When will the real estate market climb all the way back to the top? Maybe never. That’s right … maybe never. Fueled by free money, relaxed lending practices, and careless appraisals, the steep climb in market values was artificial. Because the bubble was spurred by greed and high hopes, it wasn’t based on value but on speculation. As a result, it could take a generation or more for those lofty highs to return.   04/01/2012

REAL ESTATE STORIES: How to pick up a new real estate client ... or the art of looking like a real estate agent on a Saturday afternoon ... Take your buyers to see a very nice house, talk with them about it outside, and get approached by 2 guys who are driving around looking at houses they found on the internet. (They had a printout in hand.) They thought the price was great (it was), which means they've been studying the market ... and also rules them out as muggers! I gave them my business card but did not show them the house as they requested. They understood why I wouldn't since they're not officially my clients ... yet. Another good sign. Not just 2 guys, but 2 gentlemen! Wouldn't be surprised if they call next week.     03/31/2012

According to Bank of America/Merrill Lynch, the real estate market is poised for recovery in 2012. Merrill Lynch predicts that a cumulative growth of 42% in home prices—or 4% on an annualized basis—will be achieved by 2020. It also forecasts that the market will reach bottom at the end of March 2012 (the month of this writing), with seasonal gains expected over the spring and summer, and price declines occurring over the winter. Even so, the up-and-down gyrations will eventually stabilize into predicable increases. In another headline, the Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller index for Chicago-area single-family home prices is showing a decline of nearly 2% in January 2012 compared to the prior month, which represents a 7% downtown from a year ago. What does this mean for Chicago-area homeown... 03/27/2012

  Northbrook's February Property sales were 23, down -4.2% from 24 in February of 2011 and 15.0% higher than the 20 sales last month. February 2012 sales were at their lowest level compared to February of 2011 and 2010. February YTD sales of 43 are running -15.7% behind last year's year-to-date sales of 51.   The Median Sales Price in February was $180,449, down -33.3% from $270,500 in February of 2011 and down -32.2% from $266,000 last month. The Average Sales Price in February was $334,041, down -9.7% from $369,736 in February of 2011 and down -13.7% from $387,219 last month. February 2012 ASP was at the lowest level compared to February of 2011 and 2010.   The Total Inventory of Properties available for sale as of February was 270, down -10.3% from 301 last month and down -33.2% from... 03/06/2012

Northbrook's January Property sales were 17, down -37.0% from 27 in January of 2011 and -54.1% lower than the 37 sales last month. January 2012 sales were at their lowest level compared to January of 2011 and 2010. January YTD sales of 17 are running -37.0% behind last year's year-to-date sales of 27.   The Median Sales Price in January was $282,000, down -22.1% from $362,000 in January of 2011 and up 15.1% from $245,000 last month. The Average Sales Price in January was $386,757, down -4.7% from $405,968 in January of 2011 and up 24.0% from $311,935 last month. January 2012 ASP was at the lowest level compared to January of 2011 and 2010.   The Total Inventory of Properties available for sale as of January was 283, down -4.7% from 297 last month and down -29.4% from 401 in January of l... 02/04/2012

Homesellers everywhere are scratching their heads and wondering where all the buyers have gone. Get out your calculator, and you wonder no more. Since 2006, 4 million homeowners lost their homes due to short sales or foreclosures An additional 14 million homeowners (30%) are underwater An additional 2.4 million homeowners hold less than 5% equity in their homes An additional 3 - 10 million homeowners facing foreclosure (nobody knows for sure!) Add it all up, and we’re looking at 23 to 30 million current homeowners who are out of the market. Since there are about 48 million homeowners in the U.S., 50 to 62.5% of move-up homebuyers have been removed from the market. Number of ‘move-up’ homebuyers out of market 4 million Homes lost to foreclosure or Short Sale since 2006 14 million Homes c... 01/23/2012

Chicago North Suburban real estate update as of December 2011 As of December 2011, homes sales in Chicago’s North Suburbs continued a healthy upward trend. Sales were up 11% compared to prior month … and also up 9% compared to December of 2010. The overall trend line remains on an upward glide path, even after considering seasonal fluctuations. Nice news for homesellers! Inventory of homes is down There’s more good news when it comes to inventory levels. The number of homes for sale in Chicago’s North Suburbs has been steadily decreasing since June 2011. Fewer homes on the market mean stiffer competition among homebuyers, which usually translates into improved sale prices. Average Sold Price trending down The Average Sold Price, though, has been steadily dropping since June 2011. A drop... 01/11/2012

