Getting Real

May Foreclosure Activity In Chicago Reaches New Low

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 17:20:04 +0000

RealtyTrac's May foreclosure market report reveals that foreclosure activity in Chicago is continuing to trend downward and is now at the lowest level since I've been tracking it - 4 years. Looking at the graph below you can see that in particular bank repossessions are way down from a couple of months ago and auction activity is also down substantially. This picture is consistent with the much lower level of distressed sales than in years past. Meanwhile, the number of properties that are in some stage of foreclosure - the dreaded shadow inventory - is also trending downward. Chicago currently has about 34,204 homes in the foreclosure process, which is down a couple thousand from early May. Interestingly the report notes, as you would expect, that states with the much smoother non-judicial foreclosure process have already moved through the foreclosure crisis and are on the way up.

Among the nation’s 20 largest metros, those with the biggest increases in median home prices tended to be in states where a non-judicial foreclosure process has allowed foreclosures to be absorbed by the market more quickly. Seven of the 10 metros with the biggest jumps in median home prices from a year ago were in non-judicial states, while all five metros with flat or declining median prices were in states with a judicial foreclosure process.

Of course, nothing is easy in Illinois. We have a judicial foreclosure process that pretty much guarantees that you can live in your house for 2 years for free before you get thrown out while government bureaucracy bogs the system down. Speaking of ineffective government policies...Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac, noted that “Foreclosure activity continued to bounce back in some markets where it may have appeared the foreclosure problem had been knocked out by an aggressive combination of foreclosure prevention efforts over the past two years.” In other words, you can't legislate away the laws of economics. If you want to keep up to date on the Chicago real estate market, get an insider's view of the seamy underbelly of the real estate industry, or you just think I'm the next Kurt Vonnegut you can Subscribe to Getting Real by Email.

A Closer Look At Murder In Chicago

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 12:15:30 +0000

As a follow up to my last post on where people get murdered in Chicago I decided to share a bit more information on the Chicago murder scene. The data set is a real gold mine of information and it actually provides a few insights into how to avoid getting killed here.

When People Get Murdered In Chicago

First of all it really is true that murders rise with the heat. Check out this graph of murders by month for the last 12 months and notice how August, the hottest month of the year, is also the peak in murders. Experts speculate that this happens because people get more irritable when they're hot and also when it's hot people are outside more and more people outside means more interactions - kind of like Brownian motion. And more interactions mean more murders. The anomaly in this data is January. What the heck? That's the coldest month of the year so why are murders so high in January? I don't know. Maybe people like to start the new year by settling old scores? I also looked at murders by day of the week and as you would expect Saturday is a big day. But I decided that graph wasn't interesting enough to show you. It wasn't like a night and day difference. And speaking of night and day, as you would expect, you are more likely to get murdered in the dead of night - no pun intended. The hours between 8 PM and midnight are the most popular times for killing each other and from 4 AM to 8 AM are the least popular. I can only speculate that all the troublemakers who stay out all night eventually have to go to sleep and some of them go to sleep around midnight and the rest go to sleep around 4 AM. Interestingly, there appears to be a mini peak in murders from around 3 PM - 5 PM. Could it be because that's when people are getting off of work? After a hard day's work don't you often feel like just killing someone?

Do People Ever Get Arrested For Murdering Someone In Chicago?

One can only hope that these murders are actually solved - or at least the Chicago police come up with suspects and arrest someone. Unfortunately the facts are actually very disappointing. In total, from all the murders in this 12 month sample, only a tad more than 28% resulted in arrests. Whaaaaat? So I figured that maybe since some of these murders are relatively new the police haven't had enough time to arrest someone. Therefore, I threw out the last two months of data and recalculated the arrest rate. It only slightly improved to just under 31%. That's not too impressive.

Other Resources On Murder In Chicago

Someone who read my last post pointed out that there is a Web site called HeyJackass that produces ongoing Chicago crime and murder stats. It's my kind of Web site and it even goes into what part of people's bodies are being shot.

How To Avoid Getting Killed In Chicago

So what do we do with this information? Can we use it to avoid getting murdered? Well, obviously you can't totally eliminate this risk but let's face it...there are certain high risk behaviors that you can avoid that will reduce the risk of an untimely death - and it all comes down to common sense. For instance, it's probably not a good idea to be walking around in a dangerous neighborhood on a hot August Saturday night around 11 PM. And it's also a function of something that the statistics don't really go into but again is common sense: avoid associating with people who have tempers and guns or knives and like to walk around on hot August Saturday nights around 11 PM. This is one time where watching TV and eating ice cream can actually be good for you. If you want to keep up to date on the Chicago real estate market, get an insider's view of the seamy underbelly of the real estate industry, or you just think I'm the next Kurt Vonnegut you can Subscribe to Getting Real by Email.

Murder In Chicago: Which Neighborhoods Are Dangerous?

