Dean Moss - Dean's Team Chicago Real Estate Team

THE CHICAGO IL REAL ESTATE MARKET, AND OTHER THINGS CHICAGO, FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF A LITTLE WHITE DOG!

Finally, this morning I had to put down the phone! Got tired of all those telemarketing calls soliciting money for Presidential Campaigns!

The Do Not Call List does not apply to most political fund raising calls, you know? I'm sure that doesn't surprise you!

Remember "This Old House," the PBS TV Show? Since I'm only three, I have only watched reruns.

But I find it fascinating! Taking an old house, knocking down a few walls, and, voila (I bet you didn't know dogs could speak French), a new mansion, good for the next 100 years!

A decade or so ago, when Bob and his show were going strong, many young, first-time human homebuyers took his advice, and bought those old Victorian Homes. They went on the attack, sledge hammer in hand, to build "sweat equity," and a classic place to call home.

That doesn't happen so much these days!

In Chicago, this year, the market is overstocked with inventory. Prices within the past year have fallen - as much as 9.5%, or more, in some Chicago Neighborhoods or Suburbs. The buyer, for the moment, is king here in Chicago.

And today's buyer wants everything in move-in condition. They don't want a reconstruction project in their new home from Day One!

One survey of local brokers by a national franchise real estate company found that only 7% of first-time buyers they have run into were looking to immediately renovate their new home. 81% want the house in top-shape from the day they move in!

And they feel they can get it to - as the market here has softened prices on even the most up-to-date, highly-upgraded places to rest your paws and tail around Chicago.

According to Jim Gillespie, President and CEO of Coldwell Banker Real Estate, "In the past, first-time home buyers were willing to purchase older, more basic houses in an effort to save money and break into home ownership.

Today, this buyer group has higher expectations. They have grown up accustomed to their parents' lifestyles." Most of these first-time buyers, he continued, have never roughed it before, and they don't seem inclined to rough it now.

All the while, first-time buyers want affordability - more than half of those surveyed list this as their primary concern. They want a larger home, in top condition - and still at a low price. We at Dean's Team Chicago have seen this attitude with several of our younger buyer clients, and other Buyer's Agents are seeing this as well.

"It's important for first-time home buyers to remember that by considering a 'fixer-upper' for their first home purchase, they can build equity over time and move up and into their second-stage home that better reflects their expectations," said Gillespie.

Today, we've found a number of younger buyers thinking they can buy any home they want, in top shape, for a deep discount, due to the weakened real estate market. What they often find, however, is that the nicest homes, though selling for less than they may have a couple of years ago, are still commanding a considerable premium over those needing a lot of work.

According to the CB Study, buyers financial priorities have shifted as well over the last ten years.

At that time, first-time buyers' biggest concern was having enough money for the down payment. Today, only 17% consider larger down payments the biggest factor, as more loan options have come to market requiring less money down initially.

In 2008, having an acceptable FICO Credit Score seems to be paramount, as a lower score can result in a higher interest rate, a required "down payment premium," and far more stringent requirements to get approved for a mortgage.

Our newest Dean's Team Member, Gracie Moss, pictured here, agrees with me on this subject. We're both willing to bust our tails, so to speak, and put in a few dog days, to create and restore a beautiful, classic home.

But the days of walking around up to our lil' bellies in plaster dust and construction debris are, thankfully, behind us!

For more info, you dogs, read my post from last night @ BlogChicagoHomes.com, with a link to Mary Umberger's column in last Sunday's Chicago Tribune.

YOUR ACE REPORTER ON FOUR PAWS,

BUDDY HOLLY MOSS & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO

Good morning, AR!

Man, last night, I didn't feel like I was in Chicago. Or in the Active Rain Community.

I felt like I was in the middle of a partisan love fest in St. Paul MN!

A lot of positive comments about the Republican Ticket. Many rebutting comments, positive ones, for the most part, about the Ticket the Democrats offer.

Unfortunately, a lot of disparaging comments as well, hurled across the aisle, from one side to the other. Yes?

But, folks, let's boil all of this stuff down!

WHICH TICKET WILL BE THE BEST FRIEND TO U.S. HOUSING MARKET RECOVERY? McCain and Palin? Obama and Biden? Neither - things just have to run their course?

Will the election of either ticket make a real difference? Do things just need to run their course? Or, are more "shots in the arm . . . or ass" . . . needed?

I think we all agree that one person, alone, can't cure all of our ills. But that person, that ticket, that administration, that political party, can set the tone. Provide leadership, and inspiration. Real CHANGE? Possibly!

The only thing we know is come next January, there will be another occupant of the White House. Of the two top choices for that occupant - who will do the most, or be the best, to return resiliency to the housing market.

Spouted rhetoric aside, of course!

What say you?

DEAN & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO

Hey, Hey AR! Hope all is well with you!

It's been raining all day here in Chicago. The remnants of Hurricane Gustav, we've been told.

Man, have you ever heard this in today's market, "Why should I hire an expensive Realtor. I'm really low on cash. Can't I find everything I need on the Internet?"

