29		25		16		23
MKT Time			177		184		151		171
Med Sold $			$259,900		$240,000		$233,500		244467
Elburn
# Active			110		114		103		109
# Sold			7		12		9		9
MKT Time			310		177		308		265
Med Sold $			$200,000		$247,000		$236,000		227667
Sugar Grove
# Active			86		87		74		82
# Sold			10		5		3		6
MKT Time			176		190		205		190
Med Sold $			$234,250		$230,000		$217,500		227250
Maple Park
# Active			37		33		29		33
# Sold			1		2		1		1
MKT Time			278		291		435		335
Med Sold $			$265,000		$114,500		$475,000		284833

Fun Facts about PUMPKINS ~

• In early colonial times, pumpkins were used as an ingredient for the crust of pies, not the filling.
• Pumpkins were once recommended for removing freckles and curing snake bites.
• Antarctica is the only continent that they won't grow in.
• The self proclaimed  pumpkin capital is in Morton IL,
  where you'll find the home of the Libby corporation's pumpkin industry.
• Pumpkins are not vegetables... they’re fruits!
• Around 90 to 95% of the processed pumpkins in the United States are grown in Illinois.
• The top ten pumpkin producing counties in Illinois are Tazewell, Kankakee, Mason, Logan, Will, Marshall, Kane, Pike, Carroll and Woodford.
• In early colonial times, pumpkins were used as an ingredient for the crust of pies, not the filling.
• Colonists sliced off pumpkin tops; removed seeds and filled the insides with milk, spices and honey. This was baked in hot ashes and is the origin of pumpkin pie.
• Native Americans flattened strips of pumpkins, dried them and made mats.
• Believe it or not, there are yellow, white, green, tan, red and blue pumpkins, out there.
• Pumpkin and/or pumpkin seeds are said to be home remedy for a variety of conditions such as acne, prostate problems and stomach ailments.

How do you mend a broken Jack-o-lantern?
With a pumpkin patch!

Why do jack-o-lanterns have stupid smiles on their faces?
You'd have a stupid smile, too, if you had just had all your brains scooped out!

What did one Jack-o-lantern say to the other?
Cut it out!

What's black, white, orange, and waddles? 
A penguin carrying a Jack-o-lantern.

Get the scoop on these local great pumpkin stands:

Norton's Produce, St. Charles, IL
Kuiper's Family Farm, Maple Park, IL
Sonny Acres Farm, West Chicago, IL
Goebbert's Farm, South Barrington, IL
Windy Acres Farm stand, Geneva, IL
Phillips Farms, Big Rock, IL
Heap's Pumpkin Farm, Minooka, IL
All Season's Apple Orchard, Woodstock, IL



--

Never pushy, just dependable. 

Diane Morales
Thank you for MOVIN' WITH MORALES!!
Keller Williams Fox Valley Realty
(630) 709.9882

Follow MOVIN WITH MORALES on Facebook!

"Leave" your old house and "fall" into a great new home today... with MORALES!

			Jun '11		Jul '11		Aug '11	Averages
St Charles
# Active			535		535		515	528
# Sold			67		62		57	62
MKT Time			237		191		178	202
Med Sold $			$330,000		$399,500		$383,400	370967
Geneva
# Active			258		257		237	251
# Sold			41		34		30	35
MKT Time			221		122		114	152
Med Sold $			$297,000		$319,000		$288,000	301333
Batavia
# Active			187		190		187	188
# Sold			39		29		25	31
MKT Time			123		177		184	161
Med Sold $			$275,000		$259,900		$240,000	258300
Elburn
# Active			117		110		114	114
# Sold			10		7		12	10
MKT Time			321		310		177	269
Med Sold $			$198,750		$200,000		$247,000	215250
Sugar Grove
# Active			80		86		87	84
# Sold			12		10		5	9
MKT Time			176		176		190	181
Med Sold $			$250,000		$234,250		$230,000	238083
Maple Park
# Active			40		37		33	37
# Sold			1		1		2	1
MKT Time			93		278		291	221
Med Sold $			$158,000		$265,000		$114,500	179167

"The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn." - William Shakespeare

"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world" - Albert Einstein

Strange and useless information about September...

