Evanston Illinois and Chicago real estate listings, home buying, selling and relocation information

Suzannah is more than a great realtor. She is trustworthy and patient. She goes out of her way to make her clients' dreams a reality, well beyond the closing table. Suzannah comes highly recommended and regarded by very satisfied clients.
--Beth & Andy

Market Analysis: July, 2010

June is my hero for clawing us out a bit from the May condo contract abyss which I think everyone, myself included, expected to worsen through the end of the summer. But while pale in comparison to 2009, there was instead a VERY welcome increase in contracts from May in condo sales (about 30%) and single family homes, being the stronger of the property types, held steady from May's contracts.

Additions to inventory followed an eerily similar trajectory: the number of new condos in the market bumped up from May but were down from 2009 and the number of new single family homes was IDENTICAL to May and also down from 2009. For condos, there were more closings than we've seen in over a year which can be directly linked to the "close by June 30th" original rule of the first-time buyer credit. Houses closings were up as well, which is likely related as well, since many condo sellers rolled up into their first houses.

In the world of absorption rates, houses are still faring significantly better than condos. Currently we have less than five months of inventory available for all single family homes except for anything over $1M which is hovering at 9 months and then over two years for the $1.25M+ range. Inventory rates for condos are all over the map, with oversupply (more than six months) in most price points EXCEPT for the $300k-$350k, $400k-$550k ranges and a nice little opportunity window for sellers in the $450k-$500k nook. On a related note, market times for contracted condos & houses neatly converge at about six months--which is creeping up from a low point in April but is down from last June for condos (significantly, actually) and up a little for single family homes.

One of the most fascinating--not to mention frustrating--aspects of working in real estate is how abruptly and significantly the ground can shift beneath our feet. We agents used to gripe about the convoluted FHA process only to recently embrace it as the saving grace of the real estate industry (more than 30% of home purchases today are FHA guaranteed)--and in fact, it turns out that a conventional loan today via Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac requires literally just as much paperwork and scrutiny of both buyer & condo associations alike. Fully 95% of home loans right now are government backed and delinquencies continue to rise. Many banks are holding back foreclosure properties and some delinquencies do not register due to loan modifications. The LIBOR index, which determines many ARM rates amongst other things, is likely to rise due to the European economic crisis. Sellers are starting to come out of the woodwork hoping that the worst of the market is over, and are beginning to think about putting their properties up for sale. The fact is that we are oversupplied and most are underqualified to buy. Until these factors settle down and inventory begins to shrink, housing prices should continue to fall.

A successful real estate transaction these days is a light-a-candle miracle and we're all learning a new definition of gratitude for each one that pulls, and stays, together. Amen.