Get listing information on your cell phone with our new mobile app! Click on the logo to send the app to your cell phone or text MRHOMES to 87778. Then anytime you see a ‘for sale’ sign you can pull up the listing while you’re right in front. If you want to see it, we’ll get you inside. Feel free to use it if you just want to be a nosy neighbor too! You’ll be able to see recently sold properties as well.
The media just loves bad news. The past 24 hours have pummeled the state of the Real Estate market. Now alright, it is not good – everybody knows that. But all this news of 27% drop from June to July sales is out of control. Shouldn’t this have been expected? June 30 was the original expiration date for closing to get the first time buyer tax credit. So it stands to perfect reason that we would see a drop in July since just about every buyer was trying to close before June 30. I have not come across one so called analyst who makes this point when commenting on this news. This is a direct result of the tax credit and the hangover (see yesterday’s post) from it.
It may be time for some Chaser. Come to think of it, Chaser is kind of like the billion dollar bailouts and loan modification programs. None of them work. Check out the news release from the Illinois Association of Realtors.
If you’re considering buying, take advantage of the slow Summer and incredible interest rates. Prices are amazing, and roughly what they were about 10 years ago in many areas.
At least for homeowners in counties other than Cook perhaps. We have heard for a couple of years since prices started falling that local assessors were excluding short sales and foreclosures from their assessments in order to keep revenue up. Hardly fair considering the homeowner is being hit hard if they try to sell or refinance due to the lower prices. I have also started to see taxes on listings that are now way out of whack with current sale prices, many times a 1/3 or more higher that what used to be ‘average’. The Illinois Association of Realtors helped pass a bill to help make the assessments more fair. Watch the video.
Let’s hope stories like this do not become common.
Check out this AP story on loan modifications today. More people drop out of the loan modification process than actually get their mortgages modified. The moral of the story is don’t wait on a loan modification that most likely will not happen. The time and false hope wasted on a loan modification is valuable time a homeowner needs to try a short sale before ending up in foreclosure. To make it more of a mess the new program guidelines require a homeowner to try a modification before attempting to get a short sale approved. But if a homeowner is already well on their way to foreclosure, there may not be time for both.
Market Update for Hoffman Estates Homes and Real Estate- last 3 months
02.24.2010
Single Family
Active listings: 177
Under contract: 38
Closed: 35
Avg days on market: 203
Condo/Coach home
Active listings: 79
Under contract: 9
Closed: 13
Avg days on market: 123
Townhome
Active listings: 102
Under contract: 18
Closed: 23
Avg days on market: 148
This data comes courtesy of MRED MLS and covers 1/1/09 to 10/31/09.
Market Update for Mount Prospect Homes and Real Estate- last 3 months
02.24.2010
Single Family
Active listings: 209
Under contract: 39
Closed: 43
Avg days on market: 152
Condo/Coach home
Active listings: 135
Under contract: 18
Closed: 18
Avg days on market: 245
Townhome
Active listings: 31
Under contract: 5
Closed: 8
Avg days on market: 101
This data comes courtesy of MRED MLS and covers up to 2/24/2010
Market Update for Rolling Meadows Homes and Real Estate- last 3 months
02.24.2010
Single Family
Active listings: 72
Under contract: 16
Closed: 16
Avg days on market: 132
Condo/Coach home
Active listings: 82
Under contract: 15
Closed: 11
Avg days on market: 137
Townhome
Active listings: 23
Under contract: 2
Closed: 5
Avg days on market: 340
This data comes courtesy of MRED MLS and covers up to 2/24/2010
According to the New York Times today, the Obama Administration is floating another new program to spur short sales. We’ll see if this one has any teeth. They seem to come out with these programs every few months, but we have yet to see any clients really benefit from them.



