January 2009

5 Good Reasons to Buy a Home Now

January 30, 2009

Here’s a recent interview with Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist, National Association of Realtors. To get to the “5 good reasons” skip ahead 3 minutes. Click to continue...

Chicago & Suburbs Online Rental Search Sites

January 28, 2009

Yesterday I was texting on Twitter (franbailey) with a woman who will be moving here with her husband from Miami in a few months. They’ll initially be renting and then plan to buy a home. I’ve been hearing from a lot more people relocating to the Chicago area that plan to rent for the first Click to continue...

$7,500 1st Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Podcast

January 26, 2009

First time home buyers have a great opportunity this year with the federal government’s $7,500 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit. However, a lot of first time home buyers haven’t heard about it or don’t understand how it works. The Illinois Association of Realtors recently released a podcast (17 mins.) that gives a good explanation Click to continue...

Home Buyers May Want to Include C.L.U.E. Report Contingency in Offers

January 23, 2009

Today’s Daily Herald had a good suggestion that I’m going to pass along to my home buyers. In his article, “Buyers, sellers alike should get a ‘clue’ when pondering a home sale“, real estate columnist David Myers responded to a question about making an offer on a home contingent on receiving an acceptable C.L.U.E. (Comprehensive Click to continue...

Northbrook’s Northbrook Court has Top Brands & Service

January 22, 2009

Want a home near a mall with top name brands and the level of service you expect from them? Then consider, Northbrook, IL or its neighboring suburbs of Highland Park, Glencoe, Wheeling, Deerfield, and Glenview. Northbrook’s Northbrook Court is home to numerous top brands including Tommy Bahama’s, Crate and Barrel, Ralph Lauren, Cole Haan, and Click to continue...

Cook County IL Assessor May Lower Home Valuations!

January 21, 2009

The Chicago Sun-Times reported today that the Cook County Assessor is looking at cutting home valuations. Click to continue...

Regional Economic Forecast 2009 Highlights 3 of 3

January 20, 2009

In part 2 of this blog post series I shared Lawrence Yun’s chart showing that the number of existing home sales have dropped back to 1998 levels. Buyers considering a new condo in downtown Chicago need to take a good look at Gail Lissner’s chart which I recreated below. This year 4700 new condos in Click to continue...

Regional Economic Forecast 2009 Highlights 2 of 3

January 18, 2009

In part 1 of this blog post series I shared James E. Glassman’s chart showing that home prices are now back in line with household incomes. Another Regional Economic Forecast 2009 Panelist, Lawrence Yun, presented the chart below showing that the number of existing home sales has dropped back to 1998 levels. However, now there Click to continue...

Regional Economic Forecast 2009 Highlights 1 of 3

January 16, 2009

Yesterday I attended the Regional Economic Forecast 2009 at the Palmer House Hilton. The event was sponsored by the Chicago Assoc. of Realtors and other Chicago area Realtor Boards. Chicago Magazine’s Deal Estate Columnist, Dennis Rodkin, moderated a panel consisting of: Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist for the National Assoc. of Realtors Michael S. Miller, Assoc. Click to continue...

Barrington House Sale Prices Drop 27% 4th Qtr. 2008!

January 14, 2009

Last night I reviewed market statistics for house sales in Barrington. A friend of mine who owns a house in Barrington is wondering if she should sell her home now. The median sale price# for houses in Barrington for the last quarter of 2008 dropped 27% from the same period a year earlier from $642,500 Click to continue...

Chicago Metro Area Real Estate Blog Posts Now on Twitter

January 11, 2009

My Chicago Metro Area Real Estate Blog Posts are now on Twitter. My Twitter id is franbailey. My tweets (Twitter messages) also include some more personal information as I use Twitter to write about other subjects in addition to real estate . If you’re not familiar with Twitter, it’s a service for people to communicate Click to continue...

Searching for In-Law House in Huntley Area

January 8, 2009

This week I started searching for an in-law house for a family. They want it in consolidated school district 158 (Huntley, Lake In The Hills, Algonquin). The house needs a 2nd kitchen, 3 car garage, and preferably a separate entrance for the in-law apartment priced under $400K. If any of you reading this are Realtors® Click to continue...

Owning a Home Makes You Fat?!

January 5, 2009

Mary Umberger’s column, “Love owning your home? Maybe not so much” in yesterday’s Chicago Tribune House & Homes Section revealed the most frightening thing I’ve heard about real estate. According to an assistant professor of real estate at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, women homeowners are an average of 12 Click to continue...

New Home Inspection Test for Granite Countertops

January 2, 2009

This year I will be recommending that my buyers perform a new test during their home inspection. While I recently visited the new condo of some of my buyers in the South Loop, they shared with me that they discovered after they moved in that their granite countertops weren’t properly sealed. Their kitchen countertops were Click to continue...