September is National Chicken Month.
The poem “Mary had a Little Lamb” was published September 1st, 1830.
The Great Fire of London happened September 2, 1666.  (My birthday!!  Well, a few centuries later anyway!) 

Native American Day is always celebrated on the 4th Friday of September.
The US Treasury Department was established in September, 1789.
Band-Aids were invented in September.

September 11th, 1962 was the day the Beatles recorded their first single,”Love Me Do“.

September 12th is National Chocolate Milkshake

September 16th is National Play-Doh Day.
The 4th week of September is National Dog Week

Did you know the US Food Stamp Program was authorized by the US Congress as a program to distribute surplus food to poor, hungry Americans, September 11, 1959?

September is a perfect time of the year to shop for a new home!  Prices are still low!  Interest rates are phenomenal!  Choices are abundant! 

"Leave" your old house and "fall" into a great new home today with MORALES! 

--

Never pushy, just dependable. 

Diane Morales
Thank you for MOVIN' WITH MORALES!!
Keller Williams Fox Valley Realty
(630) 709.9882

Follow MOVIN WITH MORALES on Facebook!

Just watch the neighbor cut the grass... from MORALES!

			May '11		Jun '11		Jul '11		Averages
St Charles
# Active			512		535		535		527
# Sold			51		67		62		60
MKT Time			227		237		191		218
Med Sold $			$285,500		$330,000		$399,500		$338,333
Geneva
# Active			257		258		257		257
# Sold			22		41		34		32
MKT Time			213		221		122		185
Med Sold $			$299,000		$297,000		$319,000		$305,000
Batavia
# Active			186		187		190		188
# Sold			19		39		29		29
MKT Time			217		123		177		172
Med Sold $			$253,800		$275,000		$259,900		262900
Elburn
# Active			107		117		110		111
# Sold			10		10		7		9
MKT Time			223		321		310		285
Med Sold $			$262,500		$198,750		$200,000		$220,417
Sugar Grove
# Active			89		80		86		85
# Sold			9		12		10		10
MKT Time			257		176		176		203
Med Sold $			$245,000		$250,000		$234,250		$243,083
Maple Park
# Active			42		40		37		40
# Sold			2		1		1		1
MKT Time			175		93		278		182
Med Sold $			$350,500		$158,000		$265,000		$257,833

BIG WIG  In the 18th century when many men wore wigs, the most important men wore the biggest wigs. Hence today important people are called big wigs.

CROCODILE TEARS  These are an insincere display of grief or sadness. It comes from the old belief that a crocodile wept (insincerely!) if it killed and ate a man.

CUT AND RUN  In an emergency rather than haul up an anchor the sailors would cut the anchor cable then run with the wind.

FROM THE HORSES' MOUTH  You can tell a horse’s age by examining its teeth. A horse dealer may lie to you but you can always find out the truth 'from the horse’s mouth'.

GIVE SOMEBODY THE COLD SHOULDER  When an unwanted visitor came you gave them cold shoulder of mutton instead of hot meat as a hint that they were not to call again.

GOODBYE  This is a contraction of the words God be with ye (you).

BY HOOK OR BY CROOK  This old saying probably comes from a Medieval law which stated that peasants could use branches of trees for fire wood if they could reach them with their shepherds crook or their billhook.

LET THE CAT OUT OF THE BAG  This old saying is probably derived from the days when people who sold piglets in bags sometimes put a cat in the bag instead. If you let the cat out of the bag you exposed the trick.

PEEPING TOM  According to legend a man named Leofric taxed the people of Coventry heavily. His wife, lady Godiva, begged him not to. Leofric said he would end the tax if she rode through the streets of Coventry naked. So she did. Peeping Tom is a much later addition to the story. Everybody in Coventry was supposed to stay indoors with his or her shutters closed. However peeping Tom had a sneaky look at Godiva and was struck blind.