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 11:35:25 +0000

People looking to buy a home in Chicago frequently want to know whether or not a particular neighborhood is "safe" or "dangerous". Unfortunately, there are a whole host of problems with coming up with an answer to that question. At the highest level it's a question that has a highly subjective answer. For starters, which crimes should we focus on in determining what's dangerous? Murder? Rape? Assault? Robbery? Burglary? Prostitution? And then how much crime do you need to have before a neighborhood can be considered dangerous? Oh...and how do you interpret the data because a neighborhood with a higher population density is likely to have more crime just by the laws of probability. So, the government doesn't like real estate agents pontificating on this matter precisely because it is so subjective and they don't want real estate agents "steering" home buyers to particular neighborhoods based upon their own prejudices. Steering can also prevent a neighborhood from ever improving by discouraging law abiding citizens from moving into it. So there are fair housing laws that prevent us from making certain kinds of statements about which neighborhoods are dangerous or safe. However, that doesn't mean that real estate agents have to remain totally silent on the matter. Usually we will recommend that a home buyer check some Web site for crime statistics or hang out in a neighborhood for a while to see if they feel comfortable there. For example, a bunch of loitering adult males in the middle of the work day is usually not a good sign. Idle hands... The problem with the Web sites is that they don't really show the data exactly the way I think many people would like to see it - the time period covered is too short, the geographic area too broad, too many crimes lumped together, teeny tiny maps, etc... In an effort to provide some clarity on this topic I previously compiled some Chicago police department data on crime by neighborhood in a blog post. I've been procrastinating updating that blog post for a while now but I got real motivated earlier this week when one of my daughters (she's kinda naive) thought she would get on the el in a "dangerous" neighborhood at 11 PM. After an appropriate amount of hysteria I started to poke around on the Internet for data and hit the jackpot with the City of Chicago data portal.

Where People Get Murdered In Chicago

I decided to focus on murder for the time being since most people would think that getting killed is a pretty undesirable outcome that would constitute a dangerous situation. I pulled up all the murders for the 12 month period ending May 31, 2013 - 432 in all - and then spent an inordinate amount of time finding a way to create an interactive map of them. And voila! Note that you can click on any marker to get a few more reported details on that murder. And apparently the large markers represent locations of multiple homicides. I have to say that I am really impressed with myself on this one and Kudos to ZeeMaps for making this awesome mapping tool available for free. If you would like you can also go to the full browser version of my Chicago murder map. A few observations on the map. Obviously there are some areas where the murders are concentrated and clearly areas where there aren't many. Notice the large area bounded by Montrose, California, and North Avenue where there were apparently no murders in this time period. And my neighborhood of East Village didn't fare too poorly. And when the media reports murders in my old neighborhood of University Village...well, I define University Village a lot more narrowly than they do. There were no murders east of Racine and south of Maxwell Street. Of course "past performance is no guarantee of future results". By just looking at this map and comparing it to a heat map of median income for Chicago you can plainly see that murder correlates pretty strongly with income. Again, idle hands... Also, isn't it odd that the murders appear to occur along diagonal lines - from northwest to southeast. What's with that? If anyone has any insights I'm all ears. This blog post is getting too long and I'm not done talking about murder so I'll do another post in a day or two with a few more insights on crime in Chicago. Man, I love data! If you want to keep up to date on the Chicago real estate market, get an insider's view of the seamy underbelly of the real estate industry, or you just think I'm the next Kurt Vonnegut you can Subscribe to Getting Real by Email.

Chicago Real Estate Market Update: May Home Sales On A Rocket

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 13:28:35 +0000

No doubt this story about how the Chicago real estate market is on a rocket is starting to get a bit boring - same old news. May home sales in the city once again leaped way ahead of last year - 34.8% on top of last years 19.6% increase over the year before that. And that's the 23rd month in a row of year over year sales increases. When the Illinois Association of Realtors announces the numbers two weeks from now they will report something more like 29.2% because of the the way they make their comparisons. Rest assured that my numbers better reflect what is going on. Also, they will report how median prices hit the highest level in 4 years. I don't pay too much attention to median prices because they don't really reflect price changes as much as they reflect mix changes.

May Chicago Home Sales

Looking at my long term home sale (closings) graph below you can see that May was easily at the highest level in 6 years, even exceeding the levels of May 2003 and it's certainly higher than the 6 years prior to that. We can do just fine at these sales levels.

Chicago Home Contract Activity

Home contract activity obviously leads the closings by a month or two. Contracts hit the highest level in 5 years and is on a nice upward trajectory so we can look forward to several more months of high closings. May contracts were 14.3% above last year after allowing for a 20% attrition rate. In recent months homes have been closing slightly faster than contracts have been written so the backlog of pending home sales has been clearing. We are now down from April to 6933 pending contracts, which equates to a 2.5 month backlog at current close rates.

Distressed Home Sales

The percentage of home sales that are distressed is on a clear downward trend over the last 2 years and in May it hit the lowest level in the last 5 years at 27.5%. This is why median prices are increasing now.

Chicago Home Inventory

As everyone knows it just keeps getting harder and harder to find a decent home in Chicago since inventories are so low and keep getting lower every single month. In May Chicago dropped to a 3.2 month supply of condos and townhomes and a 4.2 month supply of single family homes. Now the really observant reader will note that these numbers are actually slightly up from what I reported last month. So how can they be up but still trending downward? That's because there's a bit of revisionist history taking place here as the contract activity is perpetually revised downward as contracts get cancelled without closing. Contract activity is in the denominator of this calculation so activity goes down, months of inventory goes up. Nothing is easy. If you want to keep up to date on the Chicago real estate market, get an insider's view of the seamy underbelly of the real estate industry, or you just think I'm the next Kurt Vonnegut you can Subscribe to Getting Real by Email.

