City of Chicago Property Tax Relief Program. Check it out!

I completely forgot where I saw this flier but I know that I saved it for this exact reason.  Check out the flier HERE!

This tax relief program asks if you’re a homeowner who pays property taxes.  Do you also make less than $200,000 a year?  Then you may be eligible for tax relief of up to $200!  To see if you qualify, just download an application at www.cityofchicago.org or visit one of the three locations! 

Again, click HERE! to view the pdf version of the tax relief flier.  No matter how you think of it, an extra $200 is nice for anyone and after being taxed like no other, why not get something back, right?

Chicago area home sales still going up. December a good month!

Awesome news once again.  Even though, in the end, 2009 as a whole was flat, I’m taking that as a win because we all know it could have been much worse…haha.  If you’re looking to buy a home, sell your current place, or even if you know someone who’s looking to rent a place, send me a message to my @properties email:  jeffstewart@atproperties.com.

Local home sales up in December, flat for 2009

By: Staff Jan. 25, 2010

(Crain’s) — Chicago-area home sales rose 33% in December compared with the same month last year and were essentially flat for the full year, according to the Illinois Assn. of Realtors.

CHICAGO-AREA SALES
Below is a monthly year-over-year comparison of home sales (single-family and condo) in the nine-county Chicago area.
Month	2009	2008	Change
January	2,965	3,927	-24.5%
February	3,082	4,326	-28.8%
March	4,260	5,759	-26.0%
April	4,747	6,094	-22.1%
May	5,634	6,927	-18.7%
June	7,140	7,806	-8.5%
July	7,427	7,408	0.3%
August	7,009	6,917	1.3%
September	6,862	6,477	5.9%
October	7,286	5,467	33.3%
November	6,826	3,978	71.6%
December	5,752	4,320	33.1%
Full year	69,290	69,406	-0.2%
Source: Illinois Assn. of Realtors

Median prices, however, fell sharply last year both in the region and the city.

For all of 2009, 69,290 homes sold in the Chicago area, down a scant 0.2% from 2008, the Realtors said in a release Monday.

That’s a major improvement from 2008, when local sales fell almost 26% compared with 2007.

In December 2009, home sales rose 33.1% locally, to 5,752 compared with 4,320 in December 2008, the sixth consecutive month that area sales increased over the year-ago month.

“In 2009, we saw demand primarily for lower-priced homes from first-time buyers in addition to short sales and sales of foreclosed homes,” Mike Onorato, president of the association and broker-owner of Onorato Real Estate in Coal City, said in the release. “There is opportunity now for the move-up buyer to take advantage of the tax credit that ends April 30 and lower mortgage interest rates, which many analysts expect to rise by mid-year.”

Last year, sales in the city of Chicago fell more sharply than in the entire Chicago area. In the city, 2009 sales fell 7.4%, to 19,401 compared with 20,946 in 2008.

In December alone, city sales rose 39.8%, to 1,768 compared with 1,265 in December 2008.

The median price plunged last year in both the Chicago area and the city. The Chicago-area median — the price at which half the homes sell for more and half for less — dropped 18.3%, to $196,000, compared with 2008….

Check out the full Crain’s Chicago Business article by clicking HERE!

REALTOR® Magazine ranks Chicago as third smartest place to buy!

I just got my weekly email update from REALTOR® Magazine where I found an article that had the Chicagoland area ranked as the third smartest area to buy a home.  YES!  Things are picking up like crazy lately.  I’ve been insanely busy with showings and on the verge of some good things to come!

If you’ve decided, or are having a hard time deciding to get into the market of buying, selling, or even renting, send me a quick email and I’m more than happy to help out or lend some advice.  My @properties email is jeffstewart@atproperties.com.

Here are the top 10 cities the magazine chose as the best places to buy right now.  Full article HERE!

1 – Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Mass.

2 – Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, N.C.-S.C.

3 – Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill.-Ind.-Wis.

4 – Cincinnati-Middletown, Ohio-Ky.-Ind.

5 – Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, Colo

6 – Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minn.-Wis.

7 – Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md.

8 – Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, Ore.-Wash.

9 – San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif.

10 – Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.V.

Know a friend who is looking to rent an apartment in Chicago?

Hey there!  So one of the reasons I created ChicagoismynewBlog! is to help promote my real estate business and to keep marketing myself as a REALTOR® with @properties.  I want to reach out to all of you who may have a friend or family member who is in the process of trying to find an apartment in Chicago and offer my services because they’re basically free for anyone looking to find an apartment.

I would be honored to have my contact information passed along.  Lets start…….now.  Don’t hesitate to send an email to my @properties email:  jeffstewart@atproperties.com

Home prices in Chicago fall in the month of October.

So you may think it’s pretty weird to have this posted in January of a totally different year, but the figures just recently came out and were printed in Crain’s Chicago Business, one of the trusted business sources in Chicago.  Even if the idea of prices falling in Chicago isn’t great, it will only help things get back to a more “normal” state quicker.  I’m just happy sellers are finally starting to recognize that they, generally, can’t make a 100K profit.  I also see that they’re finally listening to their REALTORS!  Makes my job a bit easier also!

Chicago home prices fall in October

Dec. 29, 2009

(AP) — Chicago-area home prices showed the second-biggest drop in October of 20 metro areas, according to a report Tuesday.

Local prices fell 1 percent in October compared with September, the first drop after five straight monthly increases, according to seasonally adjusted data from the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price indices.

Home prices in the Chicago area were down 10.1 percent in October compared with October 2008.

