Archive for the 'Economic Recovery' Category
December Numbers Provide Strong Finish To Chicago Home Sales In 2011
January 25th, 2012 categories: Chicago Real Estate News, Economic Recovery, FSBO's, For Homeowners, For Sellers, Housing Market
Though 2011 wasn’t the strongest year for Chicago existing-home sales — they were actually down 7.2 percent from 2010 — December, at least, closed the year off strong.
According to the latest home sales numbers from the Illinois Association of REALTORS®, December, 2011, existing-home sales in Chicago hit 1,536, up 6.4 percent from the 1,444 homes sold in the same month one year earlier.
The news wasn’t as good when it came to the median sales prices of these homes. According to the association’s numbers, the median home sale price for Chicago stood at $156,000 in December of last year. That’s down 6.2 percent when compared to the same month in 2010. Back then, the median sales price of Chicago homes came in at $166,250.
Bob Floss, president of the Chicago Association of REALTORS®, was quoted in the press release accompanying the December numbers as saying that the December rally was a good sign for the future of Chicago housing sales. The numbers give hope that Chicago’s winter and spring home-selling seasons will be strong ones, he said.
Floss, though, expressed concerns about the median sales price of Chicago condominiums and single-family homes. This number shows no sign of rising, and, in fact, continues to fall. Floss pointed to the large number of distressed residential properties on the market: Foreclosures tend to drag down the median sales prices of homes near them.
Until the number of foreclosures falls, don’t expect the median sales price of Chicago residential properties to rise.
The association press release also quotes Loretta Alonzo, president of the Illinois Association of REALTORS®. She says that buyers in December simply found too many good housing deals to pass up.
That’s good news, of course, for sellers trying to move their properties. It’s not great news, though, for sellers trying to get top dollar for their homes. Buyers today simply expect to find bargains on the condos and single-family homes that they purchase.
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Expecting A Better Chicago Economy In 2012? Think Again
January 6th, 2012 categories: Chicago Info/News, Chicago Neighborhoods, Chicago News, Chicago Real Estate News, Economic Recovery, For Buyers, For Homeowners, For Sellers
Crain’s Chicago Business gave Chicago residents hoping for a better economic year in 2012 little reason for optimism. According to Crain’s, the Chicago economy will improve in 2012, but at a slower-than-optimal rate.
Crain’s quoted numbers from Moody’s Analytics saying that the Chicago-area economy should grow by about 1.6 percent in the first half of 2012 and by about 2 percent for the full year. These numbers sound positive until you consider that six months ago Moody’s predicted that the Chicago-area economy would grow by about 4 percent in 2012.
Crain’s points to the economic uncertainty caused by unstable financial markets and European debt worries. This, the story says, has made employers overly cautious when making new job hires.
Because of this, Moody’s is predicting that the unemployment rate in the Chicago area will jump to 11.4 percent in the first half of 2012. That’s up from 10.6 percent in the second half of 2011. Six months ago, Moody’s predicted that the Chicago-area unemployment rate would stand at 9.2 percent in the first half of 2012.
This is bad news, too, for the Chicago housing market. Buyers won’t be as willing to invest in a new home if they’re still worried about losing their jobs. And as Moody’s numbers show, Chicagoans have little reason to be optimistic about the safety of their jobs.
Just because a new year has started, it doesn’t mean that Chicago, and the rest of the nation, don’t still face serious challenges. Until unemployment finally falls, expect the Chicago housing market to struggle.
This latest news points out once again how important it is for home sellers to work with a skilled REALTOR® to set the right price for their condominiums or single-family homes. Buyers today are smart; they won’t overpay for a home. Those sellers who do set an unrealistic asking price will see their residence sit on the market for months, ignored by today’s savvy home buyers.
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Sears To Keep Chicago Stores Open
January 3rd, 2012 categories: Chicago News, Chicago Real Estate News, Economic Recovery
It’s never easy to see a long-time retailer suffer financially. Seeing the struggles of Sears, still one of the most important retailers in the country, has been downright painful.
But there is some good news regarding the retail giant: Of the store closings the company recently posted on its Web site, none are located in Chicago or Illinois.
GlobeSt.com reported that Sears, in late December, listed 79 of the 100 to 120 stores it plans to close. Not one of these stores is located in Illinois, and GlobeSt.com wonders whether the large tax break that the state recently approved for Sears had something to do with this.
