Archive for the 'Local Markets' Category
REAL ESTATE FORECAST by Illinois Association of Realtors
August 24th, 2011 categories: Local Markets
July Illinois home sales were up 18.4 percent from a year ago, a strong jump and the first year-over-year sales gain since June of 2010 when sales were still under the influence of the homebuyer tax credit stimulus, according to the Illinois Association of REALTORS® July Home Sales Report issued today.
With mortgage interest rates still at record lows, affordability conditions remain strong for qualified and motivated buyers who are out there studying their options. However, the current level of economic uncertainty and tight credit are taking a toll on buyer confidence.
“The market, like the economy, continues to struggle even though interest rates and prices would appear to suggest favorable conditions for housing purchases,” said economist Dr. Geoffrey J.D. Hewings, director of the Regional Economics Applications Laboratory (REAL) of the University of Illinois.
In the latest REAL forecast for the Illinois housing market, Dr. Hewings indicates that when we get stronger signals from the economy with sustained employment growth of the order of 200,000 jobs added per month, that is when “we can we expect to see a sustained uptick in housing sales and some modest recovery in prices.”
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Chicago Tops List in Number of Foreclosures
July 12th, 2011 categories: Local Markets, National News/Local News
Chicago Has Most Foreclosed Homes Of Any City In Americafrom The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com by The Huffington Post News EditorsAlthough it never shared the notoriety of Miami, Los Angeles and Phoenix during America’s foreclosure crisis, the Chicago area now has the nation’s largest inventory of foreclosed homes because it is harder to unload troubled properties here than in most other metropolitan areas. The inventory data compiled by RealtyTrac, a California company that tracks housing sales, place Chicago first among the country’s 20 largest metropolitan areas. Real estate experts attribute the high concentration of foreclosures to numerous factors including the strong protections built into Illinois law to protect borrowers, the impact of the “robo-signing” investigation by the Illinois Attorney General, and the reluctance of banks to dump properties at prices far below the value of mortgage loans on their books.
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Case Shiller Report on Real Estate in Chicago Reported by Francine Knowles
January 26th, 2011 categories: Local Markets, National News/Local News
Home prices in the Chicago metropolitan area set a new low since prices peaked in 2006, falling 2.2 percent in November from October and 7.6 percent over the year.
That is according to the latest Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller Home Price index, which showed prices weakening across the country and also setting new post-peak lows in eight other cities.
The annual decline in the Chicago area was the second biggest among 20 major metropolitan areas, trailing only Atlanta, which posted a 7.9 percent decline. But the drop in the Chicago area was an improvement from the 8.5 percent annual drop reported in November 2009.
The index for the Chicago area stood at 119.57 in November 2010, falling below the 119.71 level of last March, which had been the low for the year, and marking the lowest point since April 2002, when it stood at 118.97.
The 10-city composite fell 0.8 percent over the month and slid 0.4 percent over the year, while the 20-city composite fell 1 percent over the month and dropped 1.6 percent over the year. Home prices fell in 19 of 20 metropolitan areas over the month, excluding San Diego, which reported a 0.1 percent gain. Only four metropolitan areas showed gains over the year—Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.
The eight other metropolitan areas that set new lows since home prices peaked in 2006 and 2007 are Detroit, Las Vegas, Miami, Tampa, Atlanta, Charlotte, Portland and Seattle.
“With these numbers, more analysts will be calling for a double-dip in home prices,” David Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at S&P said in a statement. “Certainly nine cities setting new lows and with the only positive news concentrated in southern California and Washington, D.C., the data point to weakness in home prices.”
Thirteen of the metropolitan areas and both composites have posted at least seven months of decline since the beginning of 2010. The Chicago area has posted five months of decline since then. As of November, average home prices across the country are back to the levels they were in the latter half of 2003. Since June and July 2006, the 10-city and 20-city composites are down 30.3 percent.
Home prices in the Chicago metropolitan area set a new low since prices peaked in 2006, falling 2.2 percent in November from October and 7.6 percent over the year.
That is according to the latest Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller Home Price index, which showed prices weakening across the country and also setting new post-peak lows in eight other cities.
