30-Year Fixed Rate at New Low

The interest rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage has reached the lowest level since September 2005. This according to Feddie Mac as economic conditions worsen resulting from the dreaded credit crunch. These new lows are prompting more homeowners to refinance and likely to stimulate buyers entering the real estate market this year.

Read more about mortgage rates at MarketWatch.

Chicago Area Median Home Prices Notch Up vs. State

According to the Illinois Association of Realtors, the Chicago area median home sale price in November was $247,000, up 0.8 percent from $245,000 in November 2006. Statewide, the median sale price was $193,000 for the month, down 3 percent from a year ago.

In Illinois overall the association report states that there were 9,021 total home sales of single-family homes and condos in November, down 20.4 percent from November 2006. Year-to-date, sales were down 16.3 percent to 131,497 homes sold January through November, compared to the same period a year ago. In the Chicago area, home sales totaled 5,772 in November 2007, down 23.9 percent from the same month last year. Year-to-date, sales were down 19.6 percent to 87,624.

For more useful infornmation visit http://www.heldtrealty.com/consulting.htm

National Associational of Realtors Releases Latest Buyers/Sellers Survey

The National Association of Realtors recent survey of home buyers and sellers indicates more consumers than ever are using professional agents to assist in their transactions. According to the trade association's Profile of Homes Buyers and Sellers, 79% of consumers use a real estate professional, up from 77% over the past three years, and 9 out of 10 are "very satisfied" with their agent's knowledge of the process. More than 9 of 10 sellers and 9 of 10 buyers said they would "definitely" or "probably" use the same agent again or recommend him or her to others. Also, 41% of sellers found their agent as a result of a referral -- 23% used the same agent they had in a previous purchase -- 43% of buyers relied on referrals to find an agent, and finally, 17% of repeat buyers used an agent from a previous transaction.

This certainly makes a case for professional representation when it comes to buying or selling your home. As a member of the Nat'l Association of Realtors, I stand ready to assist you. Please visit Heldt Realty at www.heldtrealty.com.

Other Affiliations:

• Member REALTOR® Lawyer Committee, REALTOR® Association of Northwest Chicagoland www.ranwc.com
• Member Affiliate Committee, REALTOR® Association of Northwest Chicagoland http://www.ranwc.com/affiliates.htm
• President Northwest Suburban ABATE www.abate-il-nws.com
• Board Representative Northwest Suburban ABATE www.abate-il-nws.com
• Member www.rescueriders.org

Illinois Bucks the Foreclosure Trend

The number of U.S. homes now in foreclosure has more than doubled in the third quarter according to an Associated Press article published on November 2nd. Illinois foreclosure filings however, have declined in the through the same period. Illinois claimed 20,008 foreclosure filings in the third quarter on 19,128 properties, bucking the trend with a 4.2 percent decrease from the previous quarter and a slight 3.4 percent increase over the same period last year.

The lead story regarding foreclosures nationally paints a bleak picture but not necessarily for Illinois. For more information regarding foreclosure data and general real estate questions, please visit my consulting page at Heldt Realty.

Illinois Median Home Price Holds Steady

For those of you intersted in learning more about the Illinois real estate market, you may find the following reports of interest. The Illinois Association of Realtors recently released their September 2007 Illinois Housing Sstatistics. the report states that the Illinois median price held steady in the second quarter of 2007 while total home sales were off 16.1 percent from a year ago.

Read the entire report >>

For stress-free real estate transactions visit http://www.heldtrealty.com/

Top 10 Reasons It's a Great Time to Buy Real Estate

Just wanted to pass along some food for thought as it relates to the realities of today’s market.

The Top Ten Reasons It's a Great Time to Buy Real Estate!

1. Selection, selection, selection. There are about 62,000 resale homes on the market in Chicago and the northern Illinois area. Regardless of the price range a buyer desires, there are plenty of houses from which to choose. Just a few years ago the resale inventory dropped below 15,000 units. A buyer was forced to make compromises if they were going to locate the home of their dreams. There is a great selection of attached homes, condos, and townhouses. You can find large lots, small lots, and a lot that will accommodate your boat or RV. There are plenty of options in this market.
2. No Bidding Wars. In the previous harried market we had one client that made an offer on eight homes. They lost the first seven to the 'feeding frenzy' that existed. Other buyers bid the properties up substantially from the original listing price. There were escalation clauses where buyers authorized their agents to outbid other offers by thousands of dollars. There is little or no competitive bidding in today’s buyer's market.
3. You can make an offer. A few years ago when you made an offer, the only question was how high above the list price could the buyer reach in hopes of being the best offer on the table. Today the sell price list vs. price ratio is about 96%. A seller will not be insulted if you 'make them an offer they can't refuse'.
4. Patience is tolerated. In the hot seller's market that existed everything was rushed. Find a house before other buyers did. Hurry up and make the offer. Today a buyer can take their time. Look at several homes and think about your decision for a few hours.
5. Due diligence is welcomed. In this market a buyer is encouraged to obtain a home inspection, termite inspection, and appraisal. In the past many buyers waived these contingencies in order gain an advantage with multiple offers.
6. There are plenty of spec houses. In the not too distant past buyer had to 'play games' if they wanted a new home. There were lotteries and waiting lists in order to obtain new construction. Some buyers slept in their cars in order to get to the head of the lines. Today it is estimated that builders have thousands of spec houses ready for immediate occupancy.
7. Repair requests are welcomed. After a buyer completes a home inspection, they are allowed to submit a repair request to the seller. In the past a seller might insist the home was sold 'as is'. Many times, there were back-up buyers waiting for a primary buyer to upset the seller whose home was increasing in value almost daily.
8. Few, if any investors. It is estimated that one third of all sales in 2005 were to investors. These non-owner occupied buyers caused the market to inflate and affordability to decline. Mortgage fraud became commonplace. It's a great time to buy without having to compete with hundreds of prospective landlords.
9. Location, location, location. Today's buyers can find homes closer to work. In the past buyers flocked to the outlying areas in order to find affordable homes. In this market, reasonably priced homes are within biking or walking distance to schools, rapid transit lines, and relatives.
10. Real Financing is available. The 'wink, wink' zero down, no doc, adjustable, sub-prime loans are gone. Fixed rates are back. FHA financing, first time homeowner bond programs, special loans for teachers, and police officers are back in business. It's a great time to buy real estate!

