Michael Hobbs's (michaelhobbs) Blog

In an earlier post this year, in a tribute to NFL fans, I proposed the possibility that the NFL teams could be an indicator of their respective city success in the real estate market. Given the recent news that the Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler has suffered a broken bone in his hand, I am ...

For those who keep an eye on retail developments in the city and surrounding suburbs, they may have noticed a growing trend of top retail locations being purchased by Acadia and other competing retail acquisition groups. Most recently, after the Borders in Lincoln Park failed, the recently constr...

Indeed Thanksgiving for many conjures up images of gatherings, food, food and more food, and experiences that we are thankful for.  Indeed, in the midst of one of the worst, if not the worst, real estate market in many decades, there are many things to be thankful for.  Politics aside, this count...

Throughout 2011, Cook County, in Illinois, has led the way in both the quantity of foreclosures and the number of foreclosures.  With that large volume, comes a large quantity of real estate parcels, single family homes, condominiums, commercial properties and busted development deals that are pu...

One of the benefits of technology is that a picture can replace 1,000 words (or at least a lot of them).  Take the following house for example.   The property looks like most 'Bungalow' style residences in one of many Chicago neighborhoods.  Yet, would you believe this property had not 1 but 3 se...

Once again the opportunity to see things that are not privy to every passerby makes appraising interesting and educational.  To the unsuspecting individual, it would not seem to be a big deal to buy a condo on a high floor along / near Lake Michigan with beautiful lakefront views.  But what if yo...

There are lies, damned lies and statistics....not my quote, but a great one indeed.  Recent information published by RealtyTrac, considered to be a credible source of information as they track a large quantity of foreclosure filings and data nationwide, pointed out the Illinois slipped to 7th pos...

One of the benefits to appraising property throughout Northern Illinois is the wide variety of houses and scenery that exist.  Earlier this year, the opportunity arose to provide an appraisal for property tax assessment appeal of a house on Lake Eleanor in Deerfield.  Not surprisingly, with the d...

If you have ever visited Chicago, or even if you are a regular in the neighborhood of the Friendly Confines, a nickname for Wrigley Field, where the Chicago Cubs of the Major League Baseball play, then you may have walked, er stumbled into, one of the local establishments.  Last week, Crains Chic...

I'm sitting here looking at a United States Savings Bond, issued in Vine Grove, KY (that is near Fort Knox, KY) and it brings back memories of my late grandmother who passed away the year before.  Granted, I received that savings bond quite a long time ago, possibly as a high school graduation pr...