Ann Lurie's Mansion: Chicago's Most Expensive House Ever Listed

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 14:08:47 +0000

Although I can't be 100% certain, based upon my little bit of research, it sure looks like Ann Lurie's Mansion at 1547 N Dearborn is the most expensive single family house ever listed in the city of Chicago. On Friday the 12 bedroom/ 12 1/2 bath house was put on the market at $18.75 MM so get your check books ready. I know I'm looking in my sofa cushions for spare change. Here are the details on the home:

Built in 1891
Designed by August Fiedler
The house is 18,590 sq ft. The asking price is suspiciously close to $1000/ SF but that's probably just a coincidence.
The lot is 144 x 133. The house appears to sit on an 83 x 133 parcel and just north of it is a 61 ft wide parcel that I assume is the garden/ yard. In total this is almost half an acre.
12 bedrooms - 8 of these are two room bedrooms (ensuite)
12 1/2 baths
9 fireplaces
6 garage spaces and 4 exterior parking spaces
Property taxes are $134,000/ year. That implies a county determined market value of $8.3 MM. So someone's property taxes should be going up, Joe Berrios

Here is the description per the MLS:

A meticulously restored, unparalleled, sprawling 1891 mansion, set amidst professionally landscaped gardens. Notable vintage details incl original stained glass & millwork, while elec, plumb, roof, & winds are all new. Chef’s dream kitchen incl Traulsen, Miele, & Wolf appls as well as a wi pantry. An elevator, stair/walkway de-icers, H2O filtration sys & coach hse, parkg for 10 cars are also distinguished amens.

Ann bought the house 20 years ago from a real estate developer named Phil Farley for $5 MM. Check out the photo gallery below. While there is no question that this is a fabulous home in a really great location, this looks to me like it will be a tough sell and this is the reason I won't be buying it. First, a high rise building stands due north of the garden parcel so you are really boxed in. Second, you have to really like vintage. Third, you have to really want a lot of space.

Who is Ann Lurie?

Ann's story is pretty cool. She was a nurse who ended up marrying Robert Lurie, who was Sam Zell's partner. Robert died in 1990 and she started to give away their money. She donated $100 MM to help start the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago but has apparently given away hundreds of millions of dollars to other causes as well. She is currently 68 years old and also owns a house in Montecito, CA. She is also currently trying to sell a co-op on East Lake Shore drive that she never lived in for just under $6 MM. If you want to keep up to date on the Chicago real estate market, get an insider's view of the seamy underbelly of the real estate industry, or you just think I'm the next Kurt Vonnegut you can Subscribe to Getting Real by Email.

Case Shiller: Chicago Home Prices Up 7.7% In Last Year

Tue, 28 May 2013 14:25:37 +0000

The March Case Shiller home price index for Chicago just confirmed what we all have felt was happening for some time now: single family home and condo prices were up in the last year by a healthy amount - 7.7% for single family homes and 7.0% for condos. Once these numbers crossed into negative territory back in 2007 it took almost 6 years before they turned positive again but now they are moving higher with a vengeance. There have now been 5 months in a row with year over year price appreciation. The entire country is now firmly in positive territory vs. last year, with Chicago actually at the lower end of the range of price increases. Several cities are close to or above a 20% increase! From February to March single family home prices were essentially flat while condo prices rose by 0.6% but normally at this time of the year prices are falling - hence the healthy increase from the previous year. Last March was also the lowest level reached since the housing bubble burst so we are now 7.7% off the low but 34.3% below the bubble peak. That means we are still back to April 2001 levels. Relative to the long term trend line in red below we are running 29.6% below it. Condo prices are 7% off the low and 35.4% below the peak - right back to where they were in April 2000. Commenting on the national picture, David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said:

Other housing market data reported in recent weeks confirm these strong trends: housing starts and permits,sales of new home and existing homes continue to trend higher. At the same time, the larger than usual share of multi-family housing, a large number of homes still in some stage of foreclosure and buying-to-rent by investors suggest that the housing recovery is not complete.

If you want to keep up to date on the Chicago real estate market, get an insider's view of the seamy underbelly of the real estate industry, or you just think I'm the next Kurt Vonnegut you can Subscribe to Getting Real by Email.

Lots Of Buyers, Not Lack Of Sellers, Driving Low Home Inventory

Sun, 26 May 2013 13:51:12 +0000

When people in Chicago think about the recent lack of home inventory they immediately are assuming that it's a result of a shortage of sellers. That has been true over the long run - the last 6 years in fact - as a result of sellers being unable to sell because they are so ridiculously underwater on their mortgages or not above water enough to go buy the next home. However, what has largely gone unnoticed lately is that there really isn't a shortage of sellers any more - or at least the trend has reversed this year. See the graph below from the Chicago Association of Realtors and notice how for the first time in 6 years listing activity is actually higher than the previous year. I decided to confirm this myself. In the first 15 days of May this year 9885 residential properties (condos, single family homes, and 2 - 4 flats) were listed for sale. That compares to 9366 last year at this time. So simple math compels us to understand that if supply is slightly up but inventories are way down then demand must be way up. As Thursday's blog post on how quickly Chicago homes are selling and at what prices shows demand is pretty strong right now. There's actually another Chicago Association of Realtors graph that sort of demonstrates this but I'm hesitant to show it to you. Oh...what the heck...I'll just explain the caveat. The graph below shows the contracts written in each time period that had not fallen through as of the time this graph was constructed. So for contracts written a year ago that data is pretty well set in stone. However, for contracts written in the last 3 months a fair number of them are going to fall apart within that 3 month time period. In other words, the more recent data is overstated relative to the previous year and the more recent the data is the more overstated it is - by about 20% in my estimation. Nevertheless, the increase in contract activity shown below is so large that I think you can still clearly see that demand is way up over recent years. If you want to keep up to date on the Chicago real estate market, get an insider's view of the seamy underbelly of the real estate industry, or you just think I'm the next Kurt Vonnegut you can Subscribe to Getting Real by Email.

Yes, The Chicago Real Estate Market Is Hot

Thu, 23 May 2013 23:37:49 +0000

Back in February I did a blog post on just how hot the Chicago real estate market was. At that time I looked at properties above $150,000 in a specific geographical area of the city that is extremely popular with high income demographics. With the Chicago April home sales numbers coming in so strong and today's discussion of those numbers on Cribchatter I thought I would do a quick update on that February post - a simple snapshot of how fast homes sold and at what kind of prices.

