This is from Real Estate Bloggers.....too true.

by Charles Feldman on December 10, 2008
 Ho! Ho! Ho! boys and girls (and real estate investors) — it’s that time of year again–Christmas –when the holiday spirit is in the air. Jingle those bells! You know you want to. But, there is a slight problem this Yule time season (well, okay, a big problem) that just may dampen your good cheer.

Santa is facing foreclosure!

I know, this has not been widely reported in the news because, frankly, Santa thinks it’s none of your freaking business . . . but, the mortgage on his North Pole residence is about to go South since it was financed with one of those subprime loans we keep hearing about.
I know, you are asking yourself, why did Santa need a subprime loan? Well, come on, if you only have a job that requires you to work one night a year, don’t you think it might be hard to get a bank to give you a regular mortgage?
Now, don’t get me wrong . . . Santa is no deadbeat . . . a little too fat, maybe, but no deadbeat. The problem is the subprime mess that led to the credit crunch has led to fewer people buying toys for their tots this Christmas. This is impacting Santa in a BIG way. He’s almost doing as badly as FedEx.

Santa Learns From Fannie, Freddie, the Banks & Big 3 Autos

Santa was heartened at first by the federal takeover of Fannie and Freddie. But the sad fact is, it’s done zero for him. His elves are being laid off. His reindeer have taken to crystal meth to cope. And Mrs. Claus is moving to Miami cause she can’t take living in the North Pole now that the heat has been turned off.
Last week, Santa did try one last thing. He secretly went before a Congressional committee to ask for a small loan–something like $4 or $5 trillion dollars, I think (come on, overhead is high at the Pole).
Congress is thinking of giving Santa a loan in exchange for strict controls over the elves and his promise to develop a more fuel efficient fleet of reindeer.
Santa is sort of okay with this…he actually can’t stand the elves anyway…they are so—well—height challenged!
The fact is, if Santa doesn’t get the dough, he will default on his mortgage payment and probably have to give up his abode and workshop.
Santa is not exactly in a holiday spirit, boys and girls (and real estate investors) — Truth is, he’s a bit drunk right now. Not to worry. He’s a pro and he will be fine when the time comes.
Just please keep this in mind–when Santa comes down your chimney–he will be in a foul mood. Whatever you do, don’t talk to him, look at him or question the toys he’s brought your kids. Santa is believed to be armed and could be dangerous considering his mental state.
So, have a merry Christmas . . . keep the faith…believe in miracles and send Santa a few bucks because he’s too fat to fail!

Santa's Naughty List

  If Santa Claus was compiling a naughty list for the real estate industry who would be at the top?
I’m fairly certain Santa keeps up with the news.  If that’s the case then no doubt Bank of America will be getting a lump of coal in their stocking on Christmas Day.  In October, they suspended foreclosure proceedings in all 50 states because of procedural errors.  Last Friday, the Arizona Attorney General filed a lawsuit against Bank of America for alleged mortgage fraud.  In the suit Terry Goddard, Arizona’s Attorney General, said “BofA is abusing borrowers systematically.  It showed a blatant disregard for people’s rights and practiced blatantly deceptive procedures.” 
Bank of America isn’t just on the naughty list, they ARE the naughty list.
I have a feeling that little Fannie Mae and her brother Freddie Macare on the naughty list too.  Together they own 1,390,000 delinquent mortgages – more than any other bank or investor.  According to ProPublica, Fannie and Freddie reduced principal on 141 of 287,000 mortgages.  That’s just a tad over 0%.  Meanwhile, banks reduced principal during this same time period by almost 30%.

Rates Hit New Low After QE2 Announcement

Rates Hit New Low After QE2 Announcement

Reacting to the Fed’s QE2 announcement, interest rates responded by setting new lows. The 30-year fixed rate dropped to 4.17, down from 4.24% last week. The 15-year fixed rate also set a new low at 3.57% down from 3.63% the previous week. The 30-year is down significantly from last year’s 4.91%.
This new low should cause a boost in refinance activity and even some purchases as consumers make year end moves. This year end spike could lead us to some decent home sales numbers at a time the worst in housing price declines are yet to come. The Fed’s QE2 shouldn’t cause rates to fall much further, but we are close to testing 4%. If rates fall below 4% that could create a large burst in purchase activity.

The year end will look great if we reach a 4% rate. Let's keep our fingers crossed that we will have a buying frenzies.

