Earlier this year was just a carryover of what happened last fall, and it was terrible. We went probably six weeks without making one sale. Same amount of advertising, same amount of people on site, almost the same amount of traffic as we had in the heyday, and no sales. People were absolutely afraid of ...

For 2009, the challenges include: Unemployment levels remain high in the Chicago metropolitan area. There are still issues of consumer confidence, although consumer confidence does appear to be improving. With price discounts being offered, buyers are more inclined to purchase, since they are being offered opportunities at price levels significantly off the previous “highs.” Price ...

My last post showed that the median price of a home sold in Chicago fell for the first time since this cycle began. The number of homes sold has been falling from a frothy peak in 2006 and 2007, and that trend has continued in 2009. There were 22 percent fewer homes sold in Chicago ...

Having lived in Kenilworth for 5 years some time back, I can vouch for the fact that it’s an exceedingly pleasant, low-key, and friendly place to be. Unless, that is, your home is currently on the market. According to a Wall Street Journal article, Kenilworth has become a veritable poster child for the upper-end market, ...

June home sales data are out and a few news organizations are clinging on an increase in sales between May and June, pointing to signs of optimism. This lacks the proper perspective. Even in very bad markets, some months will be up over the previous month. A previous post explained that quarterly data (but preferably ...

“I only wonder how much of the increase is coming from rising demand from new homebuyers. The tax credit is boosting demand, but what will happen when it goes away in December?” – Pat Newport, a housing industry analyst for IHS Global Insight, on news of an 11-percent increase in new home sales from May ...

The question of whether this is “a good time to buy” doesn’t make much sense to me without a specific factual context. Whatever your take might be on whether the overall market has bottomed out, the chaos In the marketplace has created opportunities we haven’t seen in some time. I sat down this morning with ...

According to Calculated Risk, the answer to that question depends on the answer to this question: has the unemployment rate peaked? See the informative graphs for Miami, Chicago and Dallas. Money quote: ” The pattern I expect is for house prices to fall (after a bubble) until the unemployment rate peaks – and possibly for ...

From the summary of Appraisal Research Counselors‘ 1Q 2009 Downtown Benchmark Report. So what are the reasons for optimism in the market? No more pipeline issues — all potential deals are on hold and will not be adding new inventory anytime soon. Unsold inventory levels have peaked and will begin to decrease because new units ...