How Quickly Homes Are Selling In Chicago

Using the same methodology I used in my February post I looked at all the properties listed between April 1 - 16 and then looked at the outcomes of those listings as of today. A whopping 42% of those listings went under contract within 14 days of being listed and are still under contract and an additional 19% went under contract after 14 days. 42% is essentially the same level we were peaking out at back in February so the market is maintaining it's "hotness". Keep in mind that properties listed on April 16 have not has as much market time as properties listed on April 1 but they've all been on the market for at least 14 days.

What Prices Homes Are Selling For

Something I did not look at in February that I have been looking at recently is what percentage of homes which sell are closing at or above list price. The numbers are astonishingly high and highly reflective of the multiple bid situations that have become endemic.

Don't Let Realtors Take Credit For Sales Successes

As I always like to point out this is the market speaking and does not attest to any special powers of realtors. If anything it looks to me like they are likely leaving money on the table. If you want to keep up to date on the Chicago real estate market, get an insider's view of the seamy underbelly of the real estate industry, or you just think I'm the next Kurt Vonnegut you can Subscribe to Getting Real by Email.

Foreclosure Process Slows Down Once Again

Tue, 21 May 2013 12:03:28 +0000

One of the problems plaguing the housing market is a large backlog of foreclosures - the shadow inventory. For numerous reasons it has been taking forever for this foreclosure backlog to clear. Every month when RealtyTrac releases their monthly foreclosure market report they lament the fact that the process takes so long and that we are still recovering from various government initiatives that stopped the entire pipeline dead in its tracks. On the one hand it means that this shadow inventory is hanging over our heads a really long time. But on the other hand the trickle of foreclosures at least prevents us from drowning in distressed property sales. Well, on Friday the American Banker reported that once again more sand has been thrown into the gears of progress with a recent Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's release of new guidance pertaining to foreclosure sales. In response to this new guidance Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and JP Morgan Chase halted "the vast majority" of their foreclosure sales in "multiple states", though JP Morgan Chase has since resumed their normal activity. Interestingly the OCC has not indicated that they have any reason to suspect malfeasance on the part of mortgage servicers and the three mortgage servicers above have not indicated that they have any reason to believe that they are not currently in compliance with these recently clarified minimum standards for foreclosure sales. If you look at the list a lot of these requirements are pretty basic. I'm sure lots of people are covering their asses here. I obviously can't say whether or not these foreclosure sales needed to be stopped or not. On the one hand these lenders/ servicers can be pretty damn incompetent. On the other hand you've got the government reasserting themselves on the foreclosure process again. In the end it's just going to take longer to get these foreclosures done with.

How "They" Measure The Square Footage Of Your Home

Thu, 16 May 2013 20:53:26 +0000

You would think that measuring the square footage of your home would be pretty straight forward - get out the tape measure, break the home up into rectangles, and add up the area of the rectangles. Seems logical right? But coming up with a square footage number is kind of like the old joke about the accountant who aces the interview question of how much is 2 + 2 by answering "What would you like it to be?" And, unfortunately, the square footage that is calculated very much depends upon who is doing the measuring and for what purpose.

How The Appraiser Measures Square Footage

Perhaps the most straightforward and logical measurement is the one that appraisers tend to use. They measure the shell of the home to calculate what they call Gross Living Area. For a condo they have no choice but to start with the internal measurements - from the inside of the walls - but they might add on 6 inches for the wall thickness. For a single family home they usually use the outside dimensions, so the thickness of the exterior walls is included. And they only count the space that you can actually live in. However, even this technique leaves room open for interpretation. What happens if one floor of the home has an area that is open into the floor above it - like a family room or foyer with a 2 story vaulted ceiling? Then clearly the upper floor has less floor space than the lower floor. Frankly, I'm not sure how appraisers would handle this but I suspect that since they are using external shell dimensions they would treat both floors equally. Apparently the Fannie Mae guidelines indicate that this open area should be counted twice - once for each floor. However, there is an ANSI standard Z765-2003 that specifies that this area should only be counted once. Another subtlety here...for a single family home the Gross Living Area technically does not include the basement or any space even partially below grade, regardless of the level of finishes there. However, the appraiser will separately note the square footage of the basement and explicitly take it into account.

How The Developer Measures Square Footage

Why would I make a point of saying that appraisers only count space that you can actually live in? Because those sleazy developers will count all kinds of space in their square footage measurement for marketing purposes - decks, balconies, terraces, and even garage space. Developers of downtown Chicago high rises built in the last 10 years often included the balconies in their square footage measurements - probably because they are under a roof but certainly because it makes the property look better. The University Village developer included the attached garage space in the square footage calculations of the townhomes. So my 3100 square foot townhome was really more like 2700 square feet.

How The Tax Assessor Measures Square Footage

If you look at the square footage listed in the tax records for single family homes you will see that the basements are not included. It doesn't matter if they are finished or not. For whatever reason they don't include it. They do note whether or not there is a basement and whether or not it is finished so I don't think that their methodology provides any tax advantages to homeowners with finished basements.

How The Realtor Measures Square Footage

Well, typically they don't - measure it that is. They will pick up whatever number is available from the seller or the builder without confirming it. The MLS now requires that they indicate the source of the square footage but the options include "estimated" and "other". But rest assured that the realtor is going to use whatever number is generally used in the development or the neighborhood and will be biased towards a larger number and may even round it up to the nearest 100 sq ft.

