August 24th, 2010 by Scott Epstein
The recent news on homes sales was not very good, but is was hardly a surprise. If you’ve been a reader of this blog you already know I was not in favor of the tax credit. All the tax credit did was move up the time table for buyers who were already thinking about purchasing a home. So basically, the summer housing market moved up their time table and purchased in the spring instead. Rather than spreading out the home purchases and letting the market play out, the government wanted to prop up the housing numbers to help ease the american public. Well, I don’t think that plan worked.
Anyway, here are the numbers. These numbers are for the nine-county Chicago region (Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will).
The total number of homes (single family and condos) sold in July (2010) was 5,561, compared to 9,085 in June (2010) which represents almost a 40% drop. In comparison the difference last year was actually an increase of 287 homes sold, 7427 in July (2009) vs. 7140 in June (2009).
In the city of Chicago the total number of homes sold in July (2010) was 1,589 compared to 2,526 in June (2010), again about a 40% drop. However, comparing last years numbers July (2009) had 1,975 homes sold vs. 1,981 in June (2009) it was basically flat.
What about prices? The median home price (half the homes sell for more and half sell for less) in the Chicago area was $193,000 down from $207,500 in June (2010) which represents about a 7% decrease. In the city of Chicago the median price fell to $196,500 from $234,250 (June 2010) which represents about a 16% drop.
While we all know the pressure there’s been on prices for quite some time, I think we need to take it with a grain of salt. The majority of purchasers have been first time home buyers or people purchasing homes under $250-300k mainly because the higher end homes are either too far “under water” or can not sell their home due to the limited number of potential buyers.
The question I always get asked is, “When is the housing market going to turn around?”. The answer is, I don’t know and it will likely get worse before it gets better. One of the main problems is still the large amount of foreclosures and short sales and there is no sign of this slowing down any time soon. I do think that in 2011 the banks will make a better effort to get short sales approved and take in less foreclosures which will definitely help. I also saw someone suggest that rather than the government continue to give cash incentives they should assist the banks in refinancing all existing mortgages so homeowners could take advantage of these extremely low rates which would put some extra money into the pockets of consumers and it would also most likely raise housing prices.
August 12th, 2010 by Scott Epstein
Zillow's People's Choice Votes IllinoisRealEstate.com as Chicago's Best Real Estate Blog
We are proud to announce our recent victory on Zillow for the People’s Choice for Best Chicago Real Estate Blog. The voting lasted 2 weeks and it was a tough battle throughout, but we pulled it out in the end. We would like to thank all of you who voted and supported our blog.
We’re very excited about the victory and we expect this will lead to an increase of followers of our blog so we’ll have to step it up a bit.
August 6th, 2010 by Scott Epstein
For those of you who receive your water from private wells, have you ever thought of what would happen if that well went dry? What would you do? What would that do to the value of your home? Better yet, what if you live in an area where you receive your water from the town/village in which you live and they access multiple wells, what if those wells ever went dry?
That is exactly the question being asked in about 10 Lake County areas. Under a $252 million proposal a new water treatment facility in Zion which would stretch about 57 miles would deliver water from Lake Michigan to the following communities: Lake Villa, Lindenhurst, Antioch, Wauconda, Fox Lake, Volo, Lake Zurich, Hawthorn Woods and Long Grove. Most of these communities have contributed $5,000 for planning and are also being asked to contribute an additional $50,000 to keep the project going.
The proposal needs approval from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. If approved all but 20% of Lake County would be on Lake Michigan water.
August 5th, 2010 by Scott Epstein
Camelot for Kids recently broke ground for their new 50,000 sq. ft. facility that will be located on Congress parkway in Crystal lake which is near the Crystal Lake post office.
Given the recent reports of the spike in the amount of children diagnosed with some form of autism I believe this is a big plus for Crystal Lake and the surrounding areas.
Camelot For Kids serves children with complex health problems, including those with autism, serious learning disabilities and other health impairments.
August 4th, 2010 by Scott Epstein
At IllinoisRealEstate.com we understand these are hard times for homeowners and we would like to help.
