RE-DIRECT

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Cook and Lake Counties: First Quarter Report, 2008

First quarter reports are out. Well, there are no huge surprises, but one little surprise. Sales were down from last year, way down: -29% in Cook County and -29% for Lake County. We all saw that coming. And, the average sale price in Lake County was down 2.5% from last year. [...]

Have the March Stats for Cook and Lake County Come Out Yet?

LC (Laura Cannon): Yes.
IP (Interlocuter): So, how were they?
LC: Eek. Not great. I think April numbers will be better.
IP: So, how bad were they?
LC: Well, let me start with the good news: In Cook County, sales were only down about 26% over last year.
IP: What kind of spring bounce is that?!
LC: I [...]

Economic Unpredictability: What is the Impact on the Barrington Real Estate Market?

Noted economist Paul Krugman said in an interview published earlier this week that we could see an average of a 25% drop in housing prices across the country (How Bad is the Mortgage Crisis Going to Get? Fortune, 3/17/08). This is a big statement.
But before we panic, before we make this dire forecast come [...]

2007 Sales Summary for the Chicago Metropolitan Area

According to the Illinois Association of Realtors 2007 market report, sales were down about 20% in the Chicago metro area for the year. The median home sale price was up 2.4%.
What does this mean for our local spring market of 2008? It is still a buyer’s market.

Chicago Metropolitan Area Fourth Quarter Report

It may seem like the 4th quarter of 2007 was years ago, but the data for that period is just in. According to the Illinois Association of Realtor’s recent report, the median home sale price in the Chicago area was up 1.2 percent. This is hardly the kind of appreciation we had become accustomed [...]

December ‘07 Sales Data for Chicago Metropolitan Area Just Out

Once again, our area is poking along with modest appreciation. The median home sale price for the Chicago Metropolitan area for December of 2007 compared to December of 2006 was up 1.1%.* This appreciation is not great, but it is to be expected in a market correction. In the context of the national [...]

Home Sale Anomalies in Barrington and Palatine

If you examine the sales statistics for the Northwest Suburbs over the past year, a constant that emerges is that the number of total transactions was down. That should have meant that inventory was higher and prices were weak. In Palatine and Barrington, sales were down about 30% and 15% respectively in the third quarter [...]

Local Market Conditions in the Northwest Suburbs

Eek! Did you see the headline of the Chicago Tribune’s Sunday paper, “Trapped in Troubled Real Estate Market” (1/13/07)? The accompanying picture of a glum-faced homeowner staring blankly out the window poignantly illustrated the Trib’s message of doom. It would seem that the market is in dire, dire straits.
The headline, the article, [...]