An Alternative Way Of Measuring Square Footage

Because square footage numbers are often unavailable and misleading one thing that I and some of my more analytical clients will do is calculate the square footage of each room from the MLS dimensions and add them up to get what I call the livable space. On the one hand this gets you an decent estimate of how much space you actually have to put furniture in and plop yourself into, eliminating wasted space like wall thicknesses and hallways. But on the other hand it ignores things like bathrooms and closets, which are an important feature of homes. The end result of this approach can easily be half of the Gross Living Area.

The Bottom Line

It gets even more complicated but I don't want to make a career out of contemplating square footage measurements. There are rooms with low ceilings and sloping ceilings and adjacent structures that need to be considered. So what is the bottom line in all this? The unfortunate fact is that you can never be really sure what you have or what you are getting unless you ask a very pointed question: How is that number calculated? You can have some fun watching the real estate agent squirm when you ask them that. They will certainly try to avoid giving you a straight answer but keep poking around until they do. However, there is a decent chance that in the end they will simply tell you that they have no idea who came up with that number or how they did. And if they do give you a direct answer don't believe them unless they seem really confident in their understanding.

Elmhurst Real Estate Market Continues Strong in 2013

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 20:39:32 +0000

People often ask me how things are in the Elmhurst Real Estate Market and my reply is generally “things are great”. So what does great look on paper? My partner, Gary Lucido, writes a blog about Chicago real estate. He’s the man if you want to know anything about anything, especially graphs and numbers. He recently posted on his Chicago Now Real Estate Blog that February home sales in Chicago once again turned in a strong performance relative to last year. He reported that for the 20th month in a row closings beat the previous year’s numbers.

While the Elmhurst market doesn’t boast such exciting increase, it also didn’t see the same dramatic downturn over the course of the last few years that Chicago saw. Below an historic sales graph back to 2007 is shown with a 12 month moving average. Notice that we are reaching new highs in the Elmhurst Real Estate Market. Last summers spike in sales started in June 2012 with units sold remaining strong even through the normally dismal January and February. As I mentioned in January when I reported 2012 Elmhurst home sales, it’s a pretty active market out there.

Increasing contract activity in the Elmhurst Real Estate Market and the resultant pending home sales continue to signal several more months of record setting closings. As you can see in the graph below February contract activity is level with last year but at nearly double where it was two years ago. One caveat to the chart is that it does not reflect the “decay factor” or the contracts that don’t close. A certain percentage of contracts never make it to closing. In Chicago, the decay factor is about 20%.

Distressed sales in Elmhurst, Illinois came in at only 20% and February is supposedly the peak time of the year for foreclosure sales. The Elmhurst Real Estate Market of course fares much better than Chicago as it relates to percentage of distressed property sales where it’s currently at 45%.

The graph below shows Elmhurst home inventory over the last 5 years courtesy of MRED. From a peak of around 16 months of supply it has now fallen to under a 5 months supply which is less than one third of its peak. Folks, we are in a seller’s market; properties that are well priced going under contract in a day with multiple offers.

Elmhurst Real Estate Market in 2012

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 19:34:23 +0000

2012 was a good year for real estate in Elmhurst. Single family home sales volume was up by from $154mm to just over $158mm in 2012. While the average sales price decreased marginally from $404k to $402k the number of units sold increased over 15% from 382 units in 2011 to 446 in 2012.

In both 2011 and 2012 there were 68 homes sold under distressed conditions (short sale, foreclosure or court ordered) but because of the increase in units sold in 2012 the percentage of distressed sales decreased from 18% in 2011 to 15% in 2012.

Single Family Home Inventory in 2012 was at the lowest levels in the last several years with just around a 4 months supply of single family homes in Elmhurst on the market at the close of the year.

The condo and townhome market also showed improvement with volume going from just over $11mm to $13.5mm with the average price increasing from $225k to $228k. There were 50 units sold in 2011 and 58 in 2012. During both years, distressed sales comprised about 14% of the total sales.

2013 promises to be a busy market for both buyers and sellers. Buyers of well priced/condition properties should expect competition and be ready to pay near or at list price. This doesn’t mean that deals don’t exist however, but buyers will need to be well informed and decisive. There are currently 58 condos and townhomes on the market and 160 single family homes for sale in Elmhurst.

Lucid Realty Launches 100% Commission Rebate Program For Home Buyers In The Chicago Area

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 15:12:46 +0000

Chicago, IL (PRWEB) April 02, 2012

Today Lucid Realty announced the launch of their 100% real estate commission rebate program for home buyers in the Chicago real estate market. Designed to offer unprecedented choices for consumers to maximize their savings in purchasing a home, this new program allows home buyers to optionally pay an hourly rate to Lucid Realty for assisting in the purchase of a home in exchange for a 100% commission rebate at closing. The full commission, which is paid by the home seller, is given to the home buyer in the form of a closing credit or a check.

The 100% commission rebate plan is the logical extension of Lucid Realty’s normal real estate commission rebate, which is paid on a sliding scale – a higher percentage for more expensive homes. The new plan will be more attractive for consumers who are buying more expensive homes or who feel that they don’t need as much attention.

“This 100% rebate plan solves two long standing problems in real estate,” said Gary Lucido, President of Lucid Realty. “First, clients who require little assistance in buying a home are basically paying for clients who require more assistance. Second, real estate agents can spend a considerable amount of time engaged in low value activities, earning very little on an hourly basis. Home buyers who opt into this new plan will have an incentive to use their agent more effectively. It should be a win-win situation.”

Gary also pointed out that Lucid Realty did not really invent this new structure. Their clients have been asking for an alternative like this. In fact, Lucid Realty is currently piloting this program with several clients.

