Huge Real Estate Sale!

Huge markdowns! Buy now and save thousands!

That's what I want to say, anyway. I'm looking at all the post holiday frenzy with all the retailers out there clamouring for your attention (and dollars) and I'm thinkin', "Hey! Why not advertise the real estate the same way?" It's the same story, after all. Just like the retailers, there's too much inventory! Sellers are desperate for some liquid cash. And they're out there practically begging you to take their properties off their hands. Check out these extreme numbers for the third quarter in Chicago. (Percentages compared to 3rd quarter 07. These numbers don't even include the precipitous drop of the 4th quarter!)

Biggest price drops in Chicago real estate
3rd quarter, 2008

Multi units:
West Garfield Park -59%, (11 units sold,) East Garield Park -55% (15 units sold,) Forest Glen -55% (1 unit sold,) Humbolt Park -51% (28 units sold,) Hermosa -50% (10 units sold,) North Lawndale -50% (23 units sold,) Austin -43% (45 units sold,) Logan Square -41% (21 units sold,) West Ridge -40% (15 units sold,) Belmont Cragin -40% (19 units sold.)

Condos/townhomes--
Biggest price drop in Beverly -40%

Single family homes
West Garfield Park -93% and East Garfield Park -77%

(gleaned from the Chicago Association of Realtors® quarterly statistics)

Before you start imagining the end of the world and the demise of real estate and all of us living in shacks made of twigs and leaves, I want to point out that some prices have gone up. Believe it or not they've gone up significantly too:

Multi units --
Morgan Park +85% (1 unit sold,) Archer heights +33% (1 unit sold,) Near North Side +18% (2 units sold,) Norwood Park +18% ( 2 units sold,) North Park up + 18% (3 units sold,) Washington Heights +15% (1 unit sold.)

Condos/townhomes--
Hermosa had a 46% increase in average price.
Closest Runner up - Morgan Park with 33%.

Single family homes --
Washington Park's +194% on 1 unit sold.
Runners up are the Near North Side's +100%
and Douglas +49%.

Now most of these just reflect a couple of high end units in a not so high end neighborhood, but it does show that there are some positive trends. These are just slices of data. I've got numbers going back 10 years. For the big picture, contact me!

Looking at these stats is killing me. If you're one of those people who like me has been watching these prices drop and is just itching to buy, but you're hearing horror stories about financing -- They are true! Money is tough to borrow right now. If you're credit score is under the mid 700's you'll have a tough time getting conventional financing. But there are still options out there. Rent to own and owner financing are on the rise. Please, please, please be sure to get an attorney and read the fine print! There are big pitfalls you can and should avoid. The sellers will try to take advantage if they can. In this market there is no reason to sell your soul.

And things are changing fast! Every day it seems the mortgage rates change. Like just before Christmas when they dropped to an insanely low 4.5% on a 30 year fixed. The moment was ever so brief. Rates were all over the map that week. A lot of us our holding our collective breath as we wait for the Obama administration to step in and rescue us all. More change is coming for sure. We just have to be ready to take what comes and grab the opportunities we can when we can. They may be fleeting.

(To see what I mean about the insanely low rates, take a look at this chart put out by Freddie Mac for a glimpse of what mortgage rates have been over the past 30 years, http://www.freddiemac.com/pmms/pmms30.htm

As Warren Buffet says, When everyone's fearful, it's time to get greedy. Think about your future and how you're going to make yourself secure and happy down the road. You could be like Dave, who I met last summer. He bought up properties in Ukrainian Village in the eighty's. Together with his properties in other parts of the wold, he's now making enough money to spend his mornings reading the paper and sipping coffee, his winters in sunny Florida.

Here's to a prosperous New Year!

Go Green, Team!

Forgive me readers, for I have neglected you! It's been a ...ahem... well, it's been a long time since my last post. If you've been waiting -- sorry!

Remember that busiest I've ever been in my life thing I mentioned in my first post? Just as bad now. I'm done with my courses. What a relief! And they seem to be working because now more and more clients have joined me in searching for homes. My calendar is so full now that the little boxes on my iCal seem to warp and bulge to hold all the appointments. I'm glad for the work! And of course the market's slow, so I have to hoof it a lot to get the paycheck at close. Clients who are seriously looking to buy or sell are always welcome no matter how strained my calendar gets. I've gotten good at juggling by now, even juggling while standing on one foot with one arm behind my back. If I need to learn to fly at the same time then that's what I'll do.

Today I'm motivated to cram in some blogging time cause I have great news! I'm part of a new green focused real estate team! A sign of the times. Someone - not me! - started the ball rolling and now we are 5. (Team name still subject to much debate and still TBD. We are a bunch of independent minded real estate folk after all.) I'm thrilled to be a part of a group who are as excited about the future of green building as I am.

All 5 of us see that green is the future of real estate. Housing is going to have to be green, eco friendly, sustainable, energy and resource conserving -- whatever you want to call it. I imagine in a couple of decades, practically all housing will be green, but for now while everyone learns the ropes, we'll need guidance. That's where my team comes in. We plan to stay at the bleeding edge of green housing. And each of us brings unique talents to the job. We've got Laura who is decisive and fearless about speaking her mind, Bryan, who's got sales ability and confidence that rubs off onto his clients. Dan's the mediator with business and marketing savvy. Mike is the networker who gets things happening and me, I'm the researcher. The combination of skills will make us unstoppable!

We've each got green experience to bring to the mix too. 2 of the team have already completed the EcoBroker courses and stay on top of things through membership there. Eventually all of us will become EcoBrokers. If you've read my posts before, you know I've completed the Chicago Conservation Corps leadership training. What a terrific way of learning the needs specific to the Chicago area and an opportunity to begin helping friends and neighbors go green on the local level. Before that, I remodeled a north side 2 flat using the three Rs - the new ones, that is - reduce, reuse, recycle. Renovation remains the ultimate in reduce and reuse in the real estate world. From the buyer perspective, you can't match the energy efficiency of high quality new construction, but in a carefully remodeled home, you can come close and you can save a whole house full of landfill space. (More developers are taking on the issue of what to do with the building they just tore down and are recycling much of it. The city of Chicago is now requires that construction waste is recycled to some degree. The potential here is great)

Our team wants to walk the walk, not just talk the talk, so on the local level, we've focused on greening our 3 current Chicago offices in Lincoln Square, Roscoe Village and West Loop and our suburban office in Wheaton. A full 50% of the United States per capita CO2 emmissions come from our places of work. Greening our workplaces has a much bigger impact than any of us recycling at home. I'm thrilled to have found the powers that be at the company to be not only cooperative, but enthusiastic. Our managing broker, Glen, has been extremely supportive and encouraging, has met with us several times and has taken decisive action to get things going. He ordered the new recycling bins for all offices this week and they should be in place in no time. Thanks, Glen. We couldn't do it without you.

We're thrilled that our offices are 90% CFL compliant already, so we just have a few bulbs to add. Our next quick easy step is to get rid of the disposable cups in each office and replace them with mugs. In a few weeks our offices will be not be green with envy, but enviably green.

And the best is yet to come - Our team will have a chance to advise Sussex & Reilly in green construction soon, as we're building a new office space. That will be a lot of fun. I let you all know when we're under way, so you can come have a look!

What's a Short Sale Anyway?

If you're out shopping for a home these days, you're likely to come across something called a "short sale." These homes are being offered for sale for less than the amount owed on the mortgage. Banks will accept short sales because foreclosure is expensive, risky and time consuming for them. Such sales can take a bit longer than a typical sale as the offer needs to be sent to and accepted by the bank. The loss mitigation department has to work it's way through a giant stack of these offers lately, so getting a yes or no on your offer can take a month or more.

If you've got the time and patience, this can be a great way to get a home for a great price. Quite often the person on the selling end is just as happy to have the problem of selling their home solved. Unlike foreclosure, short sales cause little damage to their credit, so you can feel good about buying the home and also unlike foreclosure, you get a chance to see inside the home before you buy. It really can be a purchase to feel good about.

If you know anyone who is worried about facing foreclosure, or is afraid that they won't be able to make their next mortgage payment, please do them a favor and tell them to contact their bank right away. They have many options if they are proactive and start the conversation before they are overdue with a payment. A knowledgeable Realtor® can be a terrific resource even if they want to keep their home. Feel free to send friends with questions my way. I'll do all I can to find the answers for them.

