The Chicago 77

18 August 2009 ? The major question on most every one’s mind today is?are we out of the economic woods? It is no surprise that the housing market drives the economy. With what appears to be an upswing in home sales lately, most are hoping the answer is, “Yes.” There are a few factors that […]

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 […]

4 August 2009 ? According to Steve Baird, President of Baird and Warner, the real estate market is slowly turning around. “After a long wait, it appears the market has generally stabilized and we have even begun to see some improvement, albeit modest.” With that said it would appear that the market is stabilizing, however […]

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 […]

First-time buyers have been driving the market in Chicago for months. They are taking advantage of both the low prices and the nearly record breaking interest rates available to them. First-time buyers are also helping the market by buying homes from sellers wanting to also take advantage of the market by buying something larger. In […]

After writing an article about the HVCC program and how it is affecting the home buying process I received an e-mail from an appraiser from California. She asked me to get the word out about the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP). There are certain guidelines an appraiser must follow while completing an appraisal […]

15 July 2009 ? According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, Stan Liebowitz, University of Texas Economics Professor, shared his findings on mortgage foreclosure trends since 2007. Overall, Liebowitz learned that sub-prime mortgage lenders are not the primary cause of current market conditions, and in essence, debunked the prevailing belief that these […]

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 […]

As I had time to reflect over the holiday weekend, I thought back to all that happened in the month of June. My Personal Market Activity Buyers re-engaged in the marketplace, resulting in sold properties. Sellers who want to sell are listing at prices to sell, not just to list. Communication between the Realtors®, lenders, […]

Don’t count on your property taxes dropping as a result of reduced market values. 2009 is a reassessment year for the City of Chicago. The Sun Times recently reported that homeowners in portions of Rogers Park received notice that the assessed value of their property has decreased up to 6.1%. While that news may seem […]

2 July 2009 ? The mortgage bonds have opened up 22bps this morning and briefly went down to 16 bps however they have really started to heat up and are now up 31bps. Investors are moving to the safety of the bond market due to the unemployment numbers coming in at 467,000 versus expectations of […]