Top 10 Cities With Most Underwater Homes in America

Top 10 Cities With Most Underwater Homes in America

1. Las Vegas, Nevada          80.2%
2. Phoenix, Arizona              68.4%
3. Reno, Nevada                 64.4%
4. Orlando, Florida               64.2%
5. Stockton, California         57.5%
6. El Centro, California         55.0%
7. Modesto, California          53.9%
8. Lakeland, Florida             53.7%
9. Port St. Lucie Florida       52.0%
10. Fort Myers, Florida          51.6%

The list was compiled by Business Insider with data by Zillow

If you are in the market to buy in any of these area you might consider looking. Money is at very low rates and the market has a large inventory to choose from.

5 areas to think about in selling your home.

5 areas to think about in selling your home.
There are 5 areas that you must focus on when thinking of selling your home:

1. Curb appeal – First impression is extremely important.  Potential buyers must be wowed from the curb, with an inviting property that gets buyers inside.  Fresh paint, landscaping and some good contrast with your trim can drastically improve curb appeal at minimal cost.
2. Kitchens – Kitchens sell houses, plain and simple.  Functionality with some pop can be achieved without going overboard.  Kitchens are the one place where you can add the most value in a home; don’t hesitate to look for energy saving appliances.
3. Bathrooms – Significant value can be added in the bathrooms.  Adding a new bathroom or converting a half bath to a full bath is one of the best value added decisions.  It is still not necessary to go overboard as the increased value can be added at a reasonable expense.  Also, don’t hesitate to put in water saving toilets.
4. Go Green – Applying some green upgrades definitely commands a premium in your sales price.  Appliances, toilets, heating/cooling, energy saving components, green paint — many of these items do not add much expense, but can result in increased profits
5. Unique Selling Points – Some houses have unique features such as views, access to water (lakes, ocean, etc.), decks, 5 car garages, huge lots, and so on. Often times these selling points can be emphasized with minor changes to increase value and desirability.

This is only a suggested list to keep you thinking about more money in your pocket.

Please vote today

Please make time to hear your voice counted. It is a very good day to vote.

Chicago sales are down in September

From the Illinois Association of Realtors:

In the city of Chicago, September total home sales (single-family and condominiums) were down 26.9 percent to 1,403 sales compared to 1,918 homes sold in September 2009. The city of Chicago median price in September 2010 was $180,000, down 20.0 percent compared to $225,000 a year ago in September 2009.
Year-to-date sales remain up 11.1 percent January through September 2010 with 15,285 sales compared to 13,760 home sales for the same period in 2009. The year-to-date median sales price for the city of Chicago is down 7.9 percent to $210,000 from $228,000 for 2009.

 Here is the recap of September sales over the prior 4 years.

• September 2010: 1403- median price of $180,000
• September 2009: 1918
• September 2008: 1813
• September 2007: 2108- median price of $267,750

“Distressed properties are driving sales, putting pressure on the overall median price of homes sold in today’s market. A positive indicator that our market is moving as it should can be seen with a steady pace of units sold and existing inventory being absorbed,” said Mabel Guzman, president of the Chicago Association of REALTORS® and a REALTOR® with Su Familia Real Estate, Chicago. “With condo sales in the city of Chicago up over 11 percent year-to-date from the same period in 2009, we see an expansion of choices for potential buyers to jump in the market now and find great value for homes they may have not otherwise been able to afford.”

The expiration of the tax credit has also squelched demand.

“It’s clear the housing market benefited from the tax credit through the first half of the year and now we are feeling the withdrawal symptoms in the form of slower sales. Still this extraordinary buyer opportunity should continue as mortgage rates remain in rock-bottom territory as they were just last week averaging 4.19 percent for our region,” said REALTOR® Sheryl Grider Whitehurst, ABR, CRB, GRI, president of the Illinois Association of REALTORS® and the Development and Operations Coordinator for Traders Realty in Peoria. “Bottom line, home sales will struggle until jobs return to the economy, consumer confidence improves and foreclosures work their way through the system.”

We’ve also chattered about how continued high unemployment will put pressure on the housing market.  The Illinois unemployment rate was still 9.9% in September, though that was down 0.2% from the year before.

“The slow pace of employment recovery is certainly dampening housing demand,” said Geoffrey J.D. Hewings, the Director of the Regional Economics Applications Laboratory at the University of Illinois. “In particular there is increasing concern that an employment rebound may not occur to any significant degree until late 2011. Forecasts for Illinois unemployment over the next 12 months continue to reflect the uncertainty in the economy; job growth is anticipated to be between a positive 24,000 and a negative 31,000.”

WOW, you did sign on the dotted line....

WOW, you did sign on the dotted line....
This is from the Chicago Tribune.