A PIG IN A POKE   This is something bought without checking it first. A poke was a bag. If you bought a pig in a poke it might turn out the 'pig' was actually a puppy or a cat.  (see "Let the cat out of the bag" above.)

POT LUCK  In the past all kinds of food went into a big pot for cooking. If you sat down to a meal with a family you often had to take 'pot luck' and could never be quite sure what you would be served.

RED TAPE  This phrase comes from the days when official documents were bound with red tape.

RED LETTER DAYS  In the Middle Ages saints days were marked in red in calendars. People did not work on some saint’s days or holy days. Our word holiday is derived from holy day.

RULE OF THUMB  This comes from the days when brewers estimated the temperature of a brew by dipping their thumb in it.

SHAMBLES   Originally a shamble was a bench. Butchers used to set up benches to sell meat from. In time the street where meat was sold often became known as the Shambles. (This street name survives in many towns today). However because butchers used to throw offal into the street, shambles came to mean a mess or something very untidy or disorganized.-- 

START FROM SCRATCH  This phrase comes from the days when a line was scratched in the ground for a race. The racers would start from the scratch.

STRAIGHT LACED  This phrase was originally STRAIT laces. The old English word strait meant tight or narrow. In Tudor times buttons were mostly for decoration. Laces were used to hold clothes together. If a woman was STRAIT laced she was prim and proper.

TRUE BLUE  This phrase was originally true as Coventry blue as the dyers in Coventry used a blue dye that lasted and did not wash out easily. However the phrase became shortened.

WILLY-NILLY  This phrase is believed to be derived from the old words will-ye, nill-ye (or will-he, nill- he) meaning whether you want to or not (or whether he wants to or not).

WHITE ELEPHANT  In Siam (modern day Thailand) white or pale elephants were very valuable. The king sometimes gave white elephant to a person he disliked. It might seem a wonderful gift but it was actually a punishment because it cost so much to keep!

I found these old sayings interesting, and hope you enjoyed them!  
And of course, I had to google Real Estate sayings:

* If you think no one cares you're alive, miss a couple of house payments.

* If you want to know exactly where the property line is, just watch the neighbor cut the grass.

* I have a temporary mortgage. What do you mean temporary? Until they foreclose.

* Realtor: First you folks tell me what you can afford, then we'll have a good laugh and go on from there.

* The dream of the older generation was to pay off a mortgage. The dream of today's young families is to get one.

* This country is great. It's the only place where you can borrow money for a down payment, get a 1st and 2nd mortgage and call yourself a homeowner.

IF you know of any that I overlooked, won't you please share them on my facebook page?

Sending happiness to you...
            
Diane Morales
Thank you for MOVIN' WITH MORALES!!
Keller Williams Fox Valley Realty
(630) 709.9882

Follow MOVIN WITH MORALES on Facebook!

Foreclosures & Short Sales ~ Tri Cities & Kaneland

First Time HomeBuyers ~ Tri-Cities

First Time HomeBuyers ~ Kaneland

Blooming good numbers in June... from MORALES!

		Apr '11		May '11		Jun '11		Averages
St Charles
# Active		497		512		535		515
# Sold		40		51		67		53
MKT Time		247		227		237		237
Med Sold $		$307,250		$285,500		$330,000		307583
Geneva								0
# Active		231		257		258		249
# Sold		16		22		41		26
MKT Time		152		213		221		195
Med Sold $		$367,500		$299,000		$297,000		321167
Batavia								0
# Active		188		186		187		187
# Sold		12		19		39		23
MKT Time		195		217		123		178
Med Sold $		$251,250		$253,800		$275,000		260017
Elburn								0
# Active		101		107		117		108
# Sold		7		10		10		9
MKT Time		198		223		321		247
Med Sold $		$288,000		$262,500		$198,750		249750
Sugar Grove								0
# Active		90		89		80		86
# Sold		13		9		12		11
MKT Time		173		257		176		202
Med Sold $		$199,000		$245,000		$250,000		231333
Maple Park								0
# Active		41		42		40		41
# Sold		2		2		1		2
MKT Time		273		175		93		180
Med Sold $		$97,500		$350,500		$158,000		202000

