Chicago, IL

The State Of Real Estate in Rogers Park

09-08-10

Jack Lewitz: Real Estate Agent in Evanston, IL

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Office: (847) 674-6710

Mobile: (708) 309-5334

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 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 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 773-262-2290 end_of_the_skype_highlighting x 13

www.rogersparkcdc.org

###

Heather Whiteford

Associate Director

Rogers Park Community Development Corporation

1411 W. Lunt

Chicago , IL 60626

Ph: 773-262-2290 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 773-262-2290 end_of_the_skype_highlighting Ext. 12

Fax: 773-262-2537

www.rogersparkcdc.org

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

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Rate Lock Advice 9/7 - Short-Term Locking of Mortgage Rates Recommended

09-07-10

Doug Katz

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Office: (312) 738-6079

Mobile: (708) 829-1336

Are you currently in the process of buying a home or refinancing in Chicago or vicinity? Trying to decide when to lock can be a stressful and difficult decision. In my job as a mortgage lender, I watch the markets daily to keep my clients abreast of changes to assist them in securing the best mortgage rate possible. Please see my recommendations below.

Short-term - LOCK

Long-term - FLOAT, but if 15 - 30 days out I do recommend considering a LOCK if pricing improves as we are near the bottom.

The week ahead for economic data that can affect mortgage interest rates

Wednesday

Weekly Mortgage Bankers Association Application Report
10 Year Treasury Bill Auction
July Consumer Credit Report

Thursday

Weekly Jobless Claims
July US Trade Balance
30 Year Treasury Bill Aucrion

Friday

July Wholesale Inventories

Click here if you want to know the rates for your individual situation or have a lending need

Please note that rates were trending flat at the time of writing this post

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CREDIT HISTORY: its impact is now includes INSURANCE

09-07-10

Bill Bein

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Mobile: (773) 510-9021

Unless you have recently purchased a home or refinanced the home you're currently living in, you may not be aware that insurance companies, not just lenders, are now looking at credit scores. According to the Insurance Information Institute (a non-profit organization, www.iii.org), insurance companies have learned that a person's credit history is an accurate predictor of risk. Lenders also, of course, look at a person's credit history, but it's interesting to see that they do not assess the same factors as insurance companies.

According to Fair, Isaac & Company (a provider of consumer credit scoring models and formulas, www.fairisaac.com) insurance companies assess and weight these factors:

If you have a good or great credit scores, it is likely that your homeowner's insurance rate will be lower. If your credit scores are sub-standard, you need to do two things: (1) work on repairing your credit (an excellent book: Credit Repair, by Robin Leonard & Deanne Loonin); and (2) shop around for different lenders and different homeowner's insurance providers. You can also lower your rate by raising your deductible amount.

If you need to repair your credit, keep in mind that:

•· You are not alone.

•· You have legal rights.

•· You can do it by yourself without paying high fees for an attorney or credit repair clinic.

•· Nobody's credit is too "poor" to repair.

•· The first step is to set a budget and stick to it.

•· The second step is to cut up all or most of your credit cards.

Recommendations:

Do a credit check on yourself once per year to stay on top of your credit scores and take the appropriate steps to improve your credit history and lower your homeowner's insurance rates. The three major credit bureaus who can provide you with information on your credit history are:

•1. Equifax (www.equifax.com)

•2. TransUnion (www.tuc.com)

•3. Experian (www.experian.com)

I can also set up a free consultation for you with my preferred lender to evaluate whether re-financing is also an option.

And this is just the start of what you'll find at www.Chicagoland2to4Flats.info!!!

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September Madness Giveaway! Win an iPad or Receive One at Closing!

09-04-10

Akos Straub

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Mobile: (312) 730-8719

September Madness Giveaway! With the school year in full gear we’re gearing up for a great giveaway, win an iPad or get one at your closing! Learn more at Straub Group. When you buy with us, you qualify to receive an iPad and for just contacting us, you could win an iPad during our raffle at the end of the month.

Stay tuned to our grand re-opening of 630-632 W Barry. This brand new condominium is available for immediate occupancy. Read more at 630westBarry.com.

Enroll today for your free neighborhood market report Sign-up Here and to find more information about Chicago Real Estate Straub Group at Jameson Real Estate, view the links here:

The Straub Group at Jameson Real Estate is reliable, savvy and experienced. We offer an aggressive marketing program that is proven in our track record. Chicago Real Estate sales, new development and leasing is what we do. And we do it very well.

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Do you have an ID?

09-03-10

Barb Van Stensel, Realtor - Chicago, Illinois

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Office: (773) 564-4268

Mobile: (773) 746-5395

Today, I was remembering when I was young waiting to take drivers education only to find out that I was so short that I had to sit on two telephone books to see over the steering wheel and had to adjust the seat forward as far as it would go. Talk about frustrating!

I passed drivers education, even with the dated phone books! I needed that ID because in my mindset, it gave me the right to drive and drive, and drive to where ever my little heart desired as long as the gas tank held out, that is. It didn't matter if my picture was nasty looking or what, I had that drivers license in my wallet and I felt validated.

Everybody at or near the age of driver education desires to have that card with the photo on it that allows us to drive. It gives us the ability ....

Today, I was looking at listings for a client when I saw a photo of a home. The photo had wierd numbers under it and I couldn't place where I saw those numbers from. Certainly wasn't from a drivers license.

Here, let me show you a photo of one of my new listings that is similar to what I saw on the MLS:

Well, guess what? Active Rain won't allow me to put it on the system because it is a photo that I have no right to post, yet, our MLS allows that photo to be posted.

So, the photo that some real estate agents are using is actually from the Assessors Office here in Cook County. That's right. That is what some of the agents are using to market your home. The "mug" photo from your local Cook County Assessors Office!

Now, we are in a tough market. This isn't like wanting to get your driver's license and it doesn't matter what that photo looks like because it allows you certain privileges and with those privileges come responsibilities.

The same thing holds true for the Realtor that you choose to sell your home. Look at his/her "mug" shots of other homes they have listed on the MLS. See if that is the quality you are looking for.

What you need to understand is that the consumer likes to look at homes with multiple quality photos. That same agent should also have numerous photos so that different photos are on different websites. Keep changing them. Keep the buyer's come looking at your home!

So, when you got your license it didn't matter what your photo looked like. When you are selling your home - it better matter what your photos look like!

So my question to you is: Do you have an ID?