In the eight-county Chicago area, 19 percent of mortgages — representing nearly 1 in 5 residential properties with a loan — are delinquent by at least one month, helping create an inventory of almost 204,000 homes at risk of reverting back to lenders, according to data provided to the Chicago Tribune by John Burns Real Estate Consulting in Irvine, Calif. That “shadow inventory,” as experts define distressed homes not yet put up for sale, is the largest in absolute terms for any metropolitan area in the country.
Based on its calculations, the firm believes that 80 percent of those homeowners eventually will lose their property, either through foreclosure or a short sale, in which the lender permits the home to be sold for less than the value of the loan.
For Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, McHenry and Will counties, the shadow inventory number translates to 22 months of distressed housing supply. The combined shadow inventory for Lake County and Kenosha County, Wis., where the delinquency rate is 18.4 percent, is more than 22,000 homes, or a 23-month supply.
“A fifth of people (in the Chicago area) aren’t paying their mortgage,” said Wayne Yamano, a vice president at John Burns. “Next year is when you’re going to have the most competition in the market and the proportion of distressed sales will be the highest.”

Chicago Condo Sales are Down

Chicago Condo Sales are Down
I read this report about the area market, since the news is very quite about housing these days the numbers are adding up. Please let us bottom out soon. We would love a great 2011 in Real Estate.
From Crain’s:

“We’re just continuing to plod along,” says Appraisal Research Vice-president Gail Lissner.
A recovery could be years away, but developers, with 406 sales in the first six months of the year, are still ahead of their pace in 2009, when they sold just 572 units during the whole year.
That’s still a fraction of the 8,162 units downtown developers sold in 2005, before the housing bubble burst and the economy plunged into its deepest recession since the 1930s.
“With the tax credit expired, continued concerns about the economy and job market, worries about the stability of housing prices, and the difficulty in selling an existing residence and securing financing, many buyers continue to remain on the sidelines for the near term,” the Appraisal Research report says.

Belgravia Group’s President and CEO Alan Lev echoed what many have chattered about here: it’s going to be a LONG time before any new condo towers are constructed.

Mr. Lev expects that it will be five to 10 years before a developer breaks ground on a major downtown condo tower. In the meantime, Belgravia is scouting for distressed uncompleted condo projects that it can buy at a discount and finish itself.
The developer, for instance, is acquiring 18 out of 34 unsold units in a vintage condominium conversion in Lakeview and plans to offer them for about $300,000 to $500,000 apiece, down from the original developer’s $500,000 to $700,000.
“That’s the kind of stuff we’re going to be doing for a couple years,” Mr. Lev says. “You won’t have us developers to kick around.”

Downtown condo sales lag as tax credits end [Crain’s Chicago Business, Alby Gallun, August 16, 2010]

Finally the high end market is heading south.

Finally the high end market is heading south.


At this time of year when we are heading back to school,our real estate market usually starts to heat up. With this report in the paper,I am thinking that the fall market will be soft. There are not enough new jobs being created for the homeowner to get excited about moving up. Clearly Du Page County is taking the biggest hit and Hinsdale, Clarendon Hills, and Burr Ridge are facing many more short sales homes in the coming months. Buyers are you interested in purchasing a good deal?

From the New York Times Chicago News Cooperative:

“In the first half of 2010, the largest increases in new foreclosures occurred in the region’s middle- and higher-income communities,” according to a report this month by the Woodstock Institute, which tracks housing trends in the region.
Du Page County was hardest hit in the Chicago metropolitan area, with a 74.8 percent increase in new filings in the first six months of 2010; Lake County, home to Lake Forest, was second, with a 64.9 percent jump. But in Lake Forest, the increase in the number of foreclosures was a jarring 78.9 percent.
An examination of real estate transactions in Lake Forest through the end of July found that of the 127 houses sold this year, 18 of them, or 14 percent, were either in foreclosure or were transferred on so-called short sales — that is, when the selling price falls short of the amount owed on the mortgage.

Far from poor, real estate woes nip at Lake Forest [New York Times Chicago News Cooperative, Tom Hundley, August 7, 2010]

Cook County Assessor's Office facing the 2010 Market

Cook County Assessor's Office facing the 2010 Market
In this report I am getting the picture that we are not out of the declining market yet. The Assessor's office released this about the foreclosure status in Cook county. In 2010 will we see any upswing? I do not think we will until 2011.