In the next couple of weeks we’ll be launching our New Homeowners Assistance Program. This program will help current homeowners understand the options that are availble to them and assist them in determining the best possible option for their situation. This will be a FREE service!!!!
This will include information regarding refinancing, loan modifications and short selling.
If you can not wait the 2-3 weeks until this program is launched you may contact me directly at scott@illinoisrealestate.com or by calling 847-829-0130.
Scott Epstein
Broker/Owner
IllinoisRealEstate.com
Wauconda, IL
(847) 829-0130 – Office
(312) 622-6313 – Cell
July 30th, 2010 by Brian Nygard
Did you know that setting up a search from any Chicago real estate brokerage’s website you are NOT accessing the MLS? You are accessing most of the homes listed on the MLS (via a data feed) but it’s not “The MLS”. Most, but NOT ALL real estate companies participate in Broker Reciprocity which basically allows other Illinois Real Estate Companies to display these property listings on their website.
Chicago Real Estate MLS, MRED LOGIN
If you would like to receive the most up-to-date property information directly from “THE MLS” (Midwest Real Estate Data LLC), then searches needs to be set up by a Chicagoland Realtor. Doing so will not only provide you with more detail but timelier updates as well. To do so simply tell us a little more about what you are looking for (area, type, price range, beds, baths, etc) and we’d be happy to email you the matching properties for the ones listed on the real MLS. It’s really the best way to stay on top of the newest Realtor listed listings.
Once your search is set up you will then be notified via email of any time there is a new property available for the parameters we set. I suggest marking “interested” in the MLS system so it will be easy to keep track of the ones you might want to see or have questions about. Then the best way to schedule them is to just shoot us a quick email and we’ll plan a productive outing. You can also notify us at any time should you need to make adjustments to your search.
Thanks,
Brian
P.S. If interested would can also get up to date property info on Short Sales and Foreclosures!
–
Brian Nygard
Realtor / Co-Owner
IllinoisRealEstate.com
brian@illinoisrealestate.com
773-217-8002 (call or text any time)
July 29th, 2010 by Brian Nygard
Voting has begun for the Zillow-sponsored “People’s Choice Best Real Estate Blog Award” in Chicago, and our website has been nominated!
Anyone can vote once per 24 hours. Voting ends at noon (PDT) on Aug. 11, 2010.
Vote for "illinoisrealestate.com/blog/wordpress/"!
Please copy & Paste: http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/Chicago-IL/#poll
Or Visit us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/IllinoisRealEstatecom/87778282933?ref=ts for a live link to the poll.
Thanks,
Brian Nygard, Co-Owner & Realtor – IllinoisRealEstate.com
July 1st, 2010 by Scott Epstein
The Senate passed a bill that would extend the home buyer tax credit to September 30th, 2010 for eligible home buyers who have had a contract to purchase a home since at least April 30th.
While I didn’t necessarily agree with the whole credit in the first place I’m glad to see the extension. Hopefully these extra 3 months will be enough time to close most of the pending deals.
June 30th, 2010 by Scott Epstein
On Tuesday the US House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill (by a 409-5 vote) that would extend Wednesday’s deadline by an additional 3 months for tax credit eligible home buyers. The National Association of Realtors estimates that as many as 180,000 potential home buyers could lose out on the credit if it’s not extended.
However, there is no guarantee the senate will vote on it today.
We will provide an update as soon as we hear something
June 15th, 2010 by admin
Off market 7/13/2010 (Cxl). Great 2BR/1BA updated Rogers Park condo located near Metra, El, buses, & lake. Unit features hardwood floors thru-out, granite slab countertops, stainless steel appliances, maple cabinets, exposed brick, in-unit washer/dryer, & balcony. Ample closet space, storage, open floor plan (largest in building). Well-maintained building with new roof & tuckpointing. Deeded parking space (1 of only 4 for building) available. More Pictures & Detail
1645 West Pratt Boulevard
Scott Epstein
Broker/Owner
Realty Resources LLC
IllinoisRealEstate.com
(847) 829-0130 - Office
(312) 622-6313 – Direct