http://www.chicagometroarearealestate.com Insights for Home Buyers & Sellers by Fran Bailey, Baird and Warner Realtor Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:04:13 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Saturday I showed primarily 3 bedroom condos in the Boystown Neighborhood of Lakeview. It was a beautiful day for condo shopping, but my buyer and I were exhausted after walking to all 9 condos for sale. Four of the condos were on the 4th floor which added to our workout. ... http://www.chicagometroarearealestate.com/boystown-3-bedroom-condo-shopping-not-for-the-weak/ The Chicago Tribune's Mary Ellen Podmolik has an interesting article today about a study on the accuracy of Zillow's Zestimates (estimates of residential property values). Professors at the University of Texas at San Antonio concluded that Zillow overvalues properties. In their study Zillow overestimated home values for 40% of ... http://www.chicagometroarearealestate.com/interesting-chicago-tribune-article-on-zillow-com/ [caption id="attachment_3485" align="alignleft" width="483" caption="2 Bedroom 1 & 2 Bath Condo Median Prices for Past Year by Area"][/caption] After meeting with some sellers this past weekend about selling their 2 bedroom 2 bath townhouse, I got to wondering about how much of a difference a second bathroom adds to the ... http://www.chicagometroarearealestate.com/2-bedroom-1-bath-vs-2-bedroom-2-bath-condos-for-sale-in-chicago/ [caption id="attachment_3453" align="alignleft" width="304" caption="Sidewalk for sale, house included"][/caption] This morning I was searching for a house for sale on the north side of Chicago for some clients who want to move up to a larger home. Shown left is the exterior photo for one of the houses I came ... http://www.chicagometroarearealestate.com/worst-exterior-home-for-sale-photo-ive-seen/ Chicago's Case-Shiller Index seasonally adjusted for December 2009 fell 0.6% from November bringing the housing index down a total of 7.2% from December 2008. The monthly drop was less than the drop from October to November which was 0.8%. The good news is that the yearly drop is around half ... http://www.chicagometroarearealestate.com/chicago-case-shiller-housing-index-down-7-2-for-2009-half-that-of-2008/ We’ve been getting a lot of questions regarding FHA financing and our 5% down conventional program. We are one of a very few lenders that can offer 5% down conventional financing. I thought it would be a good idea to provide you with a short list of pros ... http://www.chicagometroarearealestate.com/baird-warner-offers-5-down-condo-mortgages/ [caption id="attachment_3397" align="alignleft" width="460" caption="NOTE TO SELLERS! Homes that sell in 30 days or less get a significantly higher % of list price!"][/caption] This week I received a great question. Michael M. asked, "Is it wise to see a home that only recently came on the market (let's say less ... http://www.chicagometroarearealestate.com/should-you-view-homes-above-your-price-range-if-theyre-on-market-30-days-or-less/ [caption id="attachment_3378" align="alignleft" width="421" caption="My listing, 1726 W. Glenlake D in Edgewater, a 2 bed 2 bath condo received multiple offers and had a contract in less than 3 weeks."][/caption] An Edgewater 2 bed 2 bath condo I recently put on the market had its appraisal yesterday. There should be ... http://www.chicagometroarearealestate.com/edgewater-1-2-3-bedroom-condo-sales-nothings-selling/ Yesterday I showed primarily 2 bedroom 2 bathroom condos in the Boystown neighborhood in Lakeview. What's interesting about the market for Lakeview 2 bed 2 bath condos is that the sales over the past year haven't changed from the previous year the same way they changed in many areas. The green ... http://www.chicagometroarearealestate.com/lakeview-2-bed-2-bath-condo-sales-off-more-in-lower-price-ranges-than-higher-price-ranges/ Today's Chicago Tribune has a good article by Mary Ellen Podmolik on the deals available on downtown apartment rentals. According to the article, "A record 2,234 apartments will be added to downtown Chicago this year; increasing the supply of rental units at a time when inventory is already outstripping demand." ... http://www.chicagometroarearealestate.com/chicago-tribune-reports-on-oversupply-of-downtown-apartment-rentals/