Michael Hobbs's (michaelhobbs) Blog

Going through a divorce? Who ya gonna call… to sell your home?   I just made everyone sing “Ghosbusters!” in their head didn’t I?  Well, in real estate, divorce can create quite the scenario for agents and not all agents are up for the task. Unfortunately, the situation can provide additional hur...

Massachusetts remains hopeful for a turn in their housing market.  In December of 2012, there were only 265 recorded foreclosure deeds, these are completed foreclosures.  This is 64% less than December of 2011, according to the Warren Group, a real estate and financial information firm. However 8...

Principal reduction is something that has been spoken about, but how many borrowers really get to take advantage of that? The Obama administrations claimed that just in February, 70% of mortgages that were non-GSE loans that were eligible for a principal reductions through HAMP, Home Affordabilit...

The Second City is second to none in the real estate residential buying market.  This is not the news homeowners want to hear, but I would hope doesn’t come as a complete shock.  Zillow ranked the Chicago area as the leading buyer’s market out of the 30 largest metropolitan markets twice this yea...

Big happenins in commercial real estate out in Aurora, IL!  A New York investor, Abacus Capital Group, LLC is looking to plant their flag in our Western suburbs of Chicago with the purchase of a 464 unit apartment property. The Abacus Group has agreed to buy the Amli at Oakhurst North from the lo...

Banks seem to be loosening their hold on not allowing foreign investors to mortgage real estate investments here in the States.  Til now, the challenges were that foreign buyers had no social security number, sufficient credit history, nor the extensive financial profile required by many American...

According to the Midwest Real Estate Data, MRED, the amount of homes available for sale has dropped between December of 2010 and December 2012.  It is true that there are areas in the city where most of the properties have been sold, which creates less options, multiple offers per properties, and...

Last Tuesday the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported a 9% increase in mortgage originations for both commercial property and multi-family rental buildings. Jamie Woodwell, VP of commercial real estate research for the Mortgage Bankers Association said, "The overall number masks larger inc...

Spring has always been perceived as the start of the housing season, but this March in some neighborhoods in the city and some suburbs possessed a whole new kind of March-madness.   Homes sales all around were up from a year ago in nearly all areas of the city but they could likely have gone high...

There’s lots buzz running around our fair city; City of Chicago’s Mayor, Rahm Emanuel, has proposed a bill that would require real estate investors that purchase multi-unit buildings from a foreclosure auction to pay renters to move. According to the Chicago Tribune, He is proposing that in order...