How will the downturn in the U.S. Economy, and the still-slow U.S. Housing Market, impact Condominium Owners and Management Associations, both here in Chicago, and elsewhere, in 2009?  Intuitively, many experts predict continued tough times, as well as deferred costly maintenance. Here is a summary of likely developments, as summarized in an article by Pamela Dittmer McKuen in last Friday's Chicago Tribune - 1.  Expect Continued-Tough Loan Underwriting Standards.  According to Ken Perlmutter of Perl Mortgage in Chicago, lenders will want to see strong down payments - a minimum of 10%, perhaps 20% in some cases.  Source of buyer's income will be more thoroughly vetted.  The fiscal health of the condo association, including planned capital expenditures, repairs, and reserves, will be more... 01/04/2009

Hey, folks!  Hope you're enjoying the first weekend of the New Year.  Cold and gray in Chicago today - typical mid-winter weather! Just a question, but an important one - How important are basic selling skills - the power of PERSUASION - in the Real Estate Business - or, for that matter, ANY Sales Business today? It goes without saying many consumers look down upon the sales profession.  Some see sales consultants as checker-sport-jacketed, too-much-make up loudmouths that don't really know anything besides feeding a line of bull. If you look up the definition of "sell" in Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, you'll find over seven separate definitions.  Most of them are quite negative in characterization - "to deliver or give up in violation of duty, trust, or loyalty," or "to give up ... 01/04/2009

I have had two buyers interested in a short sale property here in Chicago.  The first time we went into the property it was in average to fair shape.  Doors were up, knobs were on, kitchen cabinetry was in place, wallpaper in the living room.  You get the idea. The property is winterized back in October 2007.  What year are we in? The first contract fell apart.  The property went right back under contract.  The Listing Agreement states that if "the buyer needs an inspection of the property, they are responsible for getting the utilities turned back on." So what do they do?  They turn everything back on.  The winterizing is now no longer in effect.  Does that agent care?  I don't know.   She's got a building to sell and that's it.  People come and people go. So, the second contract fell ... 01/04/2009

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I do quite a bit of business downtown Chicago even though I live in the western suburbs. Today I went to the city to show a condo and I was encouraged to see the hustle and bustle of real estate activity, somthing that has been lacking for a while! There were several other agents coming and going with their clients. My unit had 3 showings in two days! It's as if the New Year came and the buyers came out too! I know it usually does pick up in January, I only hope the momentum builds and gets us going again! Have you had an increase in activity in your area since the New Year? I'd be curious to know if other areas are getting busier as well. Wishing you a prosperous 2009! 01/03/2009

Hey, everyone! Could you believe it's 2009 already!  It seems like just the other day we were all worried about "Y2K!" In her first Chicago Neighborhood News Post of the New Year, our Team Member Jennifer Arcand reviews happenings in the Chicago Neighborhoods of Uptown, Lakeview, The Loop, and Edison Park, as well as the Chicago Suburb of Niles IL. Have a neighborhood, civic, or charitable event happening this year?  Let us know, and we'll help get the word out for you, via our blog! UPTOWN A line began to form hours before the The Peoples' Church opened their door to offer Christmas dinners to the needy.  "These are hard times . . . and a lot of folks just have nowhere else to go," said Isaac Barrantine, the meal coordinator at the church in Uptown neighborhood.  Not too long ago, four... 01/02/2009

There was a time when it looked like home remodeling was going to replace baseball as our country’s national pastime. The remodeling craze has since cooled down a bit, but this doesn’t mean that homeowners have totally abandoned the home-improvement craze, especially if they’re thinking of selling. The question, though, is this: If you want improve your home, what projects will pay off the most when it’s time to sell? The answer might be found in the National Association of REALTORS® Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report. The report, put out every year, highlights those home improvements that return the highest percentage of their cost. It also points out those that return the lowest. For the second year in a row, the home improvements that provided the highest return upon resale were those ... 01/02/2009

