The Chicago 77

11 September 2009 ? More signs of improvement in the Chicago housing market according to the most recent Capital Home Data Index Market Report. With the increasing number of sales, the number of distressed properties sold decreased by almost 10% as home prices increased placing Chicago in sixth position among the highest performing major housing […]

01 September 2009 ? It is no secret that the housing market is a very larger driver of the economy. As we see some rebound in the housing market some are getting out there and testing the waters again. Here are a few neighborhoods that have held steady in this declining market: One bedroom condominiums […]

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 […]

21 August 2009 ? According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) the Chicago area ranks at position 174 in the nation and 39th in the region in housing affordability for the second quarter of 2009. Indianapolis has topped the list for the last 16 quarters. In the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index just […]

The Good News As we reported two days ago, Chicago and Illinois are on a roll; we’ve had five consecutive months of increased month-on-month home sales. It turns out that we are not alone. Many news outlets are reporting that home sales grew in the second quarter in the majority of the country: 39 states […]

June marked the fifth consecutive month-on-month increase in home sales statewide, including Chicago. It was the fourth monthly increase in the statewide median home sale price. In a release issued by the Illinois Association of Realtors®, association President Pat Callen says, “We are moving through inventories and that?s a good sign for the Illinois housing […]

Let?s face it, it’s a scary time to be a landlord. The apartment rental market is facing difficulties like never before. For the first time in six years apartment rents are down nationwide. Fueling the fire are investor-owned properties (usually condos or town homes), which has expanded the rental supply by roughly 50 percent. Whether […]

28 July 2009 ? The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller Home Price Index is reporting that Chicago-area home prices were up 1.1 percent in May when compared to April. This is the first monthly increase in since Sept. 2006. According to the index, Chicago-area prices were down 17.5 percent compared with May 2008, which is more than […]

The Federal Fair Housing Agency, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have issued a new guidance to all lenders clarifying two points. They are: Lenders should use appraisers who have clear experience in the geographic area. The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) requires that an appraiser be competent and knowledgeable of the local market […]

Today the Illinois Association of Realtors released very encouraging data on both Chicago and the state of Illinois. Chicago Home Sales Way Up, Price Up Too There were 7,140 homes sold in Chicago in June compared to 5,674 sold in May. That is an increase of 25.8 percent. However, it’s not all good news. In […]

The Chicago Tribune posted an article in yesterday’s Business section titled, “Chicago housing prices drop even faster.” In the article there was a graph which posted home prices and their price reductions broken down by neighborhood. The news source for the pricing was Trulia. Trulia is a website where seller’s and agents alike are welcome […]

13 July 2009 ? Trulia reports that nationwide as of July, sellers cut $27.1 billion from asking prices. This is the first month Chicago has made the top ten list nationally. The volume of price reductions in Chicago was $229,444,054, ranking the city at number seven. Thirty one percent of active listings took an average […]

7 July 2009 ? More foreclosures are to come. While the housing market has been showing signs of stabilization, we may see another surge of foreclosures before the end of summer, according to several major banks. Why now? Since the end of last year many lenders have held off on foreclosure proceedings, instead offering loan […]