Sunflowers are truly inspiring plants.  It is a useful plant with many unique characteristics.  The sunflower is native of North America.  With approximately 60 varieties, they stretch most of the Great Plains.  The earliest sunflower provided food, by grounding into flour for soups and breads, and the seeds were boiled to extract the oil. 
Did you know that one sunflower actually hosts hundreds of tiny flowers called florets? (See photo below.)  Its rather thick stem can grow upwards of 10'.  On top of the stem appears to be one giant flower with yellow petals and a brown center.  This is actually called a "head" and is not a flower, but rather a a mass of flowers -- all individually growing and from where the seeds will originate. 
The name Sunflower's genus name comes from 2 Greek words meaning Sun and Annual.  Interesting enough, the sunflower head points east towards sunrise in the morning, and by evening it redirects itself to the west.  Overnight, the sunflower redirects itself to its original eastward position again.  Once they bloom, however, the stem generally freezes in the eastward-facing position.  
Sunflower seeds are edible.  They can be eaten directly or roasted.  The seeds can also be pressed to extract oil-- mostly used in the kitchen, cosmetics, and machinery lubricants. 



IF you know anyone who is thinking about planting themselves in new soil, please call me! 
Buying or selling, I promise to take bloomin' good care of them. 

--

Sending happiness to you...
            
Diane Morales
Thank you for MOVIN' WITH MORALES!!
Keller Williams Fox Valley Realty
(630) 709.9882

Follow MOVIN WITH MORALES on Facebook!

Find out more about me! 

I take great pride in providing honest, reliable, and professional services to my clients!  
I am sensitive to your needs and will help fit the best scenario for your situation. 
Never pushy, just dependable. 

Your Community Sales ... from MORALES!

		Jan '11		Feb '11		Mar '11		Apr '11		May '11	Averages
St Charles
# Active		440		453		469		497		512	474
# Sold		25		30		32		40		51	36
MKT Time		276		262		237		247		227	250
Med Sold $		$385,000		$279,750		$311,500		$307,250		$285,500	313800
Geneva											0
# Active		183		185		219		231		257	215
# Sold		9		10		17		16		22	15
MKT Time		177		202		216		152		213	192
Med Sold $		$259,000		$268,000		$315,000		$367,500		$299,000	301700
Batavia											0
# Active		171		173		177		188		186	179
# Sold		12		7		14		12		19	13
MKT Time		218		279		119		195		217	206
Med Sold $		$233,250		$220,000		$227,500		$251,250		$253,800	237160
Elburn											0
# Active		108		106		99		101		107	104
# Sold		3		2		9		7		10	6
MKT Time		188		89		218		198		223	183
Med Sold $		$240,000		$252,500		$255,000		$288,000		$262,500	259600
Sugar Grove											0
# Active		89		82		82		90		89	86
# Sold		6		3		7		13		9	8
MKT Time		319		129		232		173		257	222
Med Sold $		$219,500		$240,000		$315,000		$199,000		$245,000	243700
Maple Park											0
# Active		37		43		46		41		42	42
# Sold		2		3		4		2		2	3
MKT Time		45		586		78		273		175	231
Med Sold $		$345,000		$195,000		$157,500		$97,500		$350,500	229100

IF you'd like to know what the home down the street sold for, call me!  I can tell you! 

Follow MOVIN WITH MORALES on Facebook!

Follow Davis School Neighborhood, St. Charles IL on Facebook! 

Learn more about me! 

I take great pride in providing honest, reliable, and professional services to my clients!  
I am sensitive to your needs and will help fit the best scenario for your situation.   Never pushy, just dependable.