Also in December, Gov. Pat Quinn signed a law to give Sears a tax cut of $150 million during a 10-year period. This move came after Sears threatened to move out of the state.
This hasn’t been a good year for Sears. GlobeSt.com reported that the retailer saw its comparable store sales fall 2.6 percent for the year and 5.2 percent since late October. The 100 to 120 stores that Sears closes should save the retailer about $170 million, according to the GlobeSt.com story.
It’s possible to argue the merits of giving companies such large tax breaks. It’s possible, too, to debate whether Sears’ recent tax cut played a role in its decision to not close any of its Illinois stores.
But it’s not possible to argue that Sears’ decision to spare Illinois and Chicago any store closings is a boon to the area. And, remember, anything that helps the local economy also helps the Chicago-area housing market.
Buyers are more likely to spend money if they feel more confident about the local economy. And confident buyers are essential to the health of the Chicago housing market.
So there’s one thing to agree on here: The fact that Sears is keeping its Chicago stores open is good news for everyone in the city.
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Housing Foreclosures Rise Again In The Chicago Area
December 22nd, 2011 categories: Chicago Info/News, Economic Recovery, For Homeowners, For Sellers, Foreclosures, Housing Market
The number of housing foreclosures fell throughout the United States. But locally in the Chicago area, housing foreclosures actually rose.
According to a recent feature story in the Chicago Tribune, the number of homes in the foreclosure process rose 20 percent in November in Cook County when compared to one month earlier. The Tribune said that much of this increase stemmed from a jump of 57 percent in the number of homes in the county that were sent to court-ordered auctions.
Citing data from online foreclosure company RealtyTrac, the Tribune reported that foreclosure filings were reported on more than 224,000 properties across the United States in November. That’s a drop of 3 percent from October.
No matter how you look at the numbers there are too many housing foreclosures in Chicago and the United States. This is unfortunate because foreclosure has such a devastating effect on families.
If you’re struggling to pay your mortgage bills each month, call your mortgage lender immediately. The sooner you call your lender, the better your chances of working out a new payment arrangement, a reduction in your mortgage loan’s interest rate or some other way to avoid losing your home through foreclosure.
I understand that this is no easy thing, calling your mortgage lender and explaining that you’re struggling to pay your monthly housing bills. But lenders will often work with you to find some solution to your mortgage woes.
Foreclosures remain the number-one deterrent to a housing market rebound, both in Chicago and across the nation. Foreclosures make it more difficult for sellers to get the prices they want for their homes. Buyers would rather pay $50,000 less for a similar home down the street that’s gone through the foreclosure process.
If you don’t want to become the latest foreclosure statistic, call your lender. Ignoring your mortgage problems won’t help them go away.
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Is Turning Chicago Foreclosures Into Rentals A Viable Solution?
December 15th, 2011 categories: Chicago Real Estate News, Economic Recovery, Foreclosures, Housing Market, Renting in Chicago
Homeowners trying to sell their residences don’t need to be told that there are too many foreclosures in Chicago neighborhoods. The high number of distressed properties is making it more difficult for them to sell their own residences at reasonable prices.
Think of it this way: Buyers are more than happy to spend $50,000 less on a foreclosed home or a short sale that sits three doors down from sellers trying to sell their similar residence the traditional way. Simply put, distressed homes sell for less, driving down the value of surrounding residences.
The Chicago Sun-Times, though, recently ran a feature story on an interesting new trend regarding foreclosure properties: According to the story, more of them are becoming rentals.
According to the Sun-Times story, more than one in 10 Chicago houses is now vacant. To help fill these empty spaces, the city and several nonprofit agencies are renting out a growing number of these properties. These groups are also offering buyers financial incentives to purchase these properties.
The Sun-Times story cites the efforts of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program run by the city and Mercy Portfolio Services. The program has received $169 million from the federal government in Recovery Act dollars, and so far has used some of these funds to pay for 51 demolitions and the purchase of 161 residential properties. The purchases are the interesting part of the equation: The residential properties total 819 housing units in 22 different Chicago neighborhoods. The Sun-Times reports that 75 percent of these housing units are for rent.
Foreclosures will continue to glut the Chicago housing market for years to come. There are just too many distressed properties on the market today. It’s good to see, though, the city and nonprofit agencies working together on creative ways in which to deal with them.
No one program will completely ease the burden that foreclosures and short sales place on the Chicago housing market. But the more programs that do attack this problem, the better.
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