Real estate blog entries tagged with chicago real estate news alert by Dean Moss, Dean's Team Chicago IL Real Estate Team (Dean's Team - Keller Williams Realty Partners Chicago IL)

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chicago real estate news alert: THE LIMBO OF THOSE ENDURING DELAYED FORECLOSURES - 03/05/12 12:15 PM

Under "normal circumstances," IL Foreclosures take about nine months to one year to run their course - from the first court filing of mortgage delinquency, until the homeowner if finally evicted and forced to leave their home. For many homeowners in distress, however, circumstances here are far from normal. Indeed, it is not unusual for some homeowners who haven't made a mortgage payment in two to three years to still be in their homes, waiting to be forced to leave.
Many blame the record high levels of pending foreclosures on the high level of distressed inventory that has come to market … (1 comments)

chicago real estate news alert: MANY HOME SELLERS STILL DREAMING OF A HIGH SALE PRICE! - 04/28/11 05:22 PM

Here in Chicago, and in most Chicago Suburbs, Average Home Sales Prices have fallen considerably since their zenith in mid-2006 - nearly 5 years ago. In some Chicago Neighborhoods, in the experience of our Team members, condo prices are one-third of what they were during those "buy at any price" days. Many single family homes have shed 40% or more of their potential cost versus the housing boom here.
On the surface, it seems, many home sellers have gotten the message, and are willing to lower their prices - often substantially - to meet the new market and sell their homes in … (7 comments)

chicago real estate news alert: WORLD CRISES DRIVE DOWN U.S. T-BILL YIELDS - AVERAGE MORTGAGE RATES FOLLOW TO NEAR-HISTORIC LOWS! - 03/19/11 03:41 PM

Despite what appears to be a spotty recovery in the Chicago Real Estate Market, rates for the money to buy real estate here is still near historic lows. With last weeks natural disasters in Japan, and turmoil in Libya, average interest rates seem to be falling once again.
Last week, statistics compiled by U.S. Mortgage Investor and Guarantor, Freddie Mac, as reported in the March 17th Los Angeles Times, showed average 30-year rates nationwide falling to 4.76%, from 4.88% the previous week. Those with excellent credit credentials and strong down payments - in excess of 20% down - are seeing even better … (1 comments)

chicago real estate news alert: BEST REAL ESTATE BARGAINS THESE DAYS? PERHAPS . . . REO PROPERTIES! - 02/06/11 03:17 PM

Here in Chicago, in many neighborhoods and Suburban Chicago Communities, buyers are king! Especially those with lotsa cash, or stellar credit.
And what are these buyers looking for, gang!
BARGAINS, of course! They want to save a lot of money. In our clients' recent jargon, "I wanna steal da joint!" (Remember, this is Chicago after all - many still talk this way!)
So, many call our Chicago Real Estate Team, asking for a list of Short Sale Properties - those properties where the owners are selling for less than they owe on their mortgage. Problem here, most of the time, the … (2 comments)

chicago real estate news alert: 2011 HOUSING RECOVERY? TIGHTER LENDING RULES MIGHT STYMIE HOUSING TURNAROUND THIS YEAR! - 01/05/11 05:14 AM

For Home Buyers and Real Estate Practitioners alike, 2010 offered the opportunity to buy real estate, in Chicago and elsewhere, at prices not seen in ten years or more. Mortgage Interest Rates, in some cases, down near 4%.
Here in Chicago, and in most Chicago Suburbs, home prices have declined by as much as 50% in some neighborhoods over the past three years. Incredible values can be found, for those with good credit credentials, income, and solid down payment.
But many potential homebuyers are still very concerned about their chances for keeping their job, as unemployment here in IL has topped … (0 comments)

chicago real estate news alert: NEW LEAD PAINT LAW MEANS MORE SCRUTINY FOR CONTRACTORS RENOVATING OLDER HOMES! - 04/05/10 03:58 AM

Hope you enjoyed the Easter Holiday! In our family - perhaps also it yours - it seems like the Food Fest never ends!
Here in Chicago and in nearby Chicago Suburbs, hundreds, if not thousands, of single-family homes, condominiums, townhouses, and apartment buildings were built many years ago. Those beautiful Chicago Bungalows, Victorians, and American Four-Squares may contain lead-based paint and plaster, quite legal when those homes were built, many more than a century ago.
Across the U.S., the sale, manufacture, and distribution of Lead-Based Paint was banned over 30 years ago, in 1978. However, the 1970's-era ban did not eliminate the dangers of … (2 comments)

chicago real estate news alert: CONDOS GALORE IN DOWNTOWN CHICAGO - But Financing Them Often Difficult! - 03/09/10 02:59 PM

