Archive for the 'For Buyers' Category
Residential Real Estate Continues Move To Hi-Tech
June 16th, 2010 categories: Chicago Info/News, For Buyers, For Sellers, Technology
There was a time when critics claimed that REALTORS® were afraid of technology. I don’t know anyone making this claim now.
REALTORS®, in fact, have embraced technology as much as have any sales professionals. Search the Web and you’ll find pages of blogs written by REALTORS®. Search the MLS online and you’ll find a growing number of condominium and single-family home listings that have virtual tours attached to them.
And if you ever see a REALTOR® hustling to a showing, you’ll undoubtedly notice a smart phone clutched in this professional’s hand.
REALTORS® are married to technology. Of course, this was inevitable; home buyers and sellers are the same way.
The Chicago Tribune recently ran a feature story on the changing ways in which consumers buy and sell houses.
The most interesting fact in the Tribune story is this: 90 percent of consumers are going online to help find their homes, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.
For sellers, this is an important stat. They absolutely have to list their homes prominently online if they want to compete for buyers in today’s market. And it’s not just about listing a home on the Multiple Listing Service any more. Sellers need to showcase their homes with virtual tours. They need the written copy describing their homes to contain the right keywords to attract potential buyers. And they need lots of photos to accompany their online listings.
It makes sense, then, for sellers to work with tech-savvy REALTORS® who boast busy Web sites and who write well-trafficked blogs. These are the REALTORS® in today’s online marketplace who will attract the most potential buyers for sellers’ homes.
I still remember the days when online marketing was in its infancy. At that time, no one was quite sure how to best spotlight residential real estate on the Web. Today, it’s amazing how far we’ve all come. Just count how many “FOR SALE” signs boast a separate Web site address that’s unique to that particular property being sold.
It’s a new world today. And in a slow market like this one, it’s crucial for sellers to take full advantage of all the marketing opportunities that the Internet provides them.
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April Was Another Big Month For Chicago Home Sales
June 3rd, 2010 categories: Chicago Info/News, Economic Recovery, For Buyers, For Sellers, Housing Market
April marked the eighth straight month in which Chicago home sales showed an increase, according to the Illinois Association of REALTORS®. Housing industry analysts, though, are wondering if April’s big showing was largely the result of the impending expiration of the federal government’s home-buying tax credits.
Both the first-time homebuyers’ credit – which provided first-time buyers a tax credit of up to $8,000 – and the move-up buyers’ credit – which gavemost other buyers a tax credit of up to $6,500 – expired at midnight on April 30. This has led economists and housing experts to wonder if buyers across the nation were in a race to beat this deadline.
And if that’s the case, they add, the housing sales numbers in May and beyond might suffer with no tax credit to inspire buyers.
Personally, I can’t deny that both tax credits have played a large role in encouraging buyers to enter the Chicago market. But I think that the city’s affordable housing prices have played as important a role. Buyers know that they can purchase a condominium or single-family home in even the best neighborhoods of Chicago, places like Lakeview, Lincoln Square or Lincoln Park, at extremely reasonable prices.
Whatever the case, you can’t deny that April’s sales numbers were strong ones. The sales of single-family homes and condominiums rose 41.1 percent in April when compared to the same month one year earlier. The city saw 1,985 housing sales in the month compared to 1,407 in April of 2009.
The best news is that housing sales have been trending up for quite some time now. April marked the eighth consecutive month in which housing sales showed a year-over-year sales gain.
At the same time, there was a glimmer of good news regarding Chicago housing prices. The city median sales price in April stood at $225,000. That’s up 3.2 percent from a year ago, when the median sales price had fallen to $218,000.
These are all solid numbers, and I’m glad to see them. I’m sure the tax credits did play a role in them. But I also think that buyers recognize just how good a value Chicago homes are today.
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Wall Street Journal: Housing Prices Won’t Rise Anytime Soon
April 29th, 2010 categories: Chicago Info/News, Economic Recovery, For Buyers, For Homeowners, For Sellers
If you’re a home seller waiting for the median sales prices of condominiums and single-family homes to rise in Chicago and the rest of the nation, you might be waiting for a while, at least according to a Wall Street Journal study of the country’s residential real estate market.
The Journal’s most recent quarterly survey of housing-market conditions in 28 metropolitan areas found that inventories of homes for sale remain quite high in many big cities, including in Chicago. At the same time, the number of distressed buyers who face potential foreclosures also remains high in many cities.