Northbrook's December Property sales were 34, up 9.7% from 31 in December of 2010 and 30.8% higher than the 26 sales last month. December 2011 sales were at their highest level compared to December of 2010 and 2009. December YTD sales of 478 are running 2.8% ahead of last year's year-to-date sales of 465.   The Median Sales Price in December was $256,250, down -14.9% from $301,000 in December of 2010 and up 3.5% from $247,500 last month. The Average Sales Price in December was $323,576, down -20.0% from $404,669 in December of 2010 and up 22.7% from $263,817 last month. December 2011 ASP was at the lowest level compared to December of 2010 and 2009.   The Total Inventory of Properties available for sale as of December was 286, down -11.5% from 323 last month and down -28.5% from 400 in ... 01/08/2012

You don’t have to hire a home stager to sell your house You don’t have to hire a home stager to sell your house. You can be your own home stager. Here’s how! Listing your house for sale isn’t easy It disrupts just about everything in your life—for you, your family, and your pets. It puts a greater burden on an already hectic schedule. It raises insecurities about your future … whether you can get top price in the shortest time possible … and what you’ll do if you can’t. It makes you toss and turn at night. Selling your house in this competitive market is tougher than ever, and here’s why: Most homebuyers demand move-in ready houses Most homebuyers put a higher premium on houses staged like model homes Most homebuyers have a better handle on fair market value than most homeowners Once up... 12/15/2011

Homes sold in Northbrook IL (November 2011) 18 Northbrook homeowners sold their homes. 2 home(s) sold were Foreclosures. 6 home(s) sold were Short Sales. 233 home(s) are currently available for sale. Given these statistics, it will take 13 months to sell all homes, not counting other homes coming on the market every day. Following are some of the fabulous homes that sold in Northbrook in November. Data provided by the Midwest Real Estate LLC and includes properties listed and sold by various participants in the MLS. Some charts powered by 10K Research and Marketing. Many of the homes sold were for prices considerably below Original List Price. If a home is overpriced, the market—i.e., homebuyers—will communicate the fact by simply not showing up. A house cannot sell if homebuyers don’t ... 12/14/2011

Northbrook Real Estate Market Trends (as of October 2011) Over the last 2 years, the Average Sales Price for Northbrook real estate has, unfortunately, steadily decreased for both Attached (Condos and Townhouses) and Detached Single Family Homes. Though prices seesaw from month to month, the overall market trend is down, and it looks as if prices haven’t hit bottom. Until they do, homeowners should expect continuing price erosion. How much is anyone’s guess, but anyone trying to sell should expect prices to be lower — rather than higher — over the next six months. On the positive side, the Supply of Inventory has decreased year-over year from a 10-month supply to an 8-month supply. When availability of homes decline, sales prices usually increase. Data provided by the Midwest Real Estat... 11/30/2011

Northbrook IL Homes Sold in October 2011 Last month, 18 Northbrook homeowners sold their homes. 2 home(s) sold was/were Foreclosures. 1 home(s) sold was/were Short Sales. Following are some of the fabulous homes that sold in Northbrook last month.   Data provided by the Midwest Real Estate LLC and includes properties listed and sold by various participants in the MLS. Some charts powered by 10K Research and Marketing. Many of the homes sold were for prices considerably below Original List Price. If a home is overpriced, the market — i.e., homebuyers — will communicate the fact by simply not showing up. And a house cannot sell if no homebuyers want to see it. Therefore, if homeowners want to sell their house — and what homeowners don’t! — and nobody is showing up, the only action to take... 11/30/2011

Homesellers should never give away their bargaining position Sometimes the most innocuous questions asked by prospective homebuyers and their real estate agents can weaken the bargaining position of homesellers. As homeowners, you should never answer a question from a prospective buyer, no matter how friendly or sociable the query appears on the surface. When prospective buyers become serious homebuyers, they inevitably use that information to their own advantage and not yours. Doing so may mean the difference between an ideal contract and a contract compromised by prior knowledge. If you’re a homeseller, this is your reminder to always keep confidential your reason for moving, price expectations, or timelines. You should also work with a real estate agent who understands that confident... 11/27/2011