Peter J. Birnbaum, president of Chicago-based Attorneys’ Title Guaranty Fund, thinks the October decrease can be attributed to timing, coming after the expiration of foreclosure moratoriums and at a time when many closings were to first-time homebuyers taking advantage of a federal tax credit.

Mr. Birnbaum expects local prices to decrease over the next year because of the high inventory of distressed properties.

“I think we’re going to see this for a while,” Mr. Birnbaum says of prices falling.

Nationwide, prices rose in October for the fifth month in a row, but the recovery continues to be uneven, with only 11 of the 20 metro areas tracked showing gains.

The 20-city S&P/Case-Shiller index released Tuesday edged up 0.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted reading of 145.36 in October from September.

The index was off 7.3 percent from October last year, nearly matching expectations of economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters.

The index is now up 3.4 percent from its bottom in May, but still almost 30 percent below its peak in April 2006.

Tampa, Fla., showed the biggest decrease in October from September, a seasonally adjusted 1.2 percent.

San Francisco and Detroit posting the largest increases. Dallas recorded a flat reading for the month.

“Coming after a series of solid gains, these data are likely to spark worries that home prices are about to take a second dip,” David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at Standard & Poor’s, said in a statement.

That happened in the early 1980s, he said, and the current housing recovery appears more solid….

To read the full Crain’s Chicago Business article, click HERE!

Big court victory for Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport expansion.

Big court victory for O’Hare expansion

DuPage County judge says Chicago can go ahead with cemetery condemnation.

December 19, 2009

By MARY WISNIEWSKI Transportation Reporter / mwisniewski@suntimes.com

In a major victory for the city of Chicago’s O’Hare Airport expansion plans, a DuPage County judge ruled Friday that the city can proceed with condemnation proceedings to acquire St. Johannes Cemetery, which stands in the way of the completion of a new runway.

St. John’s United Church of Christ in Bensenville — which owns the 1,100-grave burial ground — had fought the acquisition, arguing it would cause great grief for families of those buried there. Joseph Karaganis, an attorney for the church, said he plans to challenge the court ruling.

The cemetery issue is the last major obstacle to the city’s expansion of O’Hare.

Last month, the village of Bensenville settled with the city, getting $16 million and agreeing to allow the demolition of over 500 abandoned homes and businesses….

Check out the full Chicago Sun Times article by clicking HERE!

 A DuPage County judge ruled today that the city of Chicago can proceed with condemnation proceedings to acquire St. Johannes Cemetery in order to expand O’Hare airport.
 (Richard A. Chapman/Sun-Times)

Chicago-area home sales jump 72% in November. That’s Awesome!

Chicago-area home sales jump 72% in November

By: Eddie Baeb Dec. 22, 2009

(Crain’s) — Chicago-area home sales soared 71.6% in November compared with the same month last year, according to the Illinois Association of Realtors.

CHICAGO-AREA SALES
Below is a monthly year-over-year comparison of home sales (single-family and condo) in the nine-county Chicago area.
Month	2009	2008	Change
January	2,965	3,927	-24.5%
February	3,082	4,326	-28.8%
March	4,260	5,759	-26.0%
April	4,747	6,094	-22.1%
May	5,634	6,927	-18.7%
June	7,140	7,806	-8.5%
July	7,427	7,408	0.3%
August	7,009	6,917	1.3%
September	6,862	6,477	5.9%
October	7,286	5,467	33.3%
November	6,826	3,978	71.6%
Source: Illinois Assn. of Realtors

 

The group cited pent-up demand from buyers, low interest rates and the federal tax credit for first-time home buyers as the reason for the fifth straight monthly year-over-year improvement for the Chicago metro area.

Home sales in November and October of 2008 were extremely low as the worst of the nation’s financial crisis was hitting.

“November’s sales surge reflects the rush to beat the tax-credit deadline,” Mike Onorato, the association’s president, said in a press release. The tax-credit deadline was extended from November through April 30, 2010.

Median prices in the Chicago area, however, continued to fall.

In November, the region’s median price – where half the homes sold for more and half sold for less – was $189,000, down 9.1% from $207,995 in November 2008.

Total sales in the region, including single-family homes and condominiums, were 6,826 compared with 3,978 in November 2008.

In the city of Chicago, November sales were up 69.9% to 1,859 compared with 1,094 homes sold in November 2008. The median price in the city was $215,000, down 3.4% from November 2008.

Statewide, home sales totaled 10,361 in November, up 64% from the same month last year. The statewide median price was $155,000, down 4.3% from November 2008.

Check out the full Crain’s Chicago Business article by clicking HERE!

Local, Chicago home prices up for the 5th straight month!

Local home prices up for 5th month

Nov. 24, 2009

(AP) — An index of local home prices rose for the fifth straight month in September, further evidence that the housing market recovery is continuing.

The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index for the Chicago area increased 1.1 percent from August on a seasonally adjusted basis. Local prices were still 10.6 percent below their level in September 2008, according to a report released Tuesday by Standard & Poor’s.

An index of 20 major cities, meanwhile, rose a seasonally adjusted 0.3 percent in September from the prior month. Prices rose month-over-month in 11 metro areas, a weaker showing than in recent months.

Compared with a year earlier, prices were down 9.4 percent, the smallest year-over-year decline since January 2008.

“We have seen broad improvement in home prices for most of the past six months,” David M. Blitzer, chairman of the Standard & Poor’s index committee. “However, the gains in the most recent month are more modest than during the seasonally strong summer months.”

Prices, as measured by the seasonally adjusted 20-city index, are up more than 3 percent from the bottom in May. But they are still down 30 percent from the peak in April 2006….

Check out the full ChicagoRealEstateDaily articley by clicking HERE!