LIL' BUDDY'S BLOG - THIS DOG SEES A SILVER LINING!
THE CHICAGO REAL ESTATE MARKET, AND OTHER THINGS CHICAGO, FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF A LITTLE WHITE DOG
Hey, hey everyone! Well, now that the Chicago Bears have bitten the dust, there's little to do but wait for Baseball Season. You know that favorite four-word phrase of us Lil' White Dogs everywhere - "Pitchers & Catchers Report . . ." Spring Training is only 48 Days Away - the Cubs Home Opener, versus the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field - 80 days away. Can't wait!
It's January, cold in Chicago, and many - human and dog alike - are often in a foul mood. In my role as People Greeter and Switchboard Operator here at Dean's Team Chicago's "Basement on Western Avenue" World Headquarters, many other agents are agitated. Frustrated. Even negative! Why?
We had an incredible real estate year in 2007 - although, to be sure, we did have our share of challenges this past year. Several short sales we were involved with on behalf of our clients failed to close, due to bank rejection, mostly due to high leverage and second mortgage financing. We encountered several clients in very tight financial situations, that needed to sell, and had little or no money left over when their transaction closed. To a man, to a woman, and to a dog - we feel very sad about those we could not fully help this past year.
But we moved 40 families to their new homes in 2007, despite weakness in the Chicago Real Estate Market. We negotiated very solid deals for our buyer and investor clients - and the Chicago Market continues to be favorable to these buyers and investors. Our sales were up 4% over 2006, and our Team Net Earnings - up nearly 9%. We're doing well, because we're always making Our Clients' Number One Goal, Our Number One Goal - and that is most important, in any real estate market. Right?
As I was scanning the Sunday Tribune last weekend, I ran across an article by Marilyn Kennedy Melia, looking forward to a stronger real estate market, here in Chicago, in Illinois, and across the country. She mentions that 2008 is starting as a weak year for the real estate industry, even as we prepare for the traditionally-busy Spring market, starting, now, in the dead of January!
However, this downturn we're experiencing WILL end - sooner, hopefully, rather than later - but it WILL END! According to Kerry Vandell, of the Center for Real Estate at the Paul Mirage School of Business, University of California, Irvine, the situation will turn positive, after the factors that created the downturn start to reverse themselves.
In the early 1990's - the last time Chicago Real Estate prices stalled for an extended period of time, job losses and a moderate recession, coupled with the then-fresh savings & loan crisis, were the root cause of real estate market sluggishness. Creation of new jobs, especially in the technology sector, turned the market around, quickly and forcefully.
Today, Vandell blames too-easy, too-cheap credit. Free-and-easy money sent real estate prices nationally to the boiling point. Now, threats of default and foreclosure, and far more stringent credit and underwriting requirements, are keeping home inventories high, and qualified buyers low. When the mortgage market regains "normalcy," he predicts housing prices will rise once again, and supplies will fall to a market-balanced level - especially for those with good credit and moderate down payments.
In the meanwhile, the market will continue to be attractive for home buyers with good credit credentials, as prices for the homes they are interested in, in attractive neighborhoods across Chicago and in the suburbs, will moderate. Sellers have to remember that the "Good Old Days" of being to able to name any price you want are GONE - for a little while, anyway. You'll need to price your home to sell accordingly, or just not sell!
As you go through this New Year, 2008, always remember you have one Lil' White Dog, and Four Very Smart Humans, always here to help you - at Dean's Team! Run to the front door, and bark out for us, anytime!
YOUR ACE REPORTER ON FOUR PAWS,
BUDDY HOLLY MOSS & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO
