Category: Don DeBat
DeBat: Uncle Sam’s housing stimulus applauded by buyers and Realtors
Homeowners with roofs over their heads are applauding Congress’ passage of a housing stimulus bill as the most important legislation affecting real es [...]
DeBat: Cook County borrowers now protected against future home-loan fraud
With “Operation Malicious Mortgage” in full swing, predatory lenders are now focused in the crosshairs of the Department of Justice and the Federal Bu [...]
DeBat: Summer brings great selection and prices, higher mortgage rates
The forecast for summer house-hunting in the Chicago area is pretty clear: The market has some of the best selection of well-priced, new and resale ho [...]
Foreign investors pulling Chicago condo market out of slump
Foreign investment and financing dollars from countries such as Ireland, Germany, China and Kuwait may be the muscle that pulls Chicago’s new-construc [...]
Location the driving force behind home price gains
Despite the gloomy national survey reports on falling property values that show lower home prices in 77 markets, prices of residences rose in 73 marke [...]
Overhaul needed for Cook County’s property tax system
By Don DeBat
With Chicago homeowners reeling from the largest property tax increase in the city’s history, it may be time to consider an overhaul of [...]
Outlook 2008: Affordable mortgages, strong rental and retail markets
The home front
Looking forward into 2008, a group of veteran Chicago developers, brokers, lenders and investors see a gradual recovery coming for som [...]
In slower market, it pays to realize houses are more than money machines
City Homes
The American dream of buying a single-family home once was all about enjoying family life – raising kids, baking apple pie or sitting by a [...]
Handful of downtown condo projects are silver lining in overcast housing market
City Homes
It is likely that 2007 will go down in history as the year of gloom and doom in real estate, with headlines dominated by reports of fall [...]
Developer sells 80 condos in one hour using discounts, PDAs and Greek meal
City Homes
Launching a development in today’s slower real estate market requires some creativity. To kick off sales at 200 North Dearborn Private R [...]
National housing slump continues, but interest rates stay at historic lows
City Homes
At the halfway point of 2007, experts are still trying to figure out if the nation’s housing slump is on its way to becoming a bust.
Th [...]
2016 Olympics development could change face of Chicago's game – 16-inch softball
City Homes
Chicago, a world-class city, is buzzing about the possibility of hosting the 2016 Olympics and the real estate development boom that wou [...]
An odd adjustment – housing market shaky despite good economy, mortgage rates
City Homes
Benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgages are holding steady near the 6 percent mark this spring, but the housing market is still shaky, leav [...]
Oversupplied condo market may squeeze investors when their "babies" are delivered
City Homes
Fewer than 300 new condominiums were completed and still on the market in downtown Chicago at the end of 2006, but the inventory of unso [...]
City homes
Lifestyle developments offer retail, spa amenities and woodsy retreats
In the search for a dream condo or single-family home, buyers carefully weig [...]
City homes
Historically low interest rates may spur housing market in 2007Â
The roller-coaster mortgage market likely will stay in the 6 to 6.5 percent range [...]
City Homes
Careful staging, pricing lure buyers during winter months, slower market
by Don DeBat
If you are hoping to sell your home before the snow falls fo [...]
Chicago market defies housing bubble but ultra-luxury sales are slowing down
Reports of a "housing bubble" may have been greatly exaggerated in downtown Chicago compared with other housing markets nationwide, real estate expe [...]
Exotic mortgages are "time bombs" for moderate-income homebuyers
With mortgage interest rates on the rise, it's becoming more of a financial struggle for cash-strapped Americans to step across the threshold of a n [...]
High-rises push south to Cermak Road as red-hot South Loop bursts its borders
With a lakefront location and plenty of vacant land for residential high-rise development, Chicago's red-hot South Loop neighborhood is about to burs [...]