Dean Moss - Dean's Team Chicago Real Estate Team

Nationwide, New Foreclosures on Residential Property fell for the third consecutive month in October. But, in Illinois, especially in Cook County - the county in which the City of Chicago is located - bucks the trend.

According to CA-Based RealtyTrac.com, as reported in today's USA Today by reporter Paul Wiseman nearly 330,000 homes were at some stage of the foreclosure process last month. That's a drop of 3% versus September, but up 19% since October, 2008. Across the U.S., statistically, 1 in 385 homes were in foreclosure.

IL, however, ran counter to the trend. In October, foreclosures in Illinois increased a staggering 56% versus September. Across the state, one in 256 homes were at some stage of the process. The total foreclosures-in-process in IL last month - 117,712. In terms of percentage of homes in foreclosure, IL was ranked Number 6 nationally last month.

As one might expect, Cook County IL - the county that includes the City of Chicago - represents the lion's share of new foreclosure filings in Illinois. Last month, 11,494 new foreclosures were filed in Cook County, 57.6% of the 19,946 filed across the state in September.

Taken together, four states - Florida, California, Michigan, and Illinois - accounted for more than half of foreclosures across the U.S. last month.

The number one state for foreclosures in October - Nevada. One out of every 80 homes in that state were at some stage of the foreclosure process. In the Las Vegas Metro Area, a staggering one in 68 homes he been foreclosed upon.

See our post today via BlogChicagoHomes.com.

DEAN & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO

Good Evening!

For the last few weeks, Active Listings Inventory in the North and Northwest Side Neighborhoods we serve in the City of Chicago has remained nearly flat - less than 4,000 units. This week, properties Pending Sale have trended downward - perhaps with the cooler season.

Average Sales Price and Average Market Time - also stable, generally. Sales Volume, predictably, fell this week, in the middle of the month. Units Sold and Listings Expired each fell last week - also usual for mid-month.

Absorption Rate - the theoretical time to clear existing homes-for-sale inventory, fell once again last week - it is now just over 9.6 months. Very Encouraging.

The Percentage of Homes Selling in an Estimated Six-Month Marketing Time Frame also improved - to over 49% this past week. Earlier this year, that percentage was just over 30%!

Here are archived annual Chicago Neighborhood Statistics, including Units Sold and Price Trends Data, for 1995 through 2008 courtesy of The Chicago Association of Realtors.

In addition, here is an Interactive Median Price Heat Map, from the Chicago Tribune Real Estate Section, covering Every Chicago Neighborhood. View the map for links to maps for Chicago Suburbs. It is updated as new data becomes available.

Communities and clients we serve, reside, or plan to reside, in the Chicago Neighborhoods of The Chicago Loop, The Gold Coast, River North, Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Uptown, Edgewater, North Center, Lincoln Square, Albany Park, Ravenswood, Wicker Park, and Bucktown.

Also, these Great Chicago Neighborhoods: Logan Square, Rogers Park , West Ridge, Portage Park, Jefferson Park, Norwood Park, Sauganash, Edgebrook,and Edison Park. Plus All Chicago Suburbs.

SINGLE FAMILY, CONDOS, AND SMALL MULTI-UNIT PROPERTIES - NORTH SIDE OF CHICAGO, NORTH OF ADDISON STREET, WEST OF ASHLAND AVENUE

ACTV LISTINGS JUST SOLD CLOSED EXPIRED

w/e November 8th 3,794 47 99 31

w/e November 1st 3,804 58 131 72

% CHANGE -0.3 -19.0% -24.4% -56.9%

CLOSED PROPERTIES DATA

AVG SALE PRICE AVG DAYS ON MKT TOTAL VOLUME

w/e November 8th $254,536 142 DAYS $25,199,064

w/e November 1st $257,178 139 DAYS $33,690,318

% CHANGE -1.0% +2.2% -25.2%

THEORETICAL TIME TO CLEAR EXISTING INVENTORY (ABSORPTION RATE) -

w/e November 8th - LAST 12 MOS - 13.38 LAST 6 MOS - 10.21 LAST 3 MOS - 9.62

w/e November 1st - LAST 12 MOS - 13.65 LAST 6 MOS - 10.39 LAST 3 MOS - 9.83

PERCENT OF HOMES SELLING IN 180 DAYS -

w/e November 8th - 49.10% (UNSOLD - 50.90%)

w/e November 1st - 47.09% (UNSOLD - 52.91%)

SOURCE: MIDWEST REAL ESTATE DATA LLC, AREA MARKET SURVEY DATA

Review our Chicago IL Real Estate Stats Pack Archive via BlogChicagoHomes.com.