I would assume that most would agree that we Real Estate Practitioners perform an invaluable service for our clients especially in this tough real estate market, 2008. Coaching. Negotiating. Clearing Contract Contingencies. And on . . . and on!

Indeed, although most home buyers and sellers begin the buying or selling process via the Internet, most feel that retaining a Real Estate Professional is key for achieving a successfully-close transaction.

According to a July, 2008 Study of Home Buyers and Sellers by J.D. Power and Associates, 68%of home buyers used online websites to help them find their new home. Evaluations were based on survey responses from over 3,200 home buyers or sellers who bought or sold between April, 2007 and July of this year.

For sellers, 61% used Internet resources to help them market their property. But when it came down to selecting the right home from among many, or getting down to the business of listing their home, most ended up choosing a Realtor.

"Although the Internet provides home buyers and sellers with the ability to perform some essential tasks-such as listing a home for sale or researching a neighborhood in which to purchase a home-it still does not replace the importance of a good real estate agent," said Jim Howland of J.D. Power and Associates, an international marketing information services firm involved with market research and customer satisfaction studies.

"Particularly in an uncertain real estate market, professional advice from agents can be especially valuable to buyers and sellers. The knowledge and expertise provided by experienced agents is an important benefit of using a full-service real estate company," continued Howland.

This was the first time J.D. Power conducted a survey ascertaining the importance of Realtors participation in the buy or sell transaction. For home buyers, 65% ranked their agent most critical in their choice of a Buyer's Agent, followed by their office (21%), and their overall menu of services - 13%.

For sellers, once again, the agent selected was most critical to a satisfactory experience, according to 43% of survey respondents. Marketing was not far behind, identified as critical by 38% of those who responded, followed by the selected office (12%), and, finally, the services menu, 7%.

For home buyers, Keller Williams Realty, the affiliated company for Dean's Team Chicago, got the highest overall score of the major companies. In the Chicago area, Keller Williams has 17 Offices (or "Market Centers," as the company refers to them), and nearly 1,800 agents. On a 1,000 point scale, KW scored 831 total points, and received highest ratings in all three categories of concern - the agent, the office, and available services.

Among home sellers, Prudential ranks the highest, with 793 out of 1,000 possible points, based on their marketing program and office amenities. Coldwell Banker and ReMax follow close behind.

The J.D. Power Study also revealed -

• 46% of those responding found their real estate agent through a personal referral from framily or friends. 28% used the Internet to select their agent, 23% used the agent they used previously, and 11% selected their agent from a printed real estate book or the Yellow Pages Directory.
• On average, home buyers were shown approximately 13 homes before making a purchase.
• According to surveyed home sellers, each home was shown an average of 11 times during the listing period. Public Open Houses, their effectiveness being questioned by many in Real Estate. were held an average of five times before the home sold.
• The average market time for a home for sale approached six months - a little less for the best-known franchise companies.

This is all assuring news for those of us that help clients with their real estate needs. We are valuable, and critical for a satisfactory transaction.

See our post today via BlogChicagoHomes.com for more information. The post links to the J.D. Power Survey, and also Amy Le's post from Wednesday Morning on her "Opening Doors" blog.

DEAN & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO

Hope all is well, folks!

If you've come to visit our town - Chicago - you know that our mass transit system - city and suburban - has been exemplary for many years.

The CTA El and Buses cover the city very well. METRA Commuter Trains serve the suburbs. And PACE Suburban Buses are beginning to get more and more passengers in their intra-suburban and suburb-to-city express routes.

But, as we here know, there have been a few hickups - especially recently. All of the agencies faced massive service cuts and fare increases earlier this year - and it took the drastic step of a considerable sales tax increase here in Chicago's Cook and Surrounding Suburban Counties to head this off.

Many El and train cars, and buses, are in need of replacement and upgrading, but a lack of state and federal capital improvement funds have kept local transit agencies refurbishing what they have.

And now, higher fuel prices, coupled with free transit fares for those over the age of 65, have driven ridership in Chicago and across the suburbs to unprecedented levels, and each transit agency is looking to boost capacity, without needing to purchase new rolling stock.

The answers to this predicament have been clever.

METRA Commuter Rail serving Chicago and the suburbs has eliminated bar car service and will remove toilet facilities in many cars to increase capacity. They are also rehabbing several 1950's-vintage train cars previously sold, then repurchased, from another transit company early this year.

PACE Suburban Buses, which has long lagged behind the other transit lines in gross ridership, has cut special express buses serving Chicago Cubs and Bears games to free up buses for increased service each evening. It has also beefed up service feeding METRA and CTA Train Terminals, and certain industrial and business parks in the suburbs of Chicago.

As part of an experiment to begin early next month, the CTA will run some train cars seatless, and reduce seats on many buses, in an attempt to pack more riders onto current rolling stock.

The Chicago Transit Authority is also hiring over a hundred new bus drivers and El motormen. Recent high attrition and a hiring freeze by the averted "doomsday" transit scenario earlier this year points up a real staffing need here - quickly!