The annual decline in the Chicago area was the second biggest among 20 major metropolitan areas, trailing only Atlanta, which posted a 7.9 percent decline. But the drop in the Chicago area was an improvement from the 8.5 percent annual drop reported in November 2009.
The index for the Chicago area stood at 119.57 in November 2010, falling below the 119.71 level of last March, which had been the low for the year, and marking the lowest point since April 2002, when it stood at 118.97.
The 10-city composite fell 0.8 percent over the month and slid 0.4 percent over the year, while the 20-city composite fell 1 percent over the month and dropped 1.6 percent over the year. Home prices fell in 19 of 20 metropolitan areas over the month, excluding San Diego, which reported a 0.1 percent gain. Only four metropolitan areas showed gains over the year—Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.
The eight other metropolitan areas that set new lows since home prices peaked in 2006 and 2007 are Detroit, Las Vegas, Miami, Tampa, Atlanta, Charlotte, Portland and Seattle.
“With these numbers, more analysts will be calling for a double-dip in home prices,” David Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at S&P said in a statement. “Certainly nine cities setting new lows and with the only positive news concentrated in southern California and Washington, D.C., the data point to weakness in home prices.”
Thirteen of the metropolitan areas and both composites have posted at least seven months of decline since the beginning of 2010. The Chicago area has posted five months of decline since then. As of November, average home prices across the country are back to the levels they were in the latter half of 2003. Since June and July 2006, the 10-city and 20-city composites are down 30.3 percent.
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“Foreclosures, Tax Sales, and Our Troubled Economy”
October 19th, 2010 categories: Ask the "Specialist", Local Markets
NILES TOWNSHIP LECTURE SERIES PRESENTS:
” Foreclosures, Tax Sales, and Our Troubled Economy”
I have been invited to be part of the panel this Thursday, October 21, 2010, 7:00 pm.
As part of the panel I prepared the following information to share with people who will be attending the lecture.
Real Estate Market in Niles Township – 12 months
The following data comes from the MLS. The author of this report makes no representation to the accuracy of the data provided by the MLS.
| City | Months | Total Sales | Short Sales | Foreclosures | % of Total Sales | Market Time | Avg Sale Price |
| Skokie | 12 | 327 | 48 | 67 | 35% | 129 | $294,572 |
| Morton Grove | 12 | 174 | 23 | 49 | 41% | 152 | $273,883 |
| Glenview | 12 | 381 | 46 | 51 | 25% | 211 | $593,612 |
| Niles | 12 | 143 | 13 | 32 | 31% | 201 | $284,472 |
| Lincolnwood | 12 | 105 | 22 | 32 | 51% | 188 | $361,569 |
Real Estate Market in Niles Township – 24 months
The following data comes from the MLS. The author of this report makes no representation to the accuracy of the data provided by the MLS.
| City | Months | Total Sales | Short Sales | Foreclosures | % of Total Sales | Market Time | Avg Sale Price |
| Skokie | 24 | 618 | 87 | 118 | 33% | 145 | $298,922 |
| Morton Grove | 24 | 311 | 47 | 71 | 38% | 149 | $287,633 |
| Glenview | 24 | 673 | 86 | 80 | 25% | 215 | $583,979 |
| Niles | 24 | 276 | 28 | 43 | 26% | 194 | $290,264 |
| Lincolnwood | 24 | 188 | 33 | 47 | 43% | 186 | $388,902 |
Summary and Conclusions:
Short Sales and Foreclosures continue to dominate the real estate market in Niles Township. During the past 12 months the total number of sales is down compared to last year. This may be the result of several factors from loss of the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credits, unemployment in the area or the economy in general.
On a positive side the average sale price of homes is remaining stable. Huge price declines as a result of the number of foreclosures appears not to be affecting the Average Sale Price of Homes in the Township.
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The State of Real Estate in Rogers Park
September 7th, 2010 categories: For Buyers, For Sellers, Local Markets
Today I had a meeting with Rogers Park Community Development Corporation and shared “The State Of Real Estate in Rogers Park”.
