Scary Housing Headlines Running Rampant
October 31st, 2008 categories: Chicago Real Estate News
We’ve all read some alarming headlines during the housing slump. Last week, Crain’s Chicago Business added another, with a featured story headlined simply “Housing Horror.”
You can read the story here. Basically, it gives some numbers sure to make home sellers nervous: Real estate analysts Tracy Cross & Associates reports that buyers purchased or signed contracts for 1,559 new-construction homes in the Chicago area during the third quarter of this year. That is down 58 percent from the same time period one year earlier. In the city of Chicago proper, developers sold 1,570 new housing units in the first nine months of this year, down 57 percent from the same period one year earlier.
The story also quotes local homebuilders, all of whom have seen their sales drop dramatically. It’s quite a depressing read.
But the story should have come as little surprise to anyone who’s been paying attention to the housing market. Homebuilders have been struggling to move their unsold inventory for months now.
I’d hate for this story, though, to add new worries to sellers who already fear that their homes will never get off the market.
Here’s what I’ve seen in the neighborhoods that I work in, places such as Lakeview, Lincoln Park, Roscoe Village, Lincoln Square and the Gold Coast. Homes here are still selling for good prices, if they’re in good shape and if they’re priced right.
Those are two big “ifs,” of course. During the residential housing boom of 2001 through 2006, sellers could get away with setting sky-high prices or trying to move homes that weren’t updated or in excellent shape, so long as they were selling in any of the more desirable neighborhoods in Chicago.
Obviously, that has changed, something that the Crain’s story backs up. Today, it’s imperative for sellers to work closely with their REALTORS® to get a house in perfect showing condition, address any serious renovation or repair needs and, of course, set the ideal asking price. In many cases, sellers and their REALTORS® may decide it’s best to take certain homes off the market to wait for better economic times. Owners who don’t have to sell now may want to wait.
But those who do have to sell – or absolutely want to sell now – need not panic. Yes, the headlines are scary, and they’re only going to get more frightening as the country’s economic crisis and stock market rollercoaster worsen. But there’s no reason for Chicago sellers to worry that their single-family homes or condominiums won’t attract any fair offers. They will. The prices, and the conditions, just have to be right.
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