Please click on over to Healdt Realty if you find this information useful.

Mortgage Rates Drop Sharply

News out of Washington via the AP wire: Interest rates on 30-year mortgages dropped this week to the lowest point in four months. This could very well provide some relief for people hoping to refinance their existing mortgages and for those purchasing new or existing homes.

Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.31 percent this week, the lowest level since May 17, when 30-year mortgages averaged 6.21 percent. The rate had been 6.46 percent last week. Read more >>

Real Estate Consulting Services >>

Pending Home Sales Fall 12.2%

The National Association of Realtors reported today that contract signings on existing homes fell by 12.2% in July. That's the steepest decline since the pending home sales index was initiated in 2001. The decrease in pending home sales occurred in all four regions of the U.S.

For tips on selling your home in a buyer's market, visit my consulting page.

Existing Home Sales at a 5-Year Low

MarketWatch reports this morning that U.S. sales of existing homes fell 3.8% in June to a new low of 5.75 million, the lowest rate since November 2002. The National Association of Realtors publishes these numbers on a monthly basis. Also reprted are the median sales price of an existing home; up 0.3% to $230,100 since June of 2006. It's the first time in 11 months that median sales prices did not fall compared with a year ago.

Read more >>

Foreclosure Activity Down in June

Here's some invaluable foreclosure information from RealtyTrac. They publish the largest and most comprehensive national database of foreclosure and bank-owned properties, with over 1 million properties from nearly 2,500 counties across the country, and is the foreclosure data provider to MSN Real Estate, Yahoo! Real Estate and The Wall Street Journal’s Real Estate Journal.

Inventory of Previously Owned Homes For Sale on the Rise

The National Association of Realtors today report that inventories of homes on the market rose by 5% to a record 4.43 million, representing an 8.9-month supply at the May sales pace. That's the biggest overhang of inventory since June 1992, at the tail end of the last housing bust. You can read the full report on MarketWatch.

If you are buying or selling a home in these uncertain economic times, and you need a bit of advise, be sure to check into my Real Estate Consulting services.

Social Networking for Opportunity Seekers and Real Estate Investors

It's "flippin' fantastic" what the Internet can do to enhance your business. Have you seen the A&E program Flip This House? Well it's official, they're taking the concept online so others can benefit. Take a look...

Internet millionaire Joel Therien is the president of two very popular websites; armandomontelongo.com and hotconference.com. The recently launched ArmandoMontelongo.com is a social networking site for entrepreneurial people and business opportunity seekers alike. Therien states, "The site is there for all types of people who want to meet with others who have some of the same business interests." He goes on to say, "It caters to any type of opportunity, investment clubs, franchises, network opportunities, day traders, you name it and the site caters to it."

With so many filters on the Internet, even legitimate subscriber email is getting blocked, which unfortunately renders newsletters somewhat ineffective and leaves opportunity seekers no valid or cost effective way to find or communicate with each other.

ArmandoMontelongo.com is very different in that it allows people to communicate in real time audio and video conferencing in a secure environment. People can join free knowing that others on the site will enjoy hearing about their opportunities. You can visit the site at http://c21realtr.armandomontelongo.com/

Slumping Housing Market Could Result in Lower Prices

Lower prices for new and existing homes could be on the horizon according to a recent MarketWatch report. The article quotes a Banc of America Securities official who states; "The resale market could suffer from home-builders cutting prices on new homes to shore up sagging sales. As a result, existing homes for sale, many of which were built recently, will continue to sit on the market unless sellers cut pricing aggressively."

Read more here >>

Check out my Real Estate Consulting services here >>

First-Time Homebuyers; Get Your Ducks in a Row!

It's a great time to buy a house. Sellers are pricing their homes competitively and mortgage rate rate are still at historic lows. But though it's a buyer's market, it doesn't mean you're finiacially prepared to leave renting behind.

