Archive for the 'For Homeowners' Category
REALTORS® Survey: Local Residents Still Consider Housing Part Of The American Dream
March 7th, 2012 categories: Chicago Info/News, Economic Recovery, For Buyers, For Homeowners, Housing Market
Housing values are down. Foreclosures are up. A growing number of Chicago-area homeowners are underwater on their mortgage loans, owing more on these loans than what their homes are worth.
You’d think that this combination would sour Illinois residents on the benefits of owning a home. Surprisingly, though, the latest survey by the Illinois Association of REALTORS® shows that state residents still believe that owning a home is an important part of the American dream.
According to the survey of Illinois residents, 75 percent of respondents said that buying a home remains a sounder long-term financial investment than does sinking their money in the stock market.
The survey, of 600 homeowners and renters in the state, also found that 54 percent of respondents said that banks should enact stricter requirements for passing out mortgage dollars. A total of 55 percent of respondents said that the government should make assistance available to help prevent homeowners from losing their residences. Finally, 61 percent of respondents said that owning a home is a better value than renting an apartment.
The poll did find, though, that Illinois residents are realistic about the state of the housing market in Chicago and the rest of the state. A total of 34 percent of respondents said that they thought housing prices would increase a lot or a little in the next five years, while 41 percent said they thought prices would remain the same during this period. An additional 19 percent said that they thought home prices would fall a little or a lot in the next five years.
The survey results offer more evidence that owning a home remains an important goal of most local residents. After all, if the REALTORS® poll shows support for housing that is this strong in such a challenging economy, imagine how many respondents would identify housing as an important financial step if the economy was strong.
| Discussion: No Comments »
Housing Foreclosures Still Rising In Illinois
February 22nd, 2012 categories: Chicago Real Estate News, Economic Recovery, For Buyers, For Homeowners, For Sellers, Foreclosures, Housing Market
In unfortunate news, the number of housing foreclosures throughout the state rose 14 percent last month. In fact, only six states had higher foreclosure rates during the month.
According to a report by RealtyTrac, the online foreclosure service, Illinois saw 14,349 foreclosure filings in January of this year, an increase of 14 percent when compared to December of 2011. This means that one in every 369 housing units in the state was in some point of the foreclosure process during the month, according to a feature story by the Associated Press.
It’s important to note that foreclosures as defined by RealtyTrac don’t mean that homeowners have already lost their residences. It just means that homes are at some point in the foreclosure process, a process that could include default notices being sent by banks, auction-sale notices being sent on properties and bank repossessions.
The January foreclosure rate in Illinois was also up 9 percent when compared to the same month one year earlier.
Illinois residents shouldn’t expect foreclosure numbers to fall any time soon, either. According to the Associated Press story, the number of housing foreclosures across the country is expected to rise now that attorneys general in 49 states have reached an historic settlement with five of the country’s biggest mortgage lenders. This settlement lays out foreclosure guidelines that could give banks the confidence to pursue foreclosures more aggressively.
About the only good news for Illinois homeowners was the fact that six other states had higher foreclosure rates in the month. Nevada in January continued to have the highest foreclosure rate in the country. Coming next were Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia and Michigan.
Illinois came next, to rank seventh in the country in the number of foreclosure notices filed in January.
| Discussion: No Comments »
Chicago Housing Prices Hit 2001 Levels
February 13th, 2012 categories: Chicago Info/News, Economic Recovery, FSBO's, For Buyers, For Homeowners, For Sellers
How far have Chicago home prices fallen? Far enough so that condominiums and single-family homes across the Chicago area are selling for prices last seen in spring of 2001.
That’s the news from a recent story in the Chicago Tribune.
The Tribune reported on the much-followed Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index, an index that in November showed housing prices in the Chicago area falling 3.4 percent from the previous month. Chicago housing prices were also down 5.9 percent from a year earlier, the Tribune reported.
Chicago’s drop in housing prices was steeper than those suffered by each of the nation’s largest 20 housing markets save for Atlanta, Seattle, Tampa and Las Vegas, according to the Tribune story.
The Tribune quoted a source from Zillow who said that the problem in the Chicago area is a fundamental one: The supply of homes available in the region far exceeds the demand for these residences.
Until this changes, housing prices will not rise.
High unemployment — though unemployment has been falling — is another issue that negatively impacts home sales. People simply won’t invest in homes if they fear that they might lose their jobs. And when people aren’t buying, the housing supply remains high, forcing prices down.
This is frustrating for home sellers, especially those who bought during the Chicago housing boom, when prices hit their heights. These sellers can expect to sell their residences for less than what they paid for them.
My advice to sellers is simple: They need to price their homes according to what the market says their residences are worth. Buyers today don’t care what sellers paid for their homes four years ago. They only care about what similar homes are selling for today.
| Discussion: No Comments »
Even Noted Housing Critic Agrees: This Is The Time To Buy A Home
February 10th, 2012 categories: Chicago Info/News, Chicago News, Chicago Real Estate News, Economic Recovery, For Buyers, For Homeowners, For Sellers, Housing Market
Economist Christopher Thornberg has long been considered a pessimist when it comes to the housing industry. He was, after all, one of the few voices during the nation’s housing boom who insisted that a housing bubble was not only real but about to burst.
It’s news, then, when a critic such as Thornberg tells consumers that now is a good time to buy a house.
And that’s just what Thornberg did in a recent interview with the Chicago Tribune’s real estate columnist Mary Umberger.
The founder of an independent research firm in Los Angeles, Thornberg told Umberger that now is a good time to buy a house, as long as buyers understand that a house is what he called a consumption good, not an investment.
Here’s what Thornberg means: Consumers should buy condominiums and single-family homes for the benefits they bring, stability, shelter, a place to escape to at the end of the day. They should not look at housing as a way to make a quick buck. That’s what happened during the housing boom, and it’s what led to housing prices getting way too high way too quickly.
In today’s housing market — including in Chicago — housing prices have fallen to solid, affordable levels, Thornberg said. At the same time, mortgage interest rates are at record lows, making the act of borrowing mortgage money as affordable as it’s ever been. Add to this the fact that home sellers are ready to negotiate on final sales prices, and you have an environment that’s more than beneficial to home buyers.
I’ve said this many times in this blog, but I’ll repeat myself: This remains a great time to buy a home. If you’ve been hesitating, consider Thornberg’s advice. If a noted housing critic says that this is a good buyer’s market, who are we to argue?
| Discussion: No Comments »
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.
| Discussion: No Comments »