Rogers Park is located on the Northside of Chicago. Its boundaries are the Lakefront on the East, Ridge Avenue on the West, Devon Avenue South to just a little North of Howard on the North. Loyola University is located in Rogers Park.
Real Estate in Rogers Park consist of Single Family Homes, Condominiums, Townhomes and some Multi-Family 2 -4 unit buildings.
Prior to 2007 Rogers Park had a lot of buildings that were converted from rental to condominiums. As a result most of the real estate market was being supported by first time home buyers buying new construction condominiums.
The following data covers the Residential Real Estate Market in Rogers Park over the past 24 months.
I have included data for both Single Family Homes and Attached Homes which include condo and townhouse sales data.
As the data suggests there were fewer sales in the past 12 months for both Single Family and Attached homes in Rogers Park. This maybe the result of the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit or just due to fewer qualified buyers or a combination of both.
When buyers were looking to buy they tended to look at pre-foreclosure short sales or foreclosures 21%-43% of the time.
Single Family Home prices actually appreciated 3% over the past 12 months while Attached homes depreciated in value 12% during the same period. Clearly the shear number of distressed Attached Home Sales was the main reason for this reduction.
The Real Estate Market in Rogers Park
The following data comes from the MLS. The author of this report makes no representation to the accuracy of the data provided by the MLS.
| Property Type | Months | Total Sales | Short Sales | Foreclosures | % of Total Sales | Market Time | Avg Sale Price |
| SF | 12 | 34 | 1 | 6 | 21% | 177 | $390,000 |
| SF | 24 | 55 | 3 | 8 | 20% | 199 | $377,000 |
| Property Type | Months | Total Sales | Short Sales | Foreclosures | % of Total Sales | Market Time | Avg Sale Price |
| Attached | 12 | 392 | 34 | 133 | 43 | 191 | $151,000 |
| Attached | 24 | 714 | 63 | 159 | 31 | 202 | $169,000 |
Join Rogers Park Community Leaders this Saturday September 11, 2010
Community leaders reach out to struggling condo and homeowners in Rogers Park.
( Chicago , IL ) — Condo and homeowners are invited to attend an informational workshop hosted by 49th Ward Alderman Joe Moore on September 11, 2010 from 10:00 am-2:00 pm at the Rogers Park Library 6907 N. Clark Street, 2nd floor.
The event will feature a presentation on How to Avoid Foreclosure given by local HUD-certified housing counseling agency Rogers Park Community Development Corporation. Immediately following the presentation, participants will have the opportunity to meet one on one with HUD- certified housing counselors. Volunteers from Legal Assistance Foundation, CEDA and Citizen’s Utility Board will also be available.
Contact:
Caleb Sjoblom
Director
Rogers Park Community Development Corporation
773-262-2290 x 13
###
Heather Whiteford
Associate Director
Rogers Park Community Development Corporation
1411 W. Lunt
Chicago , IL 60626
Ph: 773-262-2290 Ext. 12
Fax: 773-262-2537
Eat, Play, Love Our Neighborhoods! http://www.explorechicago.org/city/en.html
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The State of Real Estate in Jefferson Park
August 24th, 2010 categories: Local Markets
Jefferson Park Neighborhood Association is sponsoring a forum called ” The State of Real Estate in Jefferson Park”.
As a participant in the forum, I have prepared a review of the Real Estate Market for both Single Family Homes and Attached Homes which is primarily the condo and townhouse market.
In doing the analysis I decided it would be best to go back to 2008 and then look forward to the current real estate market in 2010.
Jefferson Park Single Family and Attached Home Sales Data:
As the data indicates there were very few Short Sales and no Foreclosures in Jefferson Park in 2008.
In 2009 the Real Estate Market began to change and Jefferson Park was not immune to these changes.
The number of Short Sales doubled from 7 in 2008 to 15 in 2009. The number of Foreclosures also jumped from 0 in 2008 to 20 in 2009.
While both these numbers are low in comparison to the total number of property being sold they do represent a shift in attitude to buyers. Between 27-30% of all sales in 2009 were distressed properties.