Gary went on to contrast the 100% rebate program with Koenig & Strey’s recent announcement that effective today they will begin charging home buyers a fee to work with one of their agents: “We understand why Koenig & Strey introduced this fee. They are trying to solve the same problem that we are trying to solve. The main difference is that the Koenig & Strey solution ends up costing home buyers more while our solution should cost them less.”

Initially, Lucid Realty is offering an introductory rate of $75 per hour under the 100% rebate program in order to generate more interest. As Gary explains: “Compare that to mechanics, plumbers, and interior designers who all charge $100 per hour. This is a bargain.”

About Lucid Realty, Inc.
Lucid Realty, Inc. is the Chicago area’s full service, discount, real estate brokerage. Lucid Realty distances itself from traditional brokerages and provides a better value to the consumer. It is a full service broker, offering substantial savings to both buyers and sellers, providing services by employees not independent contractors, working as a team instead of competing against one another, with professionalism and high standards of customer service.

Addison, Illinois Real Estate Market: Single Family Home Sales

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:06:24 +0000

Because I live and work in Addison, Illinois and am active in the Addison Chamber of Commerce, I frequently look at data relating to the Addison Housing Market. Today, I reviewed all single family home sales in Addison over the last four months (October 2011 through February 1, 2012. 55 single family homes sold ranging in price from $49,000 to $416,000 with 78% of the home selling for under $200k. The three bedroom ranch home located at 104 Iowa was pretty decent on the first floor, but the basement was definitely built for Mayans – the ceilings are lower than 5 feet high, and the basement was full of mold and it sold for $50k. On the other end of the spectrum, the buyers who paid above $400k (two of them ) got beautiful new construction homes at bargain prices!

On average, the homes were for sale in the Addison, IL real estate market for 180 days – the majority of the homes were 3 bedrooms with 6 or 7 rooms with a few having more or less rooms. Still staggering is the number of distressed sales, which is 48%. While its down from the 2011 rate of 51%, it still is a huge factor in the home values in Addison, Illinois. For comparsion sake, the rate of distressed sales in Elmhurst for 2011 was 15% and in Lombard, distressed sales account for 32% of the single family homes sales.

Home Buyers Finding Bargains In Oak Brook’s Midwest Club

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 01:22:15 +0000

Midwest Club, Oakbrook

This month another luxury home sold in the Midwest Club in Oak Brook. 302 Midwest Club sold for $905,000 on January 13th. Listed at $800k, 302 Midwest Club Parkway is a bank owned home built in 1986 with 5200 square feet of living space, 5 bedrooms and six bathrooms. The home was once listed with a sales price of $2,999,850 and in 2007 had a mortgage against the property of over $2mm dollars.

The listing agent described the home as:

Wow! 2 story grand foyer, 1st flr master, hdwd flrs, & tray ceilings. 2nd flr w/ 4bdrms incl a master. Screened porch. 24 hr gate guard. Clubhouse w/ pool & tennis courts. OB/Hinsdale Schools! Come live the lavish life in MidWest Club! The most desirable gated community in Oakbrook!!! HOME IN MID REHAB COME TAKE A LOOK WITH ALL YOUR PERSONAL IDEAS!

Between the first time the home was listed and this last time someone started a major rehab project and then abandoned it. At the time of this sale the house had no flooring, the basement was gutted, and all the appliances, cabinets, and fixtures had been removed. The home was a shell of its former self.

Interestingly enough, the listing agent represented both the buyer and the seller in the transaction. The Midwest Club home was listed on the MLS December 14th with a demand for all offers by December 18th. Four days. Is that the best way to find the buyer willing to pay the highest price? Probably not, who knows what drives decisions on bank owned properties. Definitely notable is that the listing agent was also the buyers’ agent. One might wonder about the possible conflict of interest with dual agency in a case like this since the listing agent knew all the bids.

While this home was bank owned, most of the sales in Midwest Club over the last year have sold at significant discounts whether they were bank owned or not. If you are already searching the Oak Brook Market for a home, then it would be a good idea to set your upper price threshold around 25% higher than what you are willing to spend, especially if you are looking in the Midwest Club subdivision. My partner wrote about the huge discounts on Oak Brook homes.

There are two additional homes under contract in Midwest Club. My guess is both will close at significant discounts off the current list price. Will sellers get the picture and adjust their prices downward toward what the current market bears? The smart ones will.

Recent Home Sales in Midwest Club, Oakbrook

#	Street	Beds	Sq Feet	Closed Date	Sold Pr	List Price	Discount
302	Midwest Club Pkwy	5	5200	1/13/2012	$ 905,000	$ 800,000	-13%
306	Midwest Club Pkwy	5	4700	8/24/2011	$1,100,000	$1,199,900	8%
508	Midwest Club Pkwy	5	5010	4/15/2011	$1,100,000	$1,350,000	19%
1001	Midwest Club Pkwy	6	11290	8/9/2011	$3,100,000	$2,999,000	-3%
1614	Midwest Club Pkwy	4	0	10/13/2011	$1,300,000	$1,680,000	23%
1902	Midwest Club Pkwy	5	0	8/29/2011	$2,800,000	$3,999,000	30%
2017	Midwest Club Pkwy	7	14000	11/15/2011	$1,800,000	$3,199,000	44%

Elmhurst Real Estate Market Review: A Look Back into 2011 and 2010

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:04:08 +0000

2011 Elmhurst Real Estate Market

Elmhurst Condominium Market

In 2011, Elmhurst Condo sales were down drastically over 2010 with nearly $25mm dollar in volume sold in 2010 reduced to just over $11mm in condo sales in 2011. In 2011, just 50 condo and townhome units sold in Elmhurst, compared to 108 in 2010. In 2010, distressed condo sales (short sales or foreclosures) accounted for about 20% of the sales in Elmhurst which were at 15% in 2011.

