The Home Buyer Agents of Chicagoland
In your corner and on your side
Today we are going to learn an important lesson that every seasoned realtor knows. The real estate market varies widely from neighborhood to neighborhood, and even block-to-block. As a buyer, it’s important to drill down into the market you are buying in and form conclusions- instead of listening to the misinformed opinions of friends and family. They are probably wrong. [Read more…]
The Chicago metro area saw 8,122 homes sell in March, an increase over the 5,600 homes sold in February but a 10 percent year-over-year decline, according to a monthly report from the Illinois Association of Realtors.
March was actually a worse month for the market than February, generally considered one of the slowest months for home sales, when the number of home sales dipped 4 percent year over year.
Buying a home means not only finding the right home, but hiring and coordinating with a lot of professionals that will help bring you to the closing table. Naturally, a good buyer agent will make recommendations and help with the coordination, so don’t be afraid to ask. Below you will find a list of all of the professionals that will assist you with your home purchase and an estimate of what you should expect to pay them. [Read more…]
The total out of pocket costs to purchase a home in Chicago is equal the down payment + closing costs + a few other factors that could have an impact depending on the situation.
Closing costs are separate and in addition to down payment. Closing costs are a combination of all of the fees charged by each vendor who is required to provide services to close your purchase. Even though each vendor sets their own fees, your lender is challenged with the task of giving you the initial estimate of what those fees are. The “lender fees” actually paid to the lender (such as points, underwriting, and processing fees) are usually just a small portion of the overall “closing costs” which are collected by other 3rd parties. [Read more…]
The real estate market data for all 77 Chicago neighborhoods shows the continued slowing of the market as predicted. The data varies from neighborhood to neighborhood, and even block to block, but in general we are seeing a more balanced market at the end of a 10-year real estate cycle.
The total deals closed are down 10%-20% from this same time last year. Inventory is increasing a little bit but mostly for higher end condos. There is a still a significant lack of inventory of single family homes in nicer North Side areas. Market times are way up and final sales prices are beginning to slag. The uncertainty of mayoral elections and the Illinois economy persists.
Evidence is mounting that inventory will finally improve in 2019, and we have already seen that in a few areas (especially condos). This may apply some downward pressure on prices for beleaguered home buyers. Perhaps a buyer’s market is ahead or at least a more balanced market (where the inventory of homes is 4-6 months). Mortgage rates spooked some buyers in the fall as the 30-year mortgage rate was above 5% for the first time in years, but they have since fell back to around 4.25% for a single family home. Other bright mortgage news is Fannie/Freddie loans have a new loan limit of $484,000, up from $453,000. Most buyers want the best interest rates offered by Fannie/Freddie loans and so they try to keep their loan under these amounts. [Read more…]
Principal Agent:
Jeff Kropp
