Housing Market hitting bottom still!!!????????? (Chicago, Arlington Heights: assessor, credit, loan)

[Schnooks]

Real estate is the absolute WORST investment you could make right now... and the media is not to blame.. this has been a long time coming. Sellers are just stuck in the mentality that real estate always goes up and can't get it thru their heads that they have to come down. Buyers are absolutely sitting on the sidelines for the most part waiting it out while a ton of inventory just sits there. This out of control inflated market had to correct itself sometime.. at least wait until Spring and watch houses that interest you thru the summer. There will be a ton more inventory and still buyers sitting on the sidelines waiting for greedy sellers to wise up. It will be lowball time.

[HOWELL_STREET]

Dear Friend:

What you have been asking is somewhat of a repeat question / subject. So also search out this topic in past threads. In the past, several people have stated their opinion about this. And I agree with that opinion. So several people think that the housing market might drop as much as about 33 per cent (asking price) sometime in the future. In my opinion, the asking prices / buying prices are related to one's employment REUNERATION. And that has been going down. That is because new college graduates seem to accept less remuneration just to get employed. And a loss of remuneration seems to be universal in the U.S.A.
I am not a realtor. However, my son is a mortgage processor and between us, these are the opinions that we have considered.

Best Regards,

Carter Glass,

Wheaton, IL &
Cortland, IL &
Mount Vernon / Nason, IL

[gardener34]

I knew we would hit a correction eventually "in the early 2000's people were making 15, 20, even 30% annually on their real estate investments" that is just nuts...

No one in their right mind could have possibly figured that would go on forever.

helper: In dupage, I would be wary of towns that got "hyper-inflated" such as Elmhurst. I personally think that you are not getting enough for your real estate money in that town nowadays.

[Chicago60614]

I have 3 realtor friends who have been in the field for years. I randomly brought up the question to each of them about buying a condo (even though I think I need to wait to purchase), and they all three said the same thing right away.

The market in Chicago is only just now really starting to decline. They said to wait at least a year or maybe two to see what happens and take advantage of lower prices and a more stable situation. It hit California and Florida first because they were so overblown, Chicago isn't in as bad a situation - but it's only just now starting here.

[Windy City John]

find a professional that can help you-what you dont understand is that housing prices that have sold are down 5% in the midwest--that's big for here. asking prices are still up where they were-- you need to find a full time REALTOR to work with otherwise you will miss the boat or pay too much.

Ask for the following -- a 90 day sold report for the neighborhood. then ask for a 12 month report. compare apples to apples-

Find out the listing price history-- days on market and price changes.

Houses that are updated are selling-- if you want a steal-- find a house that has an old kitchen and has been on the market for 180+ days. A new kitchen will cost you $35-50K take that into consideration.

[vester72]

IMO, the market may be coming down more - but Chicago is a very different situation from Florida, Vegas, California and some of the other markets. I would wait until spring at least, but we have not seen crazy appreciation like those markets and will not see a crazy drop in prices.

I have properties in the city (South Loop) and SW Burbs and we have had nice appreciation, but we have not seen insane 50% growth YOY like some of those markets. Even in the SW burbs right now you can steal a beautiful house for about $150 a square foot - prices cannot go down much farther than that just due to actual construction costs. So, while you may get a slightly better deal, don't expect prices to drop more than 5-7% - then rebound quickly. Also, in the city if Chicago gets the Olympics - see prices go up fast in the south and the loop.

Just my 2 cents.

[stewartthrower]

One thing to consider is that a Democratic Senator has proposed a law that would require all borrowers put 25% down on their purchases. This of course would be disastrous to the housing market and to the American population in general. This proposal is in response to the recent trouble with foreclosures and fraud in the mortgage industry. While I think that this Senator means well, this law would hurt the very people (the poor) that he says he is protecting. As bad as the fraud has been, less than 10% of the mortgages originated within the last five years are projected to be foreclosed upon.

Keep your ears open, this very well may be typical political pandering. However if this law progresses, you may want to shoot off a letter to your Congressman and Senator. Blagoyavich has also proposed an Illinois law that basically makes it illegal to be a mortgage broker in this state. This is another over reaction to current events.

[Havasu]

Which Senator was this?

[stewartthrower]

I believe the Senator was Charlie Rangel.

[Windy City John]

BUY NOW! otherwise you'll miss the market