Jack Lewitz

I read an article in the Chicago Tribune business section “Housing Market hits ’some kind of bottom’”.

In the article it sited a recent study by The Standard & Poor’s/Case Shilling Index of home prices in 20 metropolitan areas.

According to this study, home prices have showed a 1% increase in seasonally adjusted median home prices. The conclusion based on this study is that the housing market is at or close to being at bottom.

The article did point out that there were some sub-markets still struggling like Las Vegas, Charlotte N.C., Cleveland, and Phoenix. All of these cities are struggling with foreclosures.

But in general most markets were improving and the number 1 reason for the improvement was the Federal Governments First Time Homeowner Tax Credit of $8,000.00. The tax credit brought new home buyers out into the market and these buyers took advantage of lower home prices and low interest rates and began purchasing homes.

The conclusion of the article was ” The fundamental story is that housing got way too expensive, and now you could argue that housing is cheap again, and that is what it boils down to in 50 words or less.”

Are we to take this last statement for what its worth as fact. I think that this a simple answer to a very complicated situation. I have heard these arguments before like ” Too Big to Fail”, or ” The market will Correct itself” and I think they all have some major flaw. They generalize a problem to 1 simple answer and that is a problem in itself.

I have learned that Real Estate can not be viewed on a global level. Real Estate prices and values are based on sub-markets. These sub-markets can be from block to block.

Real Estate is based on Supply and Demand. If there is an over supply of property then price of a home will go down.

Real Estate is based on supply of money. When interest remain low then buyers can afford to buy.

If the Real Estate market relied on “Cheap Prices” as the article suggests then I guess we would all be millionaires by investing in Real Estate.

Lets not fool ourselves. We cannot predict when the market will hit bottom.

Is there a correlation between the number of Foreclosures and Unemployment. Can we assume that those States with more unemployment will have more Foreclosures?

Below are the ranks for the Top 10 Foreclosure States according to Realty Trac. Illinois is listed as 10th by Realty Trac but other poles show Maryland as 10th and Illinois slipping to 12th.

1 out of every House Holds (HH) is the number of family households that has received a foreclosure notice. This information came from a recent CNBC poll.

The unemployment data comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

From the data we can understand why Michigan is listed as number 1 in terms of unemployment with the loss of jobs from the automobile industry in Detroit by why are they ranked 8th in terms of unemployment. Will there be more foreclosures in Michigan due to the high unemployment?

Nevada is Ranked number 1 in Foreclosures and Number 2 in terms of unemployment. These statistics make sense.

Yet Rhode Island which is ranked 3 in terms of unemployment at 13% does not even make the top 10 list in terms of Foreclosures. What is Rhode Island doing that other states are not?

In contrast Utah which is 6th on the list of states with the most Foreclosures (1 out 251 households) has the lowest unemployment rate at 6.2 %.

It appears the statistics are inconclusive when it comes to a coorelation between State Rank in Foreclosures and Unemployment Rate.

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I want to thank Betty Cunningham of Re-Max for contributing two blog articles for my website.

I recently received an email from Betty and she was enthusiastic about networking with other realtors and learning more about how to become a Short Sale and REO specialist.

After talking with her and telling her about my own website and how i wanted to work with other realtors and help them promote their business we planned a date to meet.

As a member of Active Rain and already a blogger, it was easy for her to write two blog articles for me"

"Is On Line Bidding a New Trend?" and " Family Searches Web for Help"

Thank you Betty for the article and I look forward to networking with you or anyone you may know that I do not know.

If you are an Illinois Realtor and are doing Short Sales, REO or BPO's and would like to network and learn from others doing what you do then please visit my website at : http://www.ilrealestatespecialists.com.

I look forward to working with you. Remember there is enough business to go around for everyone.

Happy Halloween... Happy Halloween... Happy Halloween... Happy Halloween

Have you paid your Cook County Real Estate Taxes?

No! Because Residents of Cook County have not received the second installment of their Real Estate Taxes for the 2008 Tax Year.

Taxes in Cook County are paid in arrears. That means taxes paid in 2009 are for the 2008 tax year.

Taxes in Cook County are paid two times a year. The first installment is due in March and the second installment is due in November of each year.

As of October 22, 2009, Cook County residents have not received a tax bill for the second installment of their 2008 Real Estate taxes.

Much of the County Revenue comes from Real Estate Taxes. At a time when the County is struggling to provide services to the community it amazes me why the tax bills have not been mailed.

Cook County Facts

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