Condos, condos everywhere. Often priced for a song, or just slightly higher.
That's the environment in many new Downtown Chicago Condo Buildings, thousands of which began construction several years ago, in a stronger Real Estate Market.
Today, however, the overall weakness of the condo market here has left many prominent developers here doing the unthinkable - offering sizable discounts off their asking price. This counters recent practice of maintaining high price points, but offering special incentives - reduced-priced upgrade packages, free garage parking, even Hawaii Vacations or HDTV's - instead of a lower price.
As reported by Jeffrey Steele in the … (3 comments)

chicago real estate news alert: UNEMPLOYED NEED JOBLESS BENEFITS - But, Has Extending Benefit Period Actually Helped Keep Unemployment High? - 03/09/10 07:36 AM

Few would dispute the notion that high unemployment is dampening the Real Estate Market Recovery, here in Chicago and elsewhere. As we like to tell our clients, if today is Friday, and you are fearful whether or not you will have a job on Monday, you're not going out and buy a more expensive house over the weekend.
But today, IL Unemployment Benefits have ballooned from 26 weeks less than two years ago, to a full 99 weeks today - nearly two years! Have some of the long-term unemployed become so comfortable with the extended government dole to delay their plans to … (1 comments)

chicago real estate news alert: FOR BOOMERS, YOUNGER HOMEOWNERS - Is Staying Put Going to be a Lasting Trend? - 02/09/10 11:08 AM

From Snowy Chicago, Good Evening, All!
You must remember - it wasn't all that long ago - the seeming never-ending cycle of homeowner migration and move-up. Young singles and newly-married couples around Chicago would start with a small condo as their first home. They would move up to a townhome, with more room, and more amenities.
When children came, the next move often involved a larger house in the suburbs, with shopping malls nearby, top schools aplenty, and lotsa room to grow.
Often, further prosperity and job security led to the purchase of a larger home, with even more deluxe features. Then another. Perhaps … (1 comments)

chicago real estate news alert: STREAMLINED, MORE EFFECTIVE LOAN MODIFICATION PROCESS ON THE WAY? Well . . . - 01/29/10 11:19 AM

Going back not more than 4 years or so on the North Side of Chicago, strong, annual, unabated appreciation for homes and condos seemed pretty automatic. Even in neighborhoods on the outskirts of rapid development or vintage rehab, a minimum 3% annual appreciation could be counted on for over a decade.
Before the mid-1990's, and as far back as most in Chicago remember, meteoric appreciation was never a given, but stability in home prices was taken for granted across the years..
Not so today, in modest Chicago Neighborhoods such as Rogers Park, on the Far North Side along Lake Michigan, where … (0 comments)

chicago real estate news alert: COMING FHA CHANGES A STUMBLING BLOCK FOR MANY NEW HOMEBUYERS? - 01/27/10 06:43 AM

wasn't that long ago that low-down payment home borrowers, as well as those with less-than-perfect credit, had a number of places to go for their mortgage loans. As credit markets collapsed, housing values tumbled, here in Chicago and elsewhere, options for these borrowers dwindled.
In many cases, the only option available now is an FHA-Backed Loan, with it's lower overall FICO Credit Score and Down Payment requirements.
Using an FHA Loan, buyers have been able to purchase with as little as 3.5% down for their primary residences. The FICO Credit Score floor was a very buyer-friendly 500, although most lenders imposed … (2 comments)

chicago real estate news alert: WILL THE FED MAINTAIN PURCHASE OF INTEREST-RATE-FRIENDLY MORTGAGE-BACKED SECURITIES IN 2010, Or Scale Them Back? - 01/14/10 03:26 PM

Hey, folks, from Livonia MI!
Took the five-hour drive from Chicago today to be a part of the semi-annual Floyd Wickman Forum this weekend. Great sharing and networking opportunities, and a ton of how-to's, custom-made for today's Real Estate Market. We can hardly wait to begin the conference Friday night!
Beginning early in 2009, The Fed began to purchase billions, no TRILLIONS of securities backed by privately-issued mortgages. Indeed, it is projected that over $1.25 Trillion of mortgage-backed securities will be purchased by The Fed by program's end this March.
Likely, ending heavy purchase activity on such securities will cause average … (2 comments)

chicago real estate news alert: CHICAGO DISCOUNT BROKERS DRYING UP! Average Selling Commissions Increase - But Volume, Average Selling Price Tumbles! - 01/12/10 10:29 AM

In Chicago, and in many other areas of the U.S., median home prices have fallen over the last few years. Units sold have dropped, and many of those single-family homes and condos that have sold have been in distress - in poor condition, often bank-owned, and at a deep discount price.
Dark clouds often offer a bit of a silver lining, however - at least for those practicing Real Estate!
According to RealTrends, a CO-based Real Estate Consulting Firm, and corroborated by Bloomberg News Service, total Real Estate Commissions Earned through November of last year totaled $40.6 Billion. That figure sound as … (0 comments)

chicago real estate news alert: IN CHICAGO, Other Cold-Weather Places - When Does Prime Selling Season Really Begin? - 01/08/10 01:03 AM