On average a condo stays on the market for 240 days and as of January 1, 2012 there are about 18 months of inventory on the Elmhurst condo market.

Elmhurst Single Family Homes

The Elmhurst single family home market faired much better in Elmhurst in 2011 than the condo market did. In 2011 there was $155mm of home sales up over the 2010 volume of $142 mm. A total of 383 homes were sold in 2011, with fewer than 15% of the sales being distressed, in 2010 there were 343 homes sold in Elmhurst with 20% of the sales being distressed, so an increase in homes sold and a decrease in distressed sales, which is quite a bit different than Chicago as a whole.

2012

My expectation for the 2012 real estate market in Elmhurst is that there will be an increase in the sale of distressed properties along with an increase in total number of homes sold. Already the phone is ringing with showing requests and buyers ready to get out and start looking. March is historically the month where the most home inventory hits the market in Elmhurst.

Du Page County Property Tax Rates

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 19:19:25 +0000

When you are purchasing a home, it is important to understand the economics of the home and property taxes are a huge factor in the equation. So, just how do you figure out what your taxes will be?

It is not a good idea to simply look at what the current owner is paying because there are many variables. In Chicago, we typically tell our clients to expect a tax bill at about 1.5% of the purchase price. In Du Page County, the range is from about 1% in Oak Brook all the way up to nearly 3% in Glendale Heights. Oak Brook is home to many large corporations and of course Oak Brook mall which helps keep property taxes low.

So, how did we come up with the 1-3% range? Below is the formula used in Du Page County to calculate property tax.

Du Page County Tax Calculation

A home’s fair market value: $5000,000 – Fair Market Value is defined as the amount a buyer would be willing to pay for the property.
Tax assessor’s adjustment: $500,000 x 33% = Equalized Asessed Value – In Du Page county, the assessor uses of 1/3 of a homes fair market value in determining DuPage County property taxes.
Equalized assessed value: $165,000 – This is the adjusted fair market value of your property used for property tax calculation purposes.
Property tax rate: 5% **Rates vary by city as indicated in the table below – 5% used as a simplification for example.
Property tax calculation: $165,000 x .05 - Equalized assessed value multiplied by a property tax rate of 5% .
Total property tax : $8,250

Du Page County Real Estate Property Tax Table

Rank	City	Rate	As % of purchase price
16	Addison	6.3238	2.11
4	Aurora	7.9642	2.65
7	Bartlett	7.6127	2.54
9	Bensenville	7.2293	2.41
18	Bloomingdale	6.1882	2.06
8	Bolingbrook	7.4761	2.49
32	Burr Ridge	4.1498	1.38
5	Carol Stream	7.7741	2.59
29	Clarendon Hills	4.9827	1.66
26	Darien	5.5233	1.84
28	Downers Grove	5.0111	1.67
10	Elk Grove Village	7.0656	2.36
27	Elmhurst	5.4604	1.82
15	Glen Ellyn	6.4316	2.14
1	Glendale Heights	8.7689	2.92
2	Hanover Park	8.1067	2.70
31	Hinsdale	4.4090	1.47
22	Itasca	5.9902	2.00
13	Lisle	6.5662	2.19
12	Lombard	6.6908	2.23
24	Naperville	5.8959	1.97
34	Oak Brook	2.9139	0.97
30	Oak Brook Terrace	4.6839	1.56
21	Roselle	5.4484	1.82
20	Villa Park	6.1923	2.06
19	Warrenville	6.1354	2.05
14	Wayne	6.5144	2.17
3	West Chicago	8.0839	2.69
25	Westmont	5.5351	1.85
17	Wheaton	6.1888	2.06
33	Willowbrook	4.0133	1.34
10	Winfield	6.8270	2.28
23	Wood Dale	5.9244	1.97
6	Woodridge	7.6455	2.55

In communities where there are more than one township, the higher of the tax rates is shown in the table above.

Hamptons of Hinsdale: Luxury Condos and Townhomes for Sale

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 15:24:17 +0000

Looking to live in Utopia? Then you might want to check out the Hamptons of Hinsdale. Located near the intersection of 59th and Washington Streets in Hinsdale, the Hamptons plans to offer over 100 luxury units, both townhomes and condos set in a serene park like location with ponds and open space. The infrastructure and site improvement work is virtually complete. The first four-unit town home building is complete (pictured below) and a 23-unit condominium building is also under construction. Foundation work and underground garages have been completed for two additional condominium buildings.

Background

In 2002, Wextrust Development purchased the property for $18 million. Wextrust planned to construct 12 buildings on the Hinsdale site. In the original plan, seven buildings would contain 23 luxury townhomes and five larger structures would house 93 condominium apartments. Prices were to range from $339,000 to $697,900 for the condos and $695,000 to $940,000 for the townhouses. But work on the project halted that year when Wextrust CEO and COO were indicted by a federal grand jury for involvement in a $255 million Ponzi scheme.

After sitting on the market for sometime, The Hamptons was purchased by a subsidiary of Oak Brook-based Inland Opportunity earlier this year from Citizen’s Financial Bank. According to The Hamptons website, The Hamptons is “Well-funded, carefully planned and on schedule for completion in the near future.” Next Generation Development out of Wheaton will handle construction, sales and marketing.” The Hamptons sales trailer is now on-site along Grant Street, well as the rear entry near Washington & Kennedy.