This combination is a perfect recipe for keeping housing prices at their current affordable levels. When buyers have many homes from which to choose, they don’t have to overpay to land their dream home. When more homes fall into foreclosure, it tends to drag down the asking prices of other residences in the surrounding neighborhood. After all, it’s not easy to ask $300,000 for a condo when the neighbor’s place, in foreclosure, is selling for $220,000.
While this is bad news for sellers, it’s the opposite for buyers. They can still find high-quality homes in Chicago for prices that are more than fair.
The Wall Street Journal forecast specifically mentions Chicago, saying that our city is similar to places like Charlotte, N.C.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Nashville; and Philadelphia: The supply of homes already on the market is far higher than the national average.
Again, this is good news for buyers. It means that they have plenty of good homes to chose from in Chicago.
The local housing market is in a solid recovery. But the number of sales is increasing faster than is the median sales price of homes. This means that sellers have a choice to make: If they don’t have to sell, they might want to wait a year or more in the hope that housing prices will rise. If they do need to sell, they have to commit to working with their REALTORS® to find the right price for their home in this market.
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Housing Sales Are Up, But Prices Still Affordable In Chicago
April 27th, 2010 categories: Chicago Info/News, Economic Recovery, For Buyers, For Sellers, Housing Market
If you’ve bought a home in Chicago during the last 18 months, consider yourself lucky. You’ve purchased your condominium, townhome or single-family home during one of the best times to buy residential real estate in the city.
Look at all the factors that have been in buyers’ favor in the last year and a half: Because they bought during the long national housing slump, they dealt with sellers who were often desperate to move their condos or single-family homes. They bought at a time in which sales prices were falling. And, even better, they had plenty of high-quality homes on the market from which to choose; they rarely had to worry about getting into bidding wars with other buyers.
But what about today? Is Chicago still in the middle of a strong buyers’ market?
Yes, it most certainly is. You only have to look at the median sales prices of Chicago homes to prove this.
According to the latest sales data released by the Illinois Association of REALTORS®, the median sales price of existing homes in Chicago stood at $209,000 in March. That’s a solid figure, but it’s down 4.6 percent from the $219,000 median sales price of March of 2009.
For January through March of this year, the median sales price hit $196,000. That’s down 8.8 percent from the $215,000 median sales price the city saw for the first three months of 2009.
This means that buyers shopping for homes in Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Lincoln Square, Ravenswood and other top Chicago neighborhoods can buy more home for their dollar this year than last. And they can certainly afford more home for the same amount of money than they could even 2 years ago.
To me, that’s the definition of a buyers’ market. And while home sales in Chicago have increased for seven consecutive months, there is still a lot of inventory in the city for buyers to choose from.
If you want to buy a home in Chicago, then, don’t put it off. This is a still a great buyers’ market, and it’s still possible to get a terrific city home for a solid price.
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Even Warren Buffet Likes Chicago
April 14th, 2010 categories: Chicago Real Estate News, Economic Recovery, For Buyers, For Homeowners, For Sellers, Real Estate News
When making decisions on where to invest money, it always pays to look at what the wealthiest people do. After all, they’ve already made a fortune. You could do worse than follow their lead.
By this logic, people should be investing their money in Chicago real estate.
Bloomberg News reported that the property brokerage of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. – the company owned by investing guru Warren Buffett – in April bought a local Chicago real estate brokerage. This isn’t the first foray into Chicago housing for Buffett, either. Berkshire Hathaway purchased another Chicago brokerage last year.
The move makes sense for Buffett. Chicago housing sales have risen for six straight months, according to the latest sales data from the Illinois Association of REALTORS®. And top neighborhoods in the city, places like Lincoln Park, Lincoln Square, Ravenswood and Lakeview, have survived the housing slump in solid condition. These neighborhoods are still highly desired by buyers.
Yes, housing prices here have fallen since their peak in 2006. But the market is still strong in these top neighborhoods. Buffett obviously realizes the strength of Chicago’s housing market, and isn’t afraid to put his money on the line.
Buffett’s buy actually supports my contention that this is a great time to buy property in Chicago. Any good investor knows how important it is to buy low. In Chicago, housing prices have dropped since the start of the recession. Today, buyers can purchase more Chicago home for their dollars. For some buyers, this means the opportunity to buy into a top city neighborhood that might have been out of their financial reach just two or three years ago.
So if you’ve been considering buying a Chicago home, this is the time to make a move. Follow the example of Berkshire Hathaway and invest your money in Chicago residential real estate. After all, it makes sense to Warren Buffett, and he knows a thing or two about investing.
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