From the Tribune:

“The market is still having problems,” said Fran Lefor, a senior research analyst at the assessor’s office. “But if you’re not in foreclosure, things are not as bad as you might think. It’s good news if you don’t have a house in foreclosure. It’s bad news if you’re a bank.”
The study found that 35.2 percent of the 8,092 residential property sales completed during the first quarter were foreclosure-related transactions, and the $88,500 median price was a 21 percent drop from a year ago.
But in the traditional market for the county as a whole, the number of properties sold rose almost 49 percent, and the median price fell only 6.7 percent, to $231,000, from 2009’s first quarter. The median means half the homes are sold for more and half for less.
The assessor’s data includes all sales within the county, not just those reported to the local multiple listing service. The most dramatic year-over-year price changes were found in Chicago, where the 2010 first-quarter median price fell 6.5 percent, to $252,500, for traditional sales and plummeted 23.8 percent, to $80,000, for distressed homes.

Government Obama to the rescue to 2011....wait a minute.

Government Obama to the rescue to 2011....wait a minute.

Main Street may be about to get its own gigantic bailout. Rumors are running wild from Washington to Wall Street that the Obama administration is about to order government-controlled lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to forgive a portion of the mortgage debt of millions of Americans who owe more than what their homes are worth. An estimated 15 million U.S. mortgages – one in five – are underwater with negative equity of some $800 billion. Recall that on Christmas Eve 2009, the Treasury Department waived a $400 billion limit on financial assistance to Fannie and Freddie, pledging unlimited help. The actual vehicle for the bailout could be the Bush-era Home Affordable Refinance Program, or HARP, a sister program to Obama’s loan modification effort. HARP was just extended through June 30, 2011.
Read the whole article at Reuters.

Does this mean that the 800 Billion budget for housing is going to restart our market. I am in doubt due the fact there are no jobs.

Ikea Billy Bookcases made to look custom,Hinsdale,Illinois

Home and House

Ikea Billy Bookcases made to look custom, Hinsdale, Illinois 

This is a great photo to show you the changes in a stock bookcase. The difference in a custom bookshelf and a stock bookshelf is the width of the frames. Custom shelves are 2" and stock ones are 1". So by adding a molding to the unit you can achieve the custom look. In this picture there are four Ikea Billy bookcases. The owner added the molding,painted the back of the cases to create a very custom and finished look to the room.There are prints that are hanging on to the molding. Another feature would be to add bookcase lights for an indirect evening lighting to the room. Have you ever thought of painting the back of your bookcases? You need to be certain that you will keep a "staged" look on the shelves when you are done.

If the Government would please exit left. I mean really.

If the Government would please exit left. I mean really.
I read this article and I once again must express my thoughts that until the government is out of the housing sector we are only making the market conditions worse. We need to reach rock bottom to build the values. Every time the government starts to poke around it only makes matters worse. 

Too many Americans purchased housing using aggressive low down payment mortgages with teaser rates that even two income households struggled to afford during the boom years. The predictable disasters have now been well documented, but apparently the government still clings to the illusion that home ownership is worth pursuing for the marginal borrower. Freddie Mac is continuing to advertise down payment assistance for “responsible borrowers” who nevertheless lack funds for conventional down payments and closing costs. Through a bewilderingly array of grants, second mortgages, tax credits, and other programs, Freddie Mac is encouraging marginal borrowers to purchase homes that they cannot clearly afford.
At a time when home prices could very well decline further, it seems irresponsible for a government controlled agency to promote home ownership for anyone who cannot come up with a traditional down payment. However, now that the $8,000 tax credit for first time homebuyers has expired, it appears that government is doing what it can to continue propping up activity in the sector rather than allowing market prices to fall to a natural equilibrium level. This will only prolong the pain in housing in general and expose more Americans who probably should be renting to the loss of employment mobility and potential for losses that low down payment mortgages create. via Seeking Alpha

Missing in action, Hinsdale, Du Page County, Illinois

Missing in action, Hinsdale, Du Page County, Illinois

I have been missing in action. It has been a crazy summer. I have a health issue that needed attending to and now I am back and ready to blog some very interesting areas,designs and styles of homes that are on the market. Stay tune. Beth

Pending Sales are Down 30%.get ready for the double dip.

Pending Sales are Down 30%.get ready for the double dip.
 This is the latest from the NAR reports and it is now going to be a very scary time in our market. The figures are all coming in and across the board we are seeing a double dip in value. There are few new home construction permits, mortgages rates are low but no one is looking to buy or apply for them. Yes business reports are showing up with profits but no one is hiring. This is now a time when we are going to no new sales coming.



And to Vicki Cox Golder, National Association of REALTORS President, I guess the traffic did not hold up like you promised your members.

