Michael Hobbs's (michaelhobbs) Blog

"Ratings?  What Ratings, I don't need no stinking ratings?!", said the out-of-touch Realtor as he stormed out of the room when asked about his online ratings. For many people, the first place they go for feedback is online.  Online customer reviews, online portals for feedback, online for friend...

  So, when was the last time you walked into a listing appointment and after you had presented your educated insight on the client’s property based on years of experience in the local market then heard the client say, “but Zillow says it is worth this”?   Zestimates: How Accurate Are They?    Whe...

Up, Up and Away, no not the Jimmy Webb song written in 1967 and not the 2000 Disney movie about a boy who doesn’t have super powers, but maybe we wish he did.  To the contrary, Up, Up and Away is a reference to our real estate market and the penetration of short sales which according to foreclosu...

According to a recent article by Justin Hilley in Housingwire, the number of licensed appraisers fell 12% to 86,800 in 2011 from a high of 98,450 in 2007, according to the Appraisal Subcommittee of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, which has a national registry listing certi...

  One of the joys of being responsible for your residence is the 'privilege' of dealing with various 'issues'.    Yet, the joy of being a tenant is that the problem is someone else's to resolve even when you are most inconvenienced by renting real estate.  In the middle of my morning, I received ...

  46 months and counting….that is the time that Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services  said it will take to clear the nation’s distressed housing inventory per a HousingWire report.     How does this compare to prior data released?  Practically unchanced, except, that 6 months ago, the projection wa...

With each passing week, it seems someone is talking about interest rates with a renewed abandon.  "Can you imagine interest rates below 4%?!", I heard one realtor say yesterday.  Really, it was only a couple years ago when, people were saying Can you imagine interest rates below 6% because 8% use...

Yesterday, the Chicago Real Estate Council hosted a luncheon on the topic of distressed real estate. In attendance were Realtors, Brokers, Investors, Note Buyers, Bankers & Lenders, Title Agents, and Appraisers. The panelists were Charles Krawitz of Fifth Third Bank, Rick Levin of Rick Levin & As...

Ok, so I'll admit that even at my ripe old age (as you can tell from my photo), that I like cars because they get me around this big city.  Yet, I'll also admit that I'm not a car guy.  What? Yes, you heard it right.  I'm not a car guy.  Cars are a utility much like a fork is helpful but absolute...

There comes a time in everyone's life when they receive THE call or THE news. For many, I probably don't need to say any more than that because they know the experience of terror and finite-ness of life that comes about.  Yet, for the benefit of others, I will elaborate. Yesterday seemed like any...