Real Estate Blog

I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year and an even better 2008. There are many topics that I will be covering for the next few weeks so stay tuned.
Like always, if you any suggestions or interesting topics, feel free to email me.
 Thank you

Finally, the Bush administration has decided to step in and try to help those that are finding themselves in a foreclosure situation. The new plan is suppose to help 1.2 million distressed homeowners.
There is a catch though: mortgage interest rates will be frozen only for ARM borrowers who are not yet in foreclosure.
Here are a […]

While Chicago home prices don’t seem to be affected much by the continuing price decreasing that we see throughought the country, it is still obvious that the housing market continues to be unfavorable to people looking to sell their property.
The median single-family house price in the United States fell to $220,800, which was down […]

During the housing boom, home sellers were in the driver’s seat with real estate agents circling around their property and they were offered very low commission rates. These times seem to be old gone and the roles have changed a bit.
According to Steve Murray of Real Trend, the average commission rate in 1991 […]

Number of vacant homes on the market nationwide has reached the 2 million mark. The number of vacant homes for sale rose in the third quarter, according to the latest government reading that casts new harsh light on the weakness of the housing market.
The Census Bureau report puts the number of vacant homes for sale […]

LoopNet Inc, which operates the largest commercial real estate marketplace online, announced it acquired privately held Cityfeet.com, reported Inman News.
Cityfeet operates an online distribution network for commercial property listings that are sent to more than 100 partners, including the Web sites of The New York Times, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Dallas Morning […]

On a lighter note, here is a great event for all of you yoga lovers. Yoga pro or not, attend the Global Mala event on Sunday, September 23 at 9am.
The Global Mala is an international event in which people all over the world will be practicing yoga simultaneously in honor of the UN International Day […]

According to a report released by Hitwise in July, the following websites made the “Top 20″ List:
1 Realtor.com
2 RealtyTrac
3 Homegain
4 Rent.com
5 RE/MAX Real Estate
6 Apartments.com
7 Zillow
8 Yahoo! Real Estate
9 MSN Real Estate
10 Move.com

Home prices have shown few signs of any turnaround, and a new report sees the downward slide continuing. Major housing markets showed worse declines. The Case-Shiller index covering 20 top metro areas for the month of June fell 3.5 percent, and the 10-city index dropped 4.1 percent year-over-year.
“The pullback in the U.S. residential real estate […]

Home sales could see an increase in the coming months, as the latest reading on the state of the battered U.S. real estate market from an industry trade group showed surprising strength.
The National Association of Realtors’ pending home sales index jumped 5 percent to 102.4 in June, the group announced Wednesday. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com […]

I found some funny stories on realtor.org and I thought I would share one with you today.
“Hosting an open house on an empty stomach is not a good idea, trust me. Not too long ago I agreed to help out a fellow agent by sitting at his open house all day. But the […]

FIVE-YEAR GROWTH: 1,571.8% REVENUE: $40.4 MILLION NO. OF EMPLOYEES : 450
Last year, Chicago residential real estate brokerage @properties Inc. dropped $65,000 to rent Wrigley Field for a few hours so its brokers could swing bats and run bases in the firm’s annual softball tournament. The event, like the regular bowling leagues and movie […]

Housing starts rose to an annual pace of 1.52 million in March, the Census Bureau reported, from a revised 1.51 million rate in February. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast the pace of building would slow to a 1.5 million rate in March.
But most of the country saw a decline from February’s pace of housing […]

Here is something to be proud of: Thad Wong, our @properties co-founder, has an interesting article on MSN.com.
Four things to look at
The phrase “up-and-coming” can sometimes be code for a dangerous area, so it’s important to make sure you’re comfortable with the neighborhood and the potential risk it may pose to you as an […]

This is a great website, howrealtorshelp.ca it is a very smart design, they use Flash and video technology that helps consumers answer some of the questions they might have when facing one of the biggest financial transactions in their lives. The site is comprehensive, easy to navigate and very personal, almost feels customized for each […]

This Program offers leading commercial real estate software and other resources to college and university programs across the nation, free of charge.
Leo Software, a provider of business intelligence systems for commercial real estate, today […]

From http://www.bloodhoundrealty.com
Let’s see… Our customers are leaving us in a steady march. They’ve found an alternative that is easier to use, more convenient, overall just a better fit to their lives — and to top it all off, it’s much cheaper than our product.
What should we do?
Here’s an idea. Our customers are telling us in […]

Thad Wong, one of the @properties brokerage founders, has pointed out this article to us today. The article was posted on www.thestreet.com by Peter Slatin.
“Any report on the condo development market routinely lists cities such as Miami and Las Vegas as the touchstones of a market gone mad. It’s just as easy to point to […]

As mortgage rates edged downward during the fourth quarter of 2006 and some real estate markets took price hits, affordability improved - albeit only marginally, according to a report released Thursday.
Some 41.6 percent of homes sold during the fourth quarter were affordable to Americans earning the median family income of $59,600, according to the Home […]

I just read this article on Money CNN, very very interesting approach. It’s a little long but worth reading it.
(Business 2.0 Magazine) — We’ve been promised many things in the world of Tomorrowland: jet packs, flying cars, picnics on the moon.
We remember those pledges, ruefully. But with all of our attention on the skies above, […]