Michael Hobbs's (michaelhobbs) Blog

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Real Estate Appraiser - PahRoo Appraisal & Consultancy
RECENT BLOG POSTS
Homeowners with mortgages over $1 million seem to be getting the “royal treatment” when it comes to foreclosure.   In a report done by Realty Trac, 85% of homes in foreclosure that were valued less than $1million were repossessed by the lender.  On the contrary, only 28% of homes in foreclosure t...
07/30/2013
Four years ago, in 2009, Wells Fargo hosted their first workshop in Chicago to help struggling homeowners find a way to keep their homes from going into foreclosure.  They invited 16,000 homeowners to this workshop. Wells Fargo has continued to hold these workshops, inviting 14,000 in 2012 and 11...
07/25/2013
The debate between man and woman goes on.  For single adults, the property one might buy could very well come down to their gender.  It seems that single women are purchasing more homes today. In July of 2013, Redfin reported an increasing number of single female homeowners.  Their data was compi...
07/25/2013
A certain condo was listed in beautiful Buena Park on lakefront with a view of Lake Michigan for $125,000!  Many would say this is incredibly underpriced, however for the broker involved, he thought it was fair market value. As our market continues to transition, many could likely say that that c...
07/19/2013
Considering today’s market, one cannot rely on the methods that were effective before.  This is a living, breathing, and ever changing industry, especially in its recovery stages.  So beware of your parents,’ or friends’ advice if they haven’t sold or bought anything in the last 2 years to avoid ...
07/17/2013
As the housing marking continues to stabilize nationally, builder stocks have seen some recent growth.  DR Horton, one of Forbes 2000 leading companies, was singled out as the best performing stock on the S&P 500, on July 9, 2013. The comeback in builder stock is believed to be attributed to Core...
07/11/2013
In a housing market on the road to recovery, there has been recent concern that the rising interest rates will affect the housing market negatively.  Rates that were once 3 ¾ percent have now risen to nearly 5% in less than a month. Chief Economist at Trulia, Jed Kolko, stated to CNBC, that 5 % i...
06/26/2013
The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007, which was set to expire December 31, 2012, has survived and has been extended to January 1, 2014.  This is good news for our newly recovering housing market.  Although the Senate missed its deadline of midnight December 31, they decided to enjoy t...
06/18/2013
For those of you familiar with Gold Coast of Chicago, you may remember the Esquire Theater.  The stretch on Oak St. from Rush St. to Michigan Ave. has always been known to be a key fashion destination right off the Magnificent Mile, housing Prada, Versace, and others.  Recently Del Frisco’s Steak...
06/17/2013
The Carlyle Group, one of this country’s largest private equity groups decided not to follow the same trend as countless others, by investing in single family homes, instead they invested in multi-unit buildings. Currently the Carlyle Group LP, is a $25 Billion fund, and decided to jump into the ...
06/17/2013
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Michael Hobbs

SRA, LEED GA, RAA
local_phone(773) 388-0003
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