Call our Team anytime for current trends in any Chicago Neighborhood or Chicago Suburb!

DEAN & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO

Hope you're doing well today!

I was planning a special Veteran's Day Post, and had a bit of writer's block.

But I got a lot of positive comments on one we did last Veteran's Day, about one very special veteran of World War II.

He was my father.

May I share with you once again?

FROM A VETERAN - A Box of Letters!

Good Morning Folks!

It's Veterans Day - did you remember? The World War I Armistice was signed on the 11th day, of the 11th month, at the 11th hour. The War to End All Wars - wasn't!

May I share a story with you? Don't worry - it's not a long one!

It's been a couple of years now. My mother called me over to her condo, about 6 miles from Sue and me, in the Northwest Chicago Suburb of Des Plaines IL. She had found, among my dad's old belongings, an old shoe box from the 1940's.

The lid on the box was marked with what seemed like a fountain pen - "Joe - War - 1943-1945."

Inside the box were a few miscellaneous army medals - none, by themselves, very noteworthy. Some old black-and-white photos of young men - a few pictures showing the men in sharp, WWII uniforms - a few, decidedly more casual, shirtless, hatless - hair a mess and brows obviously sweating. There were a few other pictures of local women from New Guinea - but my mom didn't want me to look at those pictures.

The men included my father. My dad, Joe Moss, was born in 1925, graduated from Manley High School in the working class Lawndale Neighborhood on the West Side of Chicago - and, virtually immediately, drafted into the U.S. Army.

Joe Moss never made it beyond the rank of Corporal. Although he was in battle zones, he didn't see tons of action, as he described to me and my younger brother years later - although there were a few close calls, and he did have to fire his weapon at other young men, from the Empire of Japan, in various Pacific Islands between 1943 and 1945.

Behind the photos, underneath the medals, were a neat bundle of letters, bound in a rubber band. Most of the letters were dated during the Winter of 1943, through the Spring of 1944.

The letters talked about putting up tents. Digging trenches near the beach. The hot sun. The oversized mosquitoes. Rats the size of cats. Always the fear of air raids and attacks.

And . . . movies (war movies, mainly). Cheap cigarettes. Terrible food. Infrequent leave, with few places to go. Missing home - A LOT!

He spoke of anti-semitism - far less subtle at that time than it is today. Of a Passover Seder during the Spring of 1944 when one soldier hid his few pieces of unleavened matzos, instead leaving him forbidden leavened bread. But, somehow, he and his few fellow soldiers of faith found other matzos, and got to celebrate the holiday properly. Most other soldiers with whom he served were far more tolerant, and gracious.

Here's the crazy thing for me - my dad was only 19 when he wrote those letters. Only 19! Geez . . . isn't it hard to imagine your father EVER being only 19? He was barely a man, and he was at war, and participating in the watershed conflict for our nation in the last century!

When I was 19 - where was I? I was a sophomore at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. I was thinking up new ways to pick up girls. I was drinking beer too much, and studying more than a little.

But it was peacetime. 1975. The Vietnam War was over, although the draft continued for a while, impotently (I drew Number 19, when I turned 18, but it was of no consequence!) I had my own worries. But dodging bullets from automatic weapons was not one of them!

My dad was a proud man all his life. He died twelve years ago, and rarely talked about his war experiences. But I do know he was proud to serve, and his experiences in service made him a better person. More disciplined, more determined. A better father, I would think.

But, there was some sacrifice. He was never injured during the war, but the three years he spent in the service deferred his outside world dreams. He never became a drummer for a Big Band. Never went to college. Never played baseball professionally. Over the years, however, he had no regrets. Only pride, and an innate feeling that nothing will beat him down.

He did lose a few friends in Iwo Jima, and several other high school chums were injured to varying degrees. For these men, the sacrifice was more tangible, but that of everyone who served was equally as important.

Folks, I'm not a big fan personally of the War in Iraq. I know we have more to do facing and fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan. But that's not even the issue here.

The important thing - to honor all of those now serving, and who have served over the years - with great sacrifice - so that our way of life, and our FREEDOM - can be preserved.

Freedom doesn't come cheap, easy, or without giving something up. Let's give it up for those who have served our country, so that we may all enjoy freedom.