Kara McGuire, writing for McClatchy Newspapers, gives these suggestions to help you get you "ducks in a row" before purchasing your first home.

• Save your documents. Keep your most recent pay stub, W-2 bank and retirement-account statements for the loan approval process. The mortgage company will run you latest credit report to provide a snapshot of you outstanding debts.


• Play house. Before searching for your new house, bank at least $2,000 per month to give you a taste of what the expenses of owning a home are.


• Don't buy too much house. First-time homebuyers can be tempted to take on a mortgage that's out of their reach and risk becoming stretched by a large obligation against the financial return of ownership.


• Be realistic about profit margin. No matter what you see on TV, don't expect to flip your house and make a substantial profit after owning it a short time.

As a real estate professional, it's my job to help you get your proverbial ducks in a row before buying a home. Call me any time at Heldt Realty.

New Home Sales Up; Prices Down

The Commerce Department reports that home sales jumped 16% in April while median prices fell at a record pace. New home sales were actually down in the Midwest by 4%. Read the New York Times article published this morning to learn more about what these mixed signals may indicate.

New Wave of Foreclosures with Lower Price Tags

An article published today on MSN entitled Foreclosures: Will Banks cut their losses? sheds light on how the foreclosure market works and how it has been affected by the current economic indicators. The article states that in the Chicago area for example, lenders are beginning to offer foreclosure properties at below the judgement amount. On the flip side of this scenario is the fact that profitable foreclosure deals for real estate investors have become increasingly hard to come by. Chicagoland banks however, are starting to consider pre-foreclosure deals called "short sales" where a buyer negotiates with a lender to purchase for less than the property is worth before it goes into foreclosure.

Heldt Realty's exclusive On-Call Consulting Program enables real estate investors to pursue their own endeavors while also providing them a professional “on-call" real estate services. Please contact me through my office should you have any questions.

Remodeling Returns

Resale-minded homeowners can increase their property values by investing in rehab projects and upgrades. They do however, need to be cautious about over-improving and thus "out-pricing" other homes in the market.

Sid Davis, author of Home Makeovers That Sell, writes that your neighborhood determines what your home is worth. He advises to work within those parameters and don't try to make your house into something it isn't.

What is the percentage rate of return on a kitchen, bathroom, or basement remodel? Let's take a quick look.

Minor kitchen remodels net 98.5 percent in average returns while total high-end kitchen remodels will actually net less in return. An average bathroom fix-up has an investment return of an impressive 102 percent! Downstairs, the average return on a basement remodel is 90 percent since the project can double a home's living space.

Finally, media rooms, which are increasing in popularity are an attractive upgrade for some folks but, experts advise against creating high-end media rooms (for return on investment) unless of course, this is popular in your real estate market.

The Best Time To Buy A Home

As with most things in life, timing is everything. This certainly applies to buying a new home as well.

In her book, Starting Out, The Complete Home Buyers Guide, author, Dian Hymer writes that the ideal home time to purchase a home is when home prices are stable or increasing, and when interest rates are low. Conversely, waiting for the best time to buy can result in a missed opportunity.

It's impossible to know in advance how the real estate market will behave in the future. Ms. Hymer offers these guidelines to help you make wise decision about the best time to buy:

If there are more sellers than buyers it's called a buyer's market. Buying in this market has some advantages. Buyers have more inventory to choose from and prices are usually lower in this type of market. Lower prices mean lower closing costs too. A disadvantage when the market is slow is that the value of your home may actually drop before it rises again. Plan to live in this home for five years or more.

Buying a home in a seller's market may cost more, but there is a good chance that the property will be worth even more within the next few months.

As a real estate professional, I will be happy to arm you with the best information you'll need to time your home purchase correctly. Contact me at Heldt Realty and we can discuss your unique situation.

Illinois Home Sales and Median Prices on the Rise

According to the Illinois Association of Realtors, Illinois housing statistics showed an increase of 36.2% in March compared to February. IAR's latest report indicates the numbers were 20.3% below the all-time high for March 2006 when a total of 15,024 homes were sold. Regarding the median price of a home in Illinois, IAR reports this figure at $198,000, up 0.1 percent from $197,900 a year ago.

Pleas contact me at Heldt Realty for area-specific data.

Baby Boomers Like Larger Nests

Baby Boomers nests are growing and the ones with empty nests are selling their lawnmowers without blinking an eye. What does it mean? Well, boomers whose children have grown are beginning to move to large but maintenance-free homes all over the US.

This, according to Margaret Wylde, a housing market expert who writes that it's a myth that everyone over 50 is downsizing. Her research shows that most people in the boomer generation who live in homes between 1,600 and 1,800 square feet will likely move into even larger homes during their empty-nest years. Wylde continues on to say that by 2011, half of all homeowners in the US will be 55 years of age or older. The vast majority of them no longer want to take care of the lawn or shovel snow anymore either. They do however, have sizable equity in their homes and want nicer digs with more amenities and features than what they've had previously.

If you're a boomer in a similar situation, contact me and we'll discuss how you can trade home maintenance for a carefree life in an adult community.

Pictured: The Cascades at St. Lucie West, Port St. Lucie, Florida