If you'd like to learn more, go to http://rismedia.com/wp/2007-12-18/top-three-short-sale-trends/

Money and Kids

One of the fun things about being a real estate agent is helping people figure out what they need and want in a home. Unlike most things you buy, your house influences almost every aspect of your lifestyle. Since this is the kind of purchase that, statistically speaking, you're going to live in for several years, plans for the future become a big part of the discussion. Right now, you may be single and just need a 1 bedroom, but wait, you're engaged and planning to marry in a year and what if you have kids? Will two bedrooms work? Do I need a yard? Gosh what about schools? That's a lot of planning to think about. And it comes down to style. Some people are real planners and like to think things through and get a home that will last them for decades. Others live in the moment. They'll jump on something now, knowing they can always move if they need to adjust their lives.

The question of kids comes up. And that's a tough one because kids are so hard to plan for. You think you've got it all set, but when you actually have them, you start to realize that you're likely to make some big changes that you didn't anticipate. What if you decide to work at home? You'll probably need an office. The spare bedroom is supposed to be a nursery. Can you really work out of the kitchen?

And then there's the cost. Kids are expensive, so you may be buying based on two salaries, only to find that one of you will be staying home, or by the time you pay the nanny, you're not going to be able to pay all your bills.

So what is it about kids that make them so darned expensive anyway? Before I had kids, I thought that people must be exaggerating somehow, and now that I have kids, I'm hard pressed to answer that question on the spot. Recently emailing back and forth with a client who may have children down the road the question came up again. He's willing to accept that what everyone says is true, but why? What is it that makes kids cost so much?

Inspired by the question, I came up with a partial list of stuff you'll need when kids jump into your life. See what you think:

Medical care for pregnancy and birth and
Well baby doctor visits and
Health insurance and
Dental care, once they get teeth.
Emergency care for things like broken arms and cuts requiring stitches which always come when you least expect it and are particularly broke. (My older one had hernia surgery at 3 months, stitches in her forehead at 1 1/2, broke her elbow at 4 and needed an anesthesiologist for dental work at 5. My younger one thankfully has not had these troubles. So far. She's only 4. She's got time.)
Baby clothes & shoes: 2 - 3 outfits a day due to leaky diapers and spit up and food spills. New clothes every 3 months the first year, then again at 18 months. From 2 years old on, at least once a year. In this time shoe sizes go from 0 to about 8. That's a lot of shoes!
Double or triple laundry bills because of the above.
Toiletries: Special baby (and kid) lotions creams, shampoos, soaps
Dishware: unbreakable cups and plates, sippy cups of different sorts, baby sized forks and spoons.
Car seats: rear facing for up to 1 year old and 20 lbs. Front facing from then up to 2 years old and 30-40 lbs, then boosters for 2-4 years, 4-8 years or 80 lbs.
Transportation: back and forth to well baby check ups, sitters, daycare, preschool. You may discover that you need a car if you don't have one, or another car if you have only one or a bigger car if your car is small. (It's possible to resist. I drove a 4 passenger New Beetle until this summer. There's a story there, maybe for another post.)
More car seats: If you have more than one car you'll likely want car seats for each. One experience of your partner driving off with the car seats and being stuck with somewhere to go and no car seats will be enough to convince.
Childcare: bare minimum babysitting if you ever want to go out together again. Just double however much dinner and a movie is costing you these days. Nannies run about $12 hour. Daycare/preschool in this area costs $900/ month and up.
Birthday presents for friend's babies birthday parties!
Birthday parties! Do the math. You will come out ahead if you skip these and just buy your kid the presents they'd get.
Grandma and Grandpa will want to visit -- a lot, so you'll need extra food for them. They may make up for it by providing babysitting, but there are no guarantees!
Learning and enrichment supplies: toys, books, musical instruments, and -- dare I say it ?-- DVDs
Furniture: for sleeping you'll likely want a bassinet for 0-6 months, a crib for 6-2 1/2 ish, some go for a toddler bed (crib size), then a twin size bed, (plus sheets and blankets for each size). Then you'll want a high chair, booster, toy chest, bookshelves chest of drawers, changing table, and potty chair at some point.
Classes: Parent/tot classes like wiggle worms, music together, tumbling.

And don't forget the Halloween costumes! Did I ever spend a fortune of time and effort on making costumes. I may even think it was worth it once I catch up on some sleep. Happy Halloween!