The Chicago 77

On Friday, President Obama signed into law an extension and expansion of the home buyer tax credit. To qualify, buyers must sign a contract before April 30, 2010 and close on the property by June 30, 2010.

6 November 2009 ?As home buyers, sellers, Realtors® and affiliated professions await the signing of the expanded Home Buyer Tax Credit by the President, buyer options continue to narrow. According to the regional MLS, MRED LLC, there are 26% fewer homes under $800,000 on the market today than in October of 2007. While single family […]

I frequently get asked the difference between a short sale and a foreclosure / Real Estate Owned (REO) property. Buyers in today?s market who are cash heavy and have a flexible time frame may be in the best position to purchase one of these foreclosed properties.

23 October 2009 ?For buyers who want to take advantage of the First Time Home Buyer Credit that expires November 30th, 2009, this weekend is probably your last chance to get under contract to meet the deadline. The National Association of Realtors® has been lobbying on behalf of their members to extend and expand the […]

Market watchers believe the next few months will be a mixed bag for buyers and sellers. If unemployment does not abate, distressed properties will continue to impact market pricing for months and even years in the future.

Representing both buyers and sellers I have learned the impact of price changes in this particular market. It is home-buying process is not only about the value of the property, but also the buyer’s perception that the seller really wants to sell. Sellers Must Acknowledge Price Pressures Sellers need to remember, particularly right now, they […]

Upon a mixed bag of numbers released last week by the National Association of Realtors, Standard & Poor?s Case-Shiller Housing Numbers released this morning show continued movement upwards making July the sixth month in a row with slight gain. ?The rate of annual decline in home price values continues to decelerate and we now seem […]

The week after Labor Day traditionally marks the beginning of Chicago?s fall real estate. As this has been a period of non-traditional activity, I have thought carefully about what are my expectations. The strengths and weaknesses in the marketplace will depend on what type of property in what area at what price. There is no […]

The first-time-buyer tax credit of $8,000 is scheduled to end effective December 1st, 2009, however the transaction must close by November 30th, 2009. This will impact both real estate agents and first time buyers. Realtors® and buyers may not realize the month of November is notoriously slow for underwriting as many companies are working at […]

This morning Standard & Poor?s Case-Shiller Home Price Indices numbers were released and the results are surprisingly better than expected. In the Chicago condo market, prices showed an increase of 1.1% from May 2009 to June 2009. Over recent months we have seen the leveling off of pricing. This current report shows signs the Chicago […]

The number of new construction units sold in downtown Chicago has jumped from a paltry 55 in the first quarter of 2009 to 313 units in second quarter. While this may sound very encouraging, it is still a far cry from the numbers of the second quarter of 2008. Last year 484 new units sold […]

Regardless of real estate market conditions, our clients hire us to get their properties sold. Sorting through this week’s news and numbers regarding how we market those listings, there still seems to be a huge disconnect between how most agents think their listings are marketed and the realty of the fastest growing resources that the […]

31 July 2009 ? Chicago?s North Shore high-end market has been especially hard hit by the real estate market?s downturn as reported today on Rismedia. Even offering creative incentives and major price reductions has not helped in moving luxury properties in Chicago?s north suburban areas. According to the North Shore Association of Realtors only 154 […]