This spring has shown many positive signs for the real estate market. Tightened inventory levels combined with strong demand are fueling price gains in many areas. Also, consumer demand is shifting from distressed properties to conventional homes while record-low mortgage rates and rising rents are supporting housing recovery.  Continue reading →

People often ask me what the difference is between a short sale and foreclosure.  This is a simplified explanation.

A short sale typically occurs when an owner can’t afford his or her mortgage payments or needs to sell the property for some other reason but the value of the property is less than the owner owns on his mortgage.  The lender or bank holding the mortgage allows the Continue reading →

Some good signs for the Chicago market.  Here are the bullet points.

The city of Chicago saw a 23.2 percent year-over-year home sales increase
(single-family home and condos) in September 2012, with 1,845 home sales.   Continue reading →

A crane is dangling atop a new high-rise condominium development inNew York City’s Midtown area after a construction crane was dislodged at 2:30 pm and now is facing gale-force winds from Hurricane Sandy.

Currently under construction in Midtown Manhattan, the 75-story One57 tower skyscraper is billed as a luxury “Wall of Glass.”   Continue reading →

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Home sales increased 15.9 percent over previous-year levels in September, extending a run of more than a year of sales gains, according to the Illinois Association of REALTORS®.

The strong sales report was coupled with data showing the median price of a home in the state rose 2.2 percent.   Continue reading →

Groundbreaking on new homes surged in September to its fastest pace in more than four years, a sign the housing sector’s budding recovery is gaining traction and supporting the wider economic recovery.     Continue reading →

According to the Illinois Association of Realtors Chicago home prices rose in May for the first time in over 4 years. The median price is up 0.1% from the same time last year. This is not a huge jump but it is a very positive sign for homeowners. Let’s hope the trend continues.

March 2012 Market Stats:
In the nine-county Chicagoland region, sales of single-family homes and
condominiums totaled 4,447 in January 2012, up 15.7 percent from January 2011.
The median January home sale price in the Chicagoland region was $140,000,
down 11.4 percent compared to last year in January. Continue reading →

In the Chicagoland Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area (PMSA), home sales including single-family homes and condominiums totaled 5,453 in November 2011. That’s up 20.7 percent from homes sold in November 2010.  Continue reading →

ManyCookCountyproperty tax bills came out in October, and while Chicago and suburban landowners assume their property values have sunk, it may not translate to lower tax bills.

Countywide, property owners will collectively pay a 2.68 percent increase — a rise of more than $300 million — in property taxes this year. 

Read More… Continue reading →