Delivery of new CTA rail cars-to replace trains that began service in 1969 and should have been retired 10 years ago-remains delayed until 2010, at the earliest. Also, the CTA has received only half of the 400 new buses it ordered to replace 1991 models that had been due for retirement in 2003.

This situation forces the CTA to repair and continue to use its current older cars and buses, and to put more supervisors on duty on El platforms to call on additional train cars immediately as needed.

Ridership on CTA buses has increased 6% through July, compared with the first seven months of 2007, while El ridership rose 2%, the CTA said. System wide, weekend ridership on the CTA has increased 6%. And this is on top of ridership increases in 2007, which were at their highest levels since the early 1990's!

The CTA provides an average of 1.7 Million rides a day and is already operating at full capacity during rush hours, is bracing for up to 200,000 additional riders each weekday, according to representatives of the transit agency.

Now that School Summer Vacations have ended, the CTA plans to run its fleet more efficiently by taking the following steps -

· Deploying managers who have the authority to call extra buses into service at pinch points during rush periods. The goal is to redistribute buses where they are most needed and ease bus-bunching.

· Increasing the number of train runs through the end of the year as slow-zone construction is completed, particularly on the O'Hare Branch of the Blue Line and in the Red Line Subway.

· Doing more short-turning of trains on the Brown Line corridor and along the Blue Line to address pinch points where waiting passengers cannot board already full trains. Short-turning involves running some trains on a portion of the route in the morning to pick up passengers at high-volume stations and deliver them to the Loop.

"We're ecstatic about the phenomenal growth in ridership but concerned about our capacity to manage and keep the new customers," continued CTA President Huberman. He calls State of Illinois passage of new capital funding to help pay for new buses and train cars the agency's top priority.

"Some people are willing to push onto a crowded train or bus during rush hour and find that acceptable," Huberman said. "Other people simply will not opt for that transportation."

METRA and PACE face similar surges in ridership. Like the CTA, however, their funding options for capital improvement, and new trains and buses, is limited.

See our post today @ BlogChicagoHomes.comfor more info, as well as a link to Jon Hilkevitch and Richard Wronski's story in last Tuesday's Chicago Tribune.

DEAN & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO

Hey, folks!

Many consider the summer season unofficially over. You can't wear white anymore. You've got to root for the Chicago Bears. Leaves will soon turn, snow will soon fly!

But where did many Chicagoans travel this summer on vaction? In increasing numbers - very close to home!

For my wife Sue and I, we passed on the expensive Texas and Aruba trips, instead opting to visit close friends in Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin. Our "Getaway Weekend" this year - with friends, to the MI Lakefront Resort Town of South Haven - about two hours away from Downtown Chicago.

Apparently, hundreds of Chicago families had the same idea!

The weather was nice here most of the summer, and virtually without heavy rain over the last month or so.

The Chicago Cubs and the White Sox have played good baseball all year, and are both still in first place.

Neighborhood and City Festivals abound every year in Chicago and the suburbs. Taste of Chicago. The Chicago Blues Festival. Gospel Festival. Jazz Festival . . . and more!

Every weekend, there was one major local festival - often, several - across the city and throughout the suburbs.

Ron Onesti is a Professional Festival Organizer whose company organized suburban Carol Stream IL's "Summer in the Center" and several others. He attributes gas prices exceeding $4.30 per gallon, along with concerns about the economy and the security of their own jobs, for the surge in local fest attendance.

"It's forced them to take a step back and ask what experiences are available 5 miles from here," Oresti said.

Those taking long road trips, away from Chicago, dropped significantly for each major holiday this summer - Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, and Labor Day. During the Labor Day weekend just past, the AAA estimates as many as 300,000 fewer drivers hit the road to head out of town nationally.

The Outdoor Film Series in Grant Park, Chicago saw its best attendance ever each Tuesday this summer. Music Festivals at Grant Park reported eight capacity crowds this season, according to the Chicago Office of Tourism.

In North Suburban Highland Park IL, home of the Ravinia Music Festival, attendance held steady, despite major construction on the Edens Expresswayserving Ravina concert goers.

Although attendance at the Annual Taste of Chicago was down slightly this year - just over 3.16 Million - record-breaking crowds attended the expanded three-day 50th Annual Chicago Air and Water Show on the lakefront last month.

Attendance for baseball at Wrigley Field averaged 40,728 per game- on pace to set an attendance record for the Chicago Cubs. The White Sox also had strong attendance at U.S. Cellular Field, especially, club officials say, among African-American and Latino baseball fans.

Said Cindy Gatzolis of the Mayor's Office of Special Events in Chicago, "You still need entertainment. Even if you're struggling a little bit Monday through Friday, you still need something to pick you up on the weekend."

We and our Team members have gone to more BBQ's this summer, gone to local Lake Michigan Beaches, and just enjoyed the fun of walking our dogs every day.

Simple pleasures - most close to home!

See our post via BlogChicagoHomes.com today for more info, as well as a link to Vikki Ortiz's article in today's Chicago Tribune.