Selling a house: the rites of spring and the doldrums of winter But is winter really a bad time to sell a house? Maybe not. Maybe it’s one of the best seasons of all to sell your house! The rites of spring When tulips come up in Chicago, so do yard signs announcing the sale of the house behind it. Starting in March or thereabouts, the mad rush is on. Homeowners sweep out their houses, plant perennials, and open their doors to strangers. They get their hopes high and their packing boxes ready. Open houses are held every weekend, all weekend long and weekdays, too. And while their Realtors® are sitting Open House, homesellers turn into prospective homebuyers, parading from open house to open house, and dreaming about the day—hopefully very soon—when they will start a new life in a new hou... 11/20/2011

The real estate crash didn’t just happen … it was orchestrated like a symphony. Nothing as dramatic as seeing home values skyrocket seemingly overnight from the late 1990s until 2005, only to crash like a boulder, has happened just once before … in 1929. Circumstances then were similar to now: banks were organized as unregulated conglomerates, money was treated like water, speculation was rampant, and unbridled greed was pervasive. Consequently, America along with the rest of the world descended into a Great Depression that lasted more than a decade. In 2008, the financial markets nearly crashed as catastrophically as it did in 1929. The crisis started with the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, then the fourth largest investment bank in the United States. The self-destruction of Lehman Bro... 11/16/2011

The secret to selling your house Every homeowner is looking for home selling secrets guaranteed to get their homes sold in the shortest amount of time for the highest price possible. When you purchased your house, you expected its value to climb and climb and climb. If you bought prior to 2005, it did just that. Then the market began to roll downhill. It hasn’t stopped since. So what are the secrets for selling your home? Only this: The past can’t be changed. The future can’t be predicted. Only the present counts. If you keep these secrets in mind every step of the way, you WILL sell your home quickly and for the most money the market will bear. This isn’t the answer you were looking for. But if I told you anything different — like real estate is about to explode and prices will skyrock... 11/15/2011

North Shore Real Estate Price Trend (as of October 2011) The Average Sold Price for homes on Chicago’s North Shore has declined by 10% compared to the same period a year ago. The aggregate numbers represent the heart of the North Shore, comprised of sales statistics for detached homes in Evanston, Wilmette, Kenilworth, Winnetka, Glencoe, Northfield, Northbrook and Glenview. While there was a nice rise of average home prices since the beginning of the year, prices have dropped off since the high was reached in June. It’s Judy … your North Shore Chicago real estate agent. 11/11/2011

Right-to-Rent: A way to stop the housing meltdown With so many homeowners facing foreclosure, it’s time … past time by about 4 years … to do something about it. Absent write-downs of loans and refinancing those loans at today’s rates — in my opinion the best way to go — there may be another way to halt the unraveling of America’s real estate market. Right-to-rent Right-to-Rent was first proposed 4 years ago by Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research and endorsed by Andrew Samwick, economics professor at Dartmouth and former chief economist on George W. Bush’s Council of Economic Advisors. Right-to-Rent would give former homeowners the right to remain in their foreclosed homes as renters for 5-10 years. When he first proposed the idea, Baker wrote, “The own to rent plan... 11/10/2011

Chicago North Suburban real estate update as of October 2011 As of October 2011, homes sales in Chicago’s North Suburbs are up. Even though the real estate market has entered its slower fall/winter season, sales improved 7% compared to last October. The trend line is still on an upward glide path, nice news for weary homesellers.   It appears as if more buyers are shrugging off the bad economy and accepting homeownership as a wise investment. Is confidence in the air? Are buyers getting ready to jump back into the market with both feet? Are they thinking the worst is over? I don’t know the answer to these questions, but it looks as though confidence is building. Inventory of homes is down As you can see, the number of homes for sale in Chicago’s North Suburbs has been steadily decreasin... 11/06/2011

You may wonder why selling a piano is a lot like selling a house. It has to do with price. I have a beautiful piano. It’s a Boston grand piano purchased 12 years ago. I used to have time to practice. I don’t anymore. (Too busy selling houses!) Now I want to sell it.    I’m attached to this piano. And even though I don’t have time to play, I still love it. Boston pianos are designed and manufactured by Steinway. Even though they’re not cheap, Boston pianos are the poor person’s Steinway. A Steinway grand can set you back a pretty penny. How many pennies? The last I knew, about 5 million pennies … or $50,000 … and the price has probably gone up since then. Steinways are ‘grand’ for serious pianists but an extravagance for casual piano players. For someone like me who loves to play but is ... 11/06/2011