There was a time – not too long ago, actually – when every developer wanted to build a condo tower in downtown Chicago. And why not? During the residential housing boom, developers were able to sell the condos quickly, and for prices that rose as high as the towers themselves. Remember the heady days when Donald Trump first announced, and then broke ground on, Trump International Hotel & Tower? He was confident that he’d sell out his project in record time. Trump isn’t so confident today, as his development still hasn’t been finished and many of his condos sit unsold. And he’s hardly alone among local developers. A recent story in Crain’s Chicago Business highlights just how far the fortunes of many Chicago condo developers have fallen. According to the story, a growing number of high-r... 01/02/2009

THE CHICAGO IL REAL ESTATE MARKET, AND OTHER THINGS CHICAGO, FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF A LITTLE WHITE DOG! Happy New Year, you dogs!  Woof - I don't know about you, but I'm glad to see 2008 come to an end here in Chicago.  The sluggish market for home sellers.  Increasing scrutiny for those seeking a home mortgage loan.  The threat of foreclosures.  Escalating unemployment. And that's not even mentioning what happened when my beloved Chicago Cubs were swept out of the National League Playoffs in October!  Much bad news indeed! Well, as many of you know, 2009 on the North Side of Chicago got started on a much-anticipated positive note, here at Wrigley Field, about a couple of miles away from our Real Estate Office in the Lincoln Square Neighborhood. Yesterday, on New Year's Day, there wa... 01/02/2009

In 2009, the State of Illinois is getting tougher on drunk or impaired drivers! A new, tougher IL Driving Under the Influence (DUI) Law will keep those convicted of even one DUI Offense from starting and driving their vehicles while impaired.   The new law requires anyone convicted of Driving Under the Influence to install an electronic gadget that requires these drivers to test their breath before each trip, and during the trip, to assure they have not had alcoholic beverages before slipping behind the wheel. Drivers whose breath indicates a Blood Alcohol Level of 0.024 - far lower than the IL DUI Threshold of 0.08 - will not be able to start their cars.  If a required en route test is skipped, or exceeds the minimum level, the driver is given a short warning period to pull over and st... 01/01/2009

Happy New Year, folks! Just getting a late start catching up with the day - and wanted to update you about some new fees, and some new laws, here in Chicago and in Illinois that commenced with today, New Year's Day, 2009.  The summary comes from today's Chicago Tribune, and stories by Hal Dardick and Monique Garcia. Also from the Tribune, here's a summary of the New Chicago Fees and Charges. IN CHICAGO 1.  New Parking Meter Rates, effective today, across Chicago.  In outlying Chicago Neighborhoods, away from Downtown Chicago and The Loop, feeding parking meters formerly cost 25 cents per hour.  As soon as meter labeling is changed, that rate is doubling to 50 cents per hour.  Downtown, meters now costing $3.00 will soon increase to $3.50 per hour.  Eventually, by 2013, meters will cost ... 01/01/2009

This is a strange sight for those of us who live in Chicago. Wrigley Field has been turned into an ice skating Rink. If you ICE it, they will come... Wrigley Baseball Field Stadium has been turned into an ice skating rink today for an unusual ice skating experience. I am curious to see how this will turn out. I don’t think anyone ever thought that we need an ice rink in the middle of Wrigley Field, but here we go anyway. The original purpose was for a hockey game but the Wrigley Field Ballpark Ice Rink will also be made availabler on January 4th for the general public at $10 per person. The proceeds from this day go to the Cubs Care Charity. There are no skate rentals, so bring your own skates. The rink is being officially built to host a hockey game outdoors at Wrigley Field on January... 01/01/2009

My friend, Chris Fisher, told me about the Beatles blog yesterday and so here I am... Just had to tell my story since it is one of my most vivid childhood memories. The Beatles came to the USA for the first time when I had just turned 13 years old and my very fabulous big sister took me to see them at White Sox's Park in Chicago.  I lived on the North Side and, frankly, had only been to the South Side to go to the Museum of Science and Industry.  We were a Cubs family, my Mom watched every game and idolized Ernie Banks, my best friend and I used to sell parking spaces during games, one of my close friends lived in the house with WGN on the roof - I was a North Side girl... in a family without a car...  This was a big excursion, a cultural event beyond anything I had ever imagined, a piv... 12/31/2008

Live Each and Every Day as a GIFT as it has been given to us.   Valuing every precious moment is no longer wasted.  My brother lost the love of his life, his soulmate of 10 years in marriage.  She was in the hospital for tests.  She wasn't hooked up any monitors, as so I was told.  She took pain like a soldier.  She walked the halls her last night with my brother discussing what they wanted to do, their plans, their dreams.  She was to be released from the hospital the next day so she could gain strength and have her gallblader removed.  And at 5:30 the next morning, her heart stopped.  So did their dreams.          I think about my brother and the long hours that he always has worked.  I'm sure he has questioned the relevance of work vs. family.  He is a dedicated father and enjoys his... 12/31/2008

"FEAR!  It's a scary thing!"  This sounds like a quote from Baseball Great Yogi Berra, but its true source is unknown.   But fear might be playing a key part preventing quick rebound in the housing market. Which factors keep the U.S. and Chicago Housing Markets from beginning to rebound?  Fear over rising unemployment.  Reduced confidence in the U.S. Economy.  And the perception - generally true - that mortgage money is available, but often extremely tight for all but the most credit-qualified borrowers. In their latest survey of Consumer Confidence, research firm The Conference Board surveyed 5,000 households to calculate a Consumer Confidence Index of 38 in December, down from 44.7 in November, and 90.6 one year ago. At the same time, the Standard & Poors/Case-Shiller Home Price Index... 12/30/2008

Hi, All! Back in the early 1990's, our Chicago Real Estate Team did a beautiful Personal Video Brochure on VHS Tape, and distributed the video, along with periodic installments of our listings in the area, to our clients and prospective clients.  We placed the tape in a nice plastic case, with a custom label - and were considered Cutting Edge Marketers, back in the day. Well, it's the end of an era now, for both business and personal users (i.e, thousands of movie viewers) of the VHS Video Tape Format.  Without tears being shed, according to a story in last Saturday's Chicago Tribune by Geoff Boucher, the last U.S. Distributor, Ryan Kugler of Southern California, has shipped his last VHS tape, and plans to liquidate and discard remaining VHS Tape inventory early in the New Year. If you ... 12/29/2008

There’s a big difference between buying into the stock market and purchasing residential real estate: Not only is a house a good long-term investment, it’s a place to live. This is something that many people seem to have forgotten as they worry about whether or not they will “lose money” by purchasing a home today. If you buy a home today in Chicago – even in some of the city’s top neighborhoods – you’ll be paying a price for your home that’s near 2005 levels. That’s a great bargain. And as long as you don’t expect to sell your home immediately, the odds are high that you’ll make a solid return when you do sell. Back before the real estate boom, people viewed their homes as more than just a way to make quick money. The run-up in housing prices that we saw in 2001 through 2006 changed th... 12/29/2008

I’m sure we REALTORS® sometimes sound like broken records to our clients. But there are some things that bear repeating, no matter how many times you have to say them. “Make sure your home is ready for every showing,” is one of those things. In today’s slower housing market, your home will not get nearly as many showings as it did just two or three years ago. Even in Chicago’s top neighborhoods, places like Lakeview, Lincoln Square, Bucktown, the Gold Coast and Lincoln Park, the number of potential buyers is down from the years of the housing boom. This means that sellers must always present their residences in the best possible light. There just aren’t as many people interested in buying any home right now. You need to give your residence every chance to shine. Getting a home ready for... 12/29/2008

Good Morning!  We hope you had a very Merry Christmas! Here's the latest Stat Summary on the Chicago Real Estate Market, based on data pulled yesterday evening, December 28, 2008 -  This week's sample is small, and, for that reason, not scientific.  But a couple of things jump out here. First of all, Active Listing Inventory has been stable the last few weeks, despite declines in Just Sold (Pending) inventory and Average Sale Price.  This might indicate that only those properties at the lowest price ranges are selling this time of year here in the Chicago North and Northwest Side Neighborhoods we serve most frequently.  Closed Properties shows many scheduling their usual end-of-month closings early, in advance of Christmas, but Sales Volume is way down, partly due to the time of year, b... 12/29/2008