Finally in the first 7 months of 2010, the percentage of distressed sales increased to 37% for Single Family homes and 55% for all Attached Family homes.
One of the more postive signs in Jefferson Park is home values. Home values appear to be stabilizing. The average price of a home is $264,321 in 2010 compared to $270,378 in 2009. This is a modest decline of only 2%.
Attached home prices on the other hand are not doing as well. Over the past two years, the average Attached home prices has dropped from a high of $219.428 in 2008 to $152,149. This represents 14-19% drop in price each year from 2008-2010.
Jefferson Park Residential Sales Data from 2008 thru 2010:
The following data comes from the MLS. The author of this report makes no representation to the accuracy of the data provided by the MLS.
| Property Type | Year | Total Sales | Short Sales | Foreclosures | % of Total Sales | Market Time | Avg Sale Price | % +/ - |
| SF | 2008 | 101 | 7 | 0 | 7% | 178 | $323,300 | DNA |
| Attached | 2008 | 38 | 1 | 0 | 3% | 154 | $219,428 | DNA |
| Property Type | Year | Total Sales | Short Sales | Foreclosures | % of Total Sales | Market Time | Avg Sale Price | % +/ - |
| SF | 2009 | 131 | 15 | 20 | 27% | 155 | $270,278 | -16% |
| Attached | 2009 | 27 | 5 | 3 | 30% | 205 | $187,898 | -14% |
| Property Type | Year | Total Sales | Short Sales | Foreclosures | % of Total Sales | Market Time | Avg Sale Price | % +/ - |
| SF | 2010 | 73 | 11 | 16 | 37 | 107 | $264,321 | -2% |
| Attached | 2010 | 20 | 2 | 9 | 55% | 189 | $152,149 | -19% |
Jefferson Park Real Estate For Sale
Currently there are 130 single family homes and 74 attached homes for sale in Jefferson Park.
The real estate market is a buyers market in Jefferson Park.
The average market time is 217 for Single Family Homes and 282 days for Attached homes.
The average List price of a Single Family home is $313,000 and $180,907 for Attached homes.
The number of Shorts Sales represents 15-19% of all active listings for sale.
Jefferson Park Real Estate For Sale: Active Listings
The following data comes from the MLS. The author of this report makes no representation to the accuracy of the data provided by the MLS.
| Property Type | Year | Total Active | Short Sales | Foreclosures | % of Total for Sale | Market Time | Avg List Price |
| SF | 2010 | 130 | 24 | 1 | 19% | 217 | $313,000 |
| Attached | 2010 | 74 | 11 | 0 | 15% | 282 | $180,907 |
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Have You Paid Your Cook County Real Estate Taxes?
October 22nd, 2009 categories: Ask the "Specialist", Local Markets
Have you paid your Cook County Real Estate Taxes?
No! Because Residents of Cook County have not received the second installment of their Real Estate Taxes for the 2008 Tax Year.
Taxes in Cook County are paid in arrears. That means taxes paid in 2009 are for the 2008 tax year.
Taxes in Cook County are paid two times a year. The first installment is due in March and the second installment is due in November of each year.
As of October 22, 2009, Cook County residents have not received a tax bill for the second installment of their 2008 Real Estate taxes.
Much of the County Revenue comes from Real Estate Taxes. At a time when the County is struggling to provide services to the community it amazes me why the tax bills have not been mailed.
Cook County Facts
| Quick Facts | Cook County | Illinois |
| Population 2008 estimate | 5,294,664 | 12,901563 |
| # of Housing Units 2007 | 2,172,658 | 5,246,005 |
| # of Households 2000 | 1,974,181 | 4,591,779 |
| Persons per Household 2000 | 2.68 | 2.63 |
| Median Value of Owner Occupied 2000 | $157,700 | $130,800 |
| Median Household Income 2007 | $52,554 | $54,144 |
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Illinois Bank Losses Cost FDIC A Pretty Penny
July 22nd, 2009 categories: Local Markets
Illinois Bank Losses Cost FDIC a Pretty Penny.
The Top 12 Illinois Bank Failures of 2009 report from Chicago Tribune:
| Bank Name | Location | Total Assets Estimate | FDIC Insured Loss | Insured Loss % of Banks Total Assets |
| Founders Bank | Worth | $963,000 | $189,000 | 20% |
| Strategic Capital | Champaign | $547,000 | $173000 | 32% |
| Citizens National | Macomb | $439,000 | $106,000 | 24% |
| National Bank of Commerce | Berkeley | $420,000 | $97,000 | 23% |
| Corn Belt Bank and Trust | Pittsfield | $260,000 | $100,000 | 38% |
| Heritage Community | Glenwood | $235,000 | $42,000 | 18% |
| Bank of Lincolnwood | Lincolnwood | $214,000 | $83,000 | 39% |
| 1st National Bank | Danville | $166,000 | $24,000 | 14% |
| Rock River | Oregon | $77,000 | $28,000 | 36% |
| John Warner | Clinton | $70,000 | $10,000 | 14% |
| Elizabeth State | Elizabeth | $56,000 | $11,000 | 20% |
| Totals | $3,483,000 | $869,000 | 25% |
These 12 Illinois Bank lost a total of $869 Million Dollars this year or 25% of total bank assets a little under $3.5 billion.
All of this money was insured by FDIC.
FDIC total Losses on a National Level are estimated to be $12.7 Billion with $42 Billion in total Bank Assets.
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Unemployment in IL is the Number 1 Problem …
July 8th, 2009 categories: Just "My" Opinion, Local Markets
Every day I get asked the following question ” How is the Real Estate Market?” and then the follow up question is “When do you think it is going to get better?”
These are the two most difficult questions to answer because I do not have a crystal ball and I am not able to predict when the market will get better.
All I can say is the number 1 problem we face in Illinois appears to be the rise in unemployment through out our State.
According to the most recent May figures, the unemployment rate is now 10.1 percent. According to the Department of Employment Security there are now 671,400 unemployed people in Illiniois.
The State of Illinois has lost more jobs that it is creating. In fact 290,800 more people have lost their jobs since the beginning of the recession.
According to a recent Chicago Crains article dated April 9, 2009, Illinois companies plan to cut 2, 486 jobs.
Android Industries, LLC, an engine manufacturer, plans to cut 273 jobs.
AHS Food Company, a soybean processing company, plans to cut 246 jobs.
HSBC Finance Corporation, plans to cut 214 Illinois jobs
Northfield Laboratories announced 69 jobs are being cut.
RR Donnelly, announced 118 jobs are being cut
Motorolla announced 74 jobs are being cut in Libertyville.
As more people loose their jobs there will be a a rippling affect in the Illinois housing market.
People who loose their jobs will be unable to pay their mortgage on their homes and will not be able to refinance their mortgage or modify their loans with their lender.
I predict more home foreclosures and a longer recovery to the Housing Market in Illinois.
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Buyers Market Vs Sellers Market Needs To Be Re-Defined..
May 19th, 2009 categories: Local Markets
Since we are in full swing of the Spring Housing Market I thought I would write about the Health of the Market as it relates to one community where I work.
As of today’s date, there are 300 active single family homes for sale in the city of Evanston, IL. During the past month 64 homes went under contract.
If you divide the number of homes under contract by the number of active listings you will be calculating for what is normally called the absorption rate. The absorption rate tells you how many months it will take to sell a home in today’s market.
In this example, (64 homes under contract /divided by 300 active listings) you get an absorption rate of 4.69 months. As Realtors we look at the absorption rate to define the difference between a buyers market and sellers market.
If it takes 1-4 months (30-120 days) then this is considered a buyers market. If it takes 5-7 months (150-210 days) to sell a home this is considered a sellers market.
On the surface the real estate market in Evanston, IL appears to be a buyers market. Now here is the kicker… Out of the 64 homes under contract 17 of those are Short Sales or Bank Owned Foreclosures. This represents 27% of the total future sales in Evanston, IL.
And we know it takes a longer time to get a Short Sale accepted by the bank and closed than a normal real estate transaction.
In conclusion, I think we need to adjust our concept of a buyers market vs a sellers market when the number of pending sales are really foreclosures.
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