The index of pending home resales dropped 30 percent from the prior month, figures from the National Association of Realtors showed today in Washington. The drop was the biggest in records dating to 2001 and compared with a 14 percent decrease forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of economists.
The decline shows that the industry at the center of the financial crisis remains vulnerable in the absence of government support. A stabilization in housing will depend on gains in incomes and employment that may stem foreclosures and give Americans the confidence to start buying again.
“Demand will be pretty depressed in the next few months,” Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James & Associates Inc. in St. Petersburg, Florida, said before the report. “We’re still going to have a big overhang of foreclosures. There’s potential for prices to slow down a lot more.” via Bloomberg

The Front Door Tells the Story..........

 The Little Greene; BH&G; Blissfully Domestic; Hooked on Houses; Apartment Therapy; Yellow Front Door

The Front Door Tells the Story..........

I am always asked what to do to get my house ready to sell. There are many ways to set the tone and painting the front door is the first.These are just a few photos that I love for a front door. How about your front door? Does it need a new color?  I feel the door is the opening page of the story of the house. This is a simple way to make a big statement and not spending lots of money, just time and work.

We still are have not hit the bottom of the market yet.

We still are have not hit the bottom of the market yet.
This is from an article that was in the Chicago Tribune Real Estate section over the weekend. It is a very sad story and I know of many young couples who are facing this same problem. I am very concerned to see that the banks and still so greedy over working with people to get a problem solved. This could also be a sign that our banks are losing profits and are not able to correct the problem. We still have not reached the bottom of this mess yet.

1. Del Phillips buys a 1-bedroom $212,500 condo in a Lakeview courtyard building in May 2007.
2. He takes out two loans: first mortgage of $159,375 and a second of $53,125- both from Chase.
3. In January 2009, he lost his public affairs job.
4. In April 2009,  he applied for a modification under the federal HAMP program.
5. He continued paying the $1400 a month mortgage while he waited to hear on the modification.
6. In September 2009, he was turned down because his hardship was “not of a permanent nature.”
7. He tried to short sell the condo.
8. But Chase told him that they had the right to persue him for the second mortgage (not to mention the fact that, under the law as I’ve heard it described, the second loan would be considered “income” by the IRS if it was forgiven by the bank so he would have to pay taxes on it.)

Phillips sought help from Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago Inc., a federal government-approved counseling agency, which broached the idea of filing personal bankruptcy.
“(Phillips) did everything right. He had good credit, and then he lost his job,” said Michael van Zalingen, director of homeownership services for Neighborhood Housing Services. “If your lender isn’t interested in helping you, or the only thing you qualify for hurts your household, I don’t think you have any moral obligation to stay bound in that mortgage or paying to that company when it no longer makes economic sense for you.”
Phillips bristled at the bankruptcy suggestion, but after consulting with an attorney, in late February he filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, not the Chapter 13 that would have negotiated his debts, including those with Chase.
“My other option was to say I’ll roll the dice with the bank,” Phillips said. “Will they really come after me? I wouldn’t put it past the bank industry to do that. It’s going to kill me to pay a bank for a house I no longer owned. I was, like, there’s no way I’m going to pay the bank another dime.”
Lawyers say they are hearing about more instances of mortgage lenders selling the delinquent second loans used to buy homes during the industry’s heyday to third parties that are then pursuing debtors.
“He’s not outside the norm,” said Stephen Cleary, a Chicago attorney and board member of the Northwest Side Housing Center. “He can now sleep at night. The mental anguish has been relieved.”

Mark Burnell files for Real Estate Bankruptcy

Mark Burnell files for Real Estate Bankruptcy.

This years super bowl back up quarterback has filed for bankruptcy due to great losses in the real estate market. It is another story of deals gone bad. Mark had heavily invested in future real estate development  projects that have dissolved. The banks have won in calling the notes in and now Mark has lost.

 I think that if you have celebrities in a deal that you have better get out fast. 

One of the disputes involves a real estate project in Jacksonville Beach, involving a $2.2 million loan made by CNL Bank in 2005. CNL began foreclosure proceedings on the property in May 2009, accusing the partners of defaulting on the loan.

Brunell, a Ponte Vedra Beach resident, also invested in several other businesses including real estate projects in Traverse City and Grand Rapids, Mich. Those real estate investments failed, and Michigan-based Select Bank won a $1.1 million judgment against Brunell and his partners.

“The timing of the group’s real estate acquisitions at the height of the real estate market, in hindsight, clearly was not good,” Brunell said in a statement e-mailed to the Times-Union.

Brunell said he had personally shouldered the payments on the loans for several years, as the group worked to reach a resolution with financiers.

“In the end, we couldn’t and I am no longer able to shoulder this burden,” said Brunell, who declined to comment further when reached by the Times-Union on Thursday night. via Jacksonville.com

The Hawks Win!!!!

Congratulations to the Chicago Blackhawks  for winning the Stanley Cup. Party in the City. Yippee!!