Have a Reverent Day!

We also posted today via BlogChicagoHomes.com - please visit us there!

DEAN & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO

Is this a case of diligent police officers doing their job? Or, are the cops just getting carried away - and IL Municipalities just seeking more revenue?

Or . . . is the motive even a bit sinister?

According to Dan Simmons, as reported in last Sunday's Chicago Tribune, within the last five years, the number of IL drivers stopped by police for breaking the obscure, somewhat subjective law prohibiting "Windshield Obstructions" has increased 91%. In 2009, roughly 38,000 motorists are expected to receive warnings or citations.

A few police officers defend the law, saying its enforcement makes driving safer. According to IL Law, only government-issued items - such as city revenue and parking stickers, or the I-PASS IL Tollway Transponders, are legal. Last week, Simmons counted cars in the parking lot of the Schaumburg Transportation Center, and found 20 out of 48 had windshield obstructions some police might identify as violations.

But civil rights advocates contend the infraction is merely an excuse to pull over suspect drivers and perform a more thorough search of the vehicle.

Timothy O'Neill, Law Professor at John Marshall Law School in The Chicago Loop, says many of the drivers pulled over for what he considers "trivial offenses" are minorities. He cited a 2008 review of all traffic citations and warnings issued which showed that minority drivers are 13% more likely to be pulled over than non-minorities, and were 8% more likely to receive a ticket.

Downstate IL State Senator Dale Righter goes so far as to suggest the unwritten intent of the windshield obstruction law, and others like it, is to offer police an opportunity to uncover potentially more serious offenses. Righer, a former IL Prosecutor, indicated that many of his criminal prosecutions followed police searches on drivers pulled over for minor infractions.

The broadness of the law concerns many. Last April, an IL Appeals Court threw out the conviction of a downstate woman for possession of a prescription anti-depressant drug, after she was stopped on the grounds of having a small tree-shaped car deodorizer hanging from her rear-view mirror. The court said the sheriff's deputy who stopped the woman failed to identify "reasonable suspicion" that the deodorizer would obstruct the driver's line of vision.

In neighboring MI, the State Senate last month voted overwhelmingly to overturn their own law against items hanging from the driver's rear view mirror. It is now before the MI State House. The Michigan law is very similar to that of Illinois.

Technically, GPS Systems mounted by suction cup on a car's windshield present an infraction. Or those little suction cup note pads. So can Rosary Beads. One MI State Law Maker's daughter got pulled over in Suburban Detroit for having a string hanging from her mirror. She contended she didn't even know the string was hanging off the mirror.

Please read our post via BlogChicagoHomes.com.

DEAN & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO

Chicago - Have you survived The Great Recession? Do you still have a job? A home? A little money for the family?

Survival itself is not an insignificant feat!

Last month, U.S. Unemployment shot up to a 26-year-high of 10.25%. Here in the Midwest, workers have absorbed roughly half of job losses nationwide, as many communities still depend on the manufacturing sector for their livelihood.

Housing starts nationwide are more than 60% off their highs of just a few years ago. Here in Chicago, the prices of many single family homes and condos have fallen by 25% or more over the last two years.

But, as reported by Syndicated Real Estate Columnist Don DeBat, the trend might be beginning to turn around.

Starting earlier this year, during the second quarter, home starts have risen in virtually every state versus year-ago levels. In all but a handful of states, home resales have also turned around. Here in Chicago, and in many other areas of the U.S., prices have begun to rebound since last year, although they are still far below the record highs of 2004-2006.

Further, home mortgage rates are still near record lows - in some cases, less than 5% for the best-qualified homebuyers. And these rates are expected to stay affordable for the foreseeable future.

Low interest rates, coupled with depressed home prices, and the Fed Homebuyer Tax Credit, just extended last week to also include some current homeowners, are beginning to motivate some would-be fence sitters to buy now.

Out in California, inventories of sub-$500M homes have become tight, falling to an in-balance three to four month supply late in the summer. The renewed competition has drawn many buyers who fear they might lose out on a true home bargain if they don't act very quickly.

Some experts fear that a new influx of foreclosed and distressed properties to hit the market next year may put further downward pressure on prices, hurting homesellers, while giving potential buyers pause that prices may go even lower.

Only time will tell the adverse effect of these new crop of distressed homes, and whether continued attractive interest rates, coupled with Fed Incentive Money, will be enough to keep the markets vibrant.

Stay tuned!

DEAN MOSS & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO