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.

 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 49^th Ward Alderman Joe Moore on September 11, 2010 from 10:00 am-2:00 pm at the Rogers Park Library 6907 N. Clark Street, 2^nd 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

www.rogersparkcdc.org

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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

www.rogersparkcdc.org

Eat, Play, Love Our Neighborhoods! http://www.explorechicago.org/city/en.html

 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.

 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.

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

Illinois Bank Losses Cost FDIC a Pretty Penny.

The Top 12 Illinois Bank Failures of 2009 report from Chicago Tribune:

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.

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.

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.

The other day I was asked by a neighbor to do a “Market Value” on her home because she is a senior and is thinking about selling her home and moving to a retirement community.

When I completed the “Market Value” I was shocked to see the lower value of homes even in my own neighborhood.

I remember 15 years ago several neighbors decided to put additions on their homes and we used the same contractor and were very happy with the results. Each year we saw our home values increase as a result of our home improvements.

Today is  a different story. There are 3 homes on my own block which are listed as “Short Sales” and another 3 homes in the neighborhood that are bank owned foreclosures.

On a personal level I feel very sad about the current affairs of my neighbors and my neighborhood. I also realize that home values will continue to decline in my neighborhood just like other neighborhoods and there is little I can do about it.

I do have confidence that the home values will eventually stabilize and we will see the real benefits to home ownership in the near future.

Leading economists from the University of Illinois Regional Economics Applications Laboratory (REAL) have published a report  “Housing Price Forecasts: Illinois  and Chicago MSA, February 2009″

The Economy:

According to these economic experts, our local economy is struggling.  In 2008 , Illinois lost 100,000 jobs and unemployment is now 7.9%.  During the month of December (36,000) jobs were lost. All sectors of the economy were affected from construction, trade, transportation and utilities, manufacturing, and professional and business services. It is predicted that any stimulus package will only help to retain jobs lost and will not create new jobs.

The Housing Market:

The National Association of Realtors (NAR)  reports Illinois inventory of homes for sale to be 9.5 months and 11.5 months in Chicago. It is clear that the increase in the number of foreclosures has been a major contributor to the number of homes coming on the market for sale. The number of foreclosures is not likely to abate soon even with new initiative proposed by the Obama administration.

Housing sales in Illinois are also declining. Forecasts for the next three months indicate a 20-28% decline in sales for the state and Chicago respectively. These forecast figures do not look good for the Spring Market.

In addition to fewer homes being sold, experts also are showing declines in Median home prices. The Median price  $150,584 in the state  is 19% lower than April 2008 levels. In Chciago price the Median home price of $169,135  is 30% lower than last year levels.

A turnaround in the housing market is unlikely over the next 12 months. The number of foreclosures will continue to affect inventory levels, home prices through out the state and city of Chicago.

The North Shore communities of Evanston, Skokie and Lincolnwood are the first suburbs north of Chicago. Each one of these communities have homes in different stages of foreclosure.