It's an old question, here in Chicago and across the U.S. "When does the Real Estate Market heat up again after its usual seasonal slowdown between Halloween and the New Year?
The old salt suggests the market begins to thaw in the springtime. Here in Chicago, that is usually when average daily temperatures reach the freezing mark or above. This time of the year, we Chicagoans consider 32 degrees quite mild, you know!
Backing the onset of nice weather by adding a normal 45-day home closing processing and approval schedule, you roughly reach into to early February - around the time … (0 comments)

chicago real estate news alert: FED, LAWMAKERS Should Take Pre-Emptive Steps To Assure No More Housing Bubbles - Fed Chief Bernanke! - 01/03/10 12:44 PM

How to prevent another financial and real estate market calamity like the one we're still feeling the effects of? Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke favors strengthening regulations to prevent such a bubble from inflating again.
Failing that, increasing interest rates - in advance of a problem - might be necessary, in his opinion.
Quoted in today's Wall Street Journal by Reporter Luca Di Leo, Bernanke's comments to the American Economic Association's Annual Meeting in Atlanta suggest using "monetary policy" as a fall back tool for addressing bloated or overheated financial markets.
Many economic experts have criticized the Fed for keeping … (1 comments)

chicago real estate news alert: FED RECOVERY PROGRAMS - Are We Ready To Be Weaned Off of Them Yet? - 01/02/10 10:27 AM

Hey, folks!
Now begins the gray time of the year in Chicago. No holidays to look forward to. No novelty in the first snowfall of the season.
Just another four months of cold and snowy weather!
Well - keep the climate controls adjusted inside of you - and you'll be OK! Heck, we've done pretty well thus far . . . yes?
All things, as they say, must come to an end!
The good things end - the incredible Bull Real Estate Market, which, day by day, becomes a more distant memory. Low gas prices. Reasonable costs for groceries, and health care.
… (18 comments)

chicago real estate news alert: NEW IL REAL ESTATE LAW - No Salespeople, Only Brokers . . . and New Disclosure Requirements! - 01/02/10 09:13 AM

Ask the average consumer about the amount of required education and training an IL Real Estate Practitioner is required to complete before they earn their Real Estate License. Most will truly not know.
But others, perhaps many others, might cynically respond - "Not nearly enough!"
Indeed, pre-license training requirements are far less stringent than other major professions here in Illinois - lawyers, for example, or CPA's. Even beauticians and nail technicians have to endure more pre-license training, and a certain period of apprenticeship, than IL Real Estate Agents do!
In April, 2012, that will change, as New IL Real Estate Licensees will now … (3 comments)

chicago real estate news alert: Recently-Modified Home Loans Show Lower Incidence of Re-Default - New Fed Data! - 12/23/09 03:24 PM

Happy Holidays, from Icy Chicago!
Many have criticized President Obama's Home Affordable Mortgage Program for failing to bring Mortgage Loan Modifications to enough distressed homeowners this year. However, of those who have been granted modified loans, with lower rates, the percentage of those who keep up with their monthly house payments under the new terms is on the rise.
During the Second Quarter, 2009, 18.7% of mortgage loans re-structured into lower monthly payments went delinquent once again after 60 days. This compares to a staggering re-default level of 30% after three months for the previous four quarters - from the Second … (0 comments)

chicago real estate news alert: FED HOMEBUYER TAX CREDITS! What Happens To Housing Rebound After These End, and Interest Rates Rise? - 12/22/09 11:43 AM

Happy Days! Are they here again for the Housing Market, here in Chicago, and elsewhere across the U.S.? Or, will purchase fall back to earth next year, as Fed Tax Incentives end, and Mortgage Interest Rates rise as predicted?
According to data compiled by the National Association of Realtors, and as reported by Kelly Evans in today's Wall Street Journal, residential resales increased to an annual level o 6.54 Million units last month - far higher than they originally predicted, and 39% over last November's total.
Lawrence Yun, NAR's Chief Economist, revealed that 51% of November buyers were first-time purchasers, aided … (1 comments)

chicago real estate news alert: U.S. HOUSING RECOVERY AHEAD? Mortgage Insurers Thin "Declining Markets" List, Require Less Down Payment! - 12/20/09 03:19 PM

Is increased lender confidence - key to a housing market turnaround, in Chicago and elsewhere - returning?
In some markets across the U.S., that seems to be the case. Until very recently, virtually every home market across the country insisted on higher down payments, suggesting local housing prices were still sliding downward.
But now, according to an article by Ruth Simon in the December 16th Wall Street Journal, Private Mortgage Insurance Companies, including larger insurer MGIC, seem to be feeling better about market conditions in many areas, and have taken several mid-sized markets off their "watch list."
For homes in markets removed … (0 comments)

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