Located on a 12.5 acre parcel of land, The Hamptons offers 26 Villa Townhomes and 93 Condominiums set among landscaped grounds, featuring shingle-style architecture, open space with gazebos and a tranquil pond. The Hamptons is situated in the highly desirable Elementary school district 181 and in Hinsdale Central High School District.

Marketed as “affordable, intelligent living”, there are four town home designs that span 2,473 to 2,817 square feet and 9 condo floor plans are available, ranging from 1,262 to2,239 square feet. In a small change from the original plan there will be four condo buildings and six villa buildings. Below is a table showing the units being offered with links to more information for the units available now.

Unit	Sq. Ft.	Beds	Baths	Starting Price	Type
Biltmore	1,262	1	1.5	$290,000	Condo
Chelsea	1,466	2	2	$355,000	Condo
Rushfield	1,673	2	2	$390,000	Condo
Felsted	1,702	2	2	$425,000	Condo
Lennox	1,740	2	2.5	$440,000	Condo
Kelmscott	1,807	2	2.5	$485,000	Condo
Oxford	1,833	2	2.5	$505,000	Condo
Shelbourne	2,000	2	2.5	$530,000	Condo
Wentworth	2,239	2	2.5	$550,000	Condo
Broadmoor	2,473	2	2.5	$598,000	T/home
Cotswold	2,647	3	2.5	$647,000	T/home
Prescott	2,689	3	2.5	$658,000	T/home
Nantucket	2,818	2	2.5	$698,000	T/home

The grand opening took place the weekend of September 9^th.There are two units listed for sale in the MLS as available now, the Broadmoor and the Cotswold. Both are listed substanially higher than the starting prices listed on the table above -with the Broadmoor being listed at $689,900, and the Cotswold for $697,000. Also, not in the MLS but listed as available on the Hamptons site is the Prescott for $722,000. As of October 20, 2011, one unit has sold, and that was for a Prescott unit back in 2008 for $1,036,058. Bet that guy is anxious for some neighbors who are going to pay about 30% less than he did. Ouch.

Hinsdale Condo Market Conditions

Currently, there are a total of 68 units on the market in all of Hinsdale priced from $60k to $1mm. In the last 12 months, in the Hinsdale Market, 16 condo/townhome units have sold ranging in price from $142,500 – $950,000. Simple math indicates that there is already a 4 1/4 years supply of inventory. With The Hamptons adding an additional 112 units, the time triples. It will be very interesting to see what sort of demand the Hamptons is able to create.

Elmhurst Condo and Townhome Market Stable

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 20:16:19 +0000

Comparing the one year period of time ending on September 24, 2011 and the same period of time the prior year, the volume of sales has been pretty consistent, with 52 sales of condos/townhomes in Elmhurst this year and 54 at the same time last year. Sales of distressed properties (foreclosures and short sales) have increased from 15% of all units sold to 21% of units sold.

Prices for condos and townhomes that sold this year range from $15,000 – $609,000 and last year at this time, the range was similar, but note the floor decreased dramatically from last years $55,000 – $ 615,000. There were three properties that sold under $55k this year.

The average price per square foot has decreased from $176 to $158, even though the mix of properties sold were built in 2000 or later went from 30% of the units sold to 46% of the units sold.

So what can you get for under $225k in the Elmhurst condo market? Located at 136 N Haven is a vintage one bedroom, one bath 828 square foot condo located a short walk from the train listed at $219k. For $215,000 you can get a 1,486 square foot new construction 2 bed, 2 bath condo and it comes with heated garage space located in the Essex Place condos which are located just a stones’ throw from the new Elmhurst Hospital campus at 175 Brush Hill.

For the big spenders who like the biggest and brightest of everything, there are six new construction townhomes located on First Avenue in Elmhurst within walking distance to downtown and the train. Several models with three bedrooms and 3 ½ baths are for sale priced between $565k and $625k. Check out 359 W First to see the most expensive townhome option available in Elmhurst.

Overall Elmhurst Market Conditions

As of September 1, there was about an 18 month supply of condo inventory on the market, which is the lowest it’s been in the last 2 years at this time. The time a condo/townhome stays on the market has remained consistent at about 200 days, though we’re moving into the slow selling season, which should present some buying opportunities as sellers compete for fewer buyers.

Opportunity Abounds for Home Buyers in Addison

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 14:12:27 +0000

2011 has been a tumultuous year for home sellers, and here in Addison, there’s no exception; 57% of the properties sold were distressed sales -that almost a 10% increase over last year at this time. With nearly 60 % of sellers in trouble or already gone, prices are on the decline.

Between 1/1/11 and late August, 106 single family homes and 48 condo/town-homes have sold. At the same time in 2010, there were 127 single family and 38 condo sales. On homes where square footage data is included the average price per square foot on single family homes is $110, and around $80 on condos. That’s about a 10% decrease in single family and a whopping 50% decrease in last years condos over last year’s average square foot price of around $120 (condos and single family homes)!

The highest priced home to sell this year was $530k. The home was built in 2004, w/over 5900 Sq ft., 5 BR& 3 ½ baths. It was the only home in Addison to sell for over $500k in 2011, but it represents a tremendous value with its location, square footage, and amenities. There were 2 sales in 2010 of homes over $500k. Of the 175 single family homes for sale in Addison, 13 are priced above $500k.With only 3 buyers in this price range in the last year, you can see why it’s tough to sell homes at this price point.

On the other end of the spectrum, the lowest priced unit was a 1 bed/1 bath condo selling at $23,500 when a similar unit sold last year for $49,900. There are a ton of opportunities to own condos at prices far below $100k. In fact, there are decent single family homes available for around $150k. There are great new construction options as well at Armitage Pointe where you can have a home built on one of several available lots, or buy one of the builders models.