Chicago & North Shore Home Buyer

Evanston Dog Beach Near Church & Lake Streets.

  With warmer temperatures, especially this Sunday, in the 80's, the dog beach in Evanston should be pretty entertaining.  I just got my dog ready for some fun and sun on the beach this summer.  The Evanston Dog Beach is located near the Church Street Boat Launch facility where Church and Lake Streets meet at the lake.

  Come on out and meet some of the nicest people, and dogs,  in Evanston.  After all they are dog lovers so they must be nice, and rumor has it that some of these folks have cats too.  For more information go to the following link http://cityofevanston.org/parks-recreation/beaches/dog-beach/ .  There you will find a down loadable information packet, with all the specifics.   The cost is $60 for Evanston residents, and all dogs must have a current rabies, distemper, hepatitis, parainfluenza, parvovirus, bordetella (kennel cough) and leptospirosisrabies vaccinations.

  I am always amazed at how many dogs plow into the water this time of year.  I mean that lake was a big ice cube just a month or so ago.  My dog isn't too keen on the water this time of year, he barley got his feet wet.  Later as the water warms, he will go in deeper.  But, those Labs, man they just love this stuff.

  I'm the one with Archie, the tan and black German Sheppard / Greyhound with the silly ears.

Broker Tour Day April 5 In Evanston, Many Co-Op Apartments Seen.

 I try to tour every Tuesday in Evanston, because, I like to see what is on the market.  Usually I see the new listings and price changes.  This week there were almost 30 open houses, and I only got to see twelve.  We only have between 9:30 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. to see all that there is to see, so between traffic and parking, a lot of time gets eaten up traveling between listings.  Hmmm...maybe this year I'll try using a bike, definitely a green alternative, and healthy too.

  This week had a lot co-operative open houses.   Co-operative homes are different from condominiums in a couple of ways.  First of all in a co-op the property is actually held by the co-op corporation, each unit, or apartment, in the co-op is represented by shares.  Most co-operatives also require a down payment of 20% or more.  And the co-op directors want to know a lot more about your finances, your employment, employment history, and so on.  Many in have pet restrictions, and you probably will not be allowed to lease out your apartment.

  If it all seems to restrictive to you, then perhaps a co-op is not for you.  Co-operative owners, are actually people who care a great deal about their home and neighbors.  They want to know that they are living among trusted individuals.  I have had the pleasure of living in a co-operative, and I really found living in such a situation not very restricted at all.

  The shares are mostly based on the square footage of a unit as well as location.  So a unit with say 1000 square feet on the first floor may be granted 500 shares, and a similar unit on the seventh floor may be granted 525 shares.  Logic being that the upper floors are a better location, therefore, allotted more shares.  Your monthly assessment is based on the number of shares you own.  Your assessment is paid to the co-op corporation, which in turn pays the property taxes, utilities, maintenance, insurance, staff, lawn care, and snow removal.  The number of shares is also the number of votes that you have.

  At least once a year co-operatives have an annual meeting where major decisions are made.  Such as the election of new board members, or if this is the year we paint the common areas, or should we levy special assessments for a new roof because life is miserable for the folks on the seventh floor.  As always groups of individuals will lobby for some special some thing, like nicer tacky art in the main lobby, or narrower parking spaces in an already overcrowded parking area.  At the end there are usually coffee, tea and deserts, which you won't get any because your a deep conversation with one of your neighbors.

  Any how co-operative living can be really quite nice, and one reason I liked it was because every one was concerned about each other.  The one common goal is to have a nice place to call home, and in Evanston, most of the co-ops are really very nice and well maintain places to call home.

Buyers Have A Lot To Look At In Evanston...Home Inventories Are Up.

The spring real estate market is here.  Attendance at Sunday open house presentations have been pretty good.  Last Sunday I had six groups come to my showing at a vintage 2 bedroom condo East of Chicago Avenue and South of Dempster.  The week before I had nine at a 3 bedroom condo near Sherman and Grove, and another seven at a single family home near Evanston Hospital.

 

Broker open houses have also been up, last Tuesday there were over 50 open houses for brokers and sales agents.  I try to see as many as I can in a 3 hour & 15 min period, mostly new listings, and price change listings.  Even at that I may see from 12 to 18 listings...ahhh well there are diminishing returns.  But, the ones that stand out are usually priced well and show well.

 

Inventories Are Heading Up Again!

Evanston had 265 active listings, as of March 31, 2011, in the Detached or Single Family Residence category. Over the last six months 141 were sold or pending, (17+124=141), that means there were about 23.5 closings per month.  With the current inventory of 265 it could take about 11.3 months to sell that inventory.  Click here to see table with price point break down for single family homes.

There are 500 active listings in the  Condos, Townhouses, and Coops category on March 31, 2011.  Over the last six months 158 were sold or pending (23 + 135= 158).  Closed listings were about 26.3 per  month.  Given the current inventory of 500 properties, it will take a little more than 19 months to sell off those properties.  Click here to see table with price point break down for condos, coops, and town homes.

Higher inventories put more downward pressure on prices, and increase days on the market.  Sellers need to determine if there home will be the next home sold this month, given that only about 24 home will sell this month.  Also, buyers need to determine if they want to time the market.  I would say that timing the market can be very chancy. 

 

 

Waiting For Home Prices To Decline?

Housing affordability has never been so low.  The fact that interest rates are still low, there is a huge inventory, and list prices are also very low.  How long will this situation last is unknown.  A rise in interest rates on mortgages has been in the news for months now. However, due to unseen events, interest rates are being held down because many of the grand pubahs of international finance continue to believe that the United States is still one of the best places to put their money.

For example lets take a look at a home purchase of $300,000, a conventional loan with a 30 year pay back, and 20% down payment.  You are financing a mortgage for $240,000.00 and at an interest rate of 5.375% your monthly payment will be $1,343.94.  Now suppose interest rates go up one percent to 6.375%.  The new monthly mortgage payment increases to $1,497.28 almost a 12% increase and an additional expense of over $55,0000 over the life of the loan.

Suppose that $1.343.94 was the maximum that you wanted to pay each month for your mortgage.  It looks like you can no longer afford the $300,000 home.  You can however, afford to buy a home for $269,645 with a 20% down payment, you will be financing $215,700 netting you a monthly mortgage payment of $1,345.69.

Interest rates will go up and when they do, that is when your purchasing power will be diluted.

  

Life With Out Fannie And Freddie?

Will there be life in the mortgage market with out Fannie and Freddie?  I believe we have not seen the end of Fannie and Freddie just yet.  They will probably become what it was meant to be, a place for people of limited means to get a mortgage to buy their homes.  There was a time when people got their first home with a mortgage through Fannie or Freddie.  It was a place where people would have their credit worthiness seasoned.  Timely mortgage payments and proper use of credit could eventually help one to qualify for a larger loans at lower interest rates.

Banks will probably get back into the mortgage market, heck, maybe even local banks will get into the act as well.  Take it a step farther, banks might even hold the loans and not sell them in bundles to Wall Street.  I mean the concept of banks reinvesting in the local economy is just mind boggling.  What was once an old concept…is new again!

But, look for interest rates to be four to six percent higher than the prime rate.  Also, look initially to higher down payments, and higher mortgage insurance rates.  As competition between banks increase, there could be variations as to down payments and interest rates.  There is also talk of the demise of the 30 year fixed mortgage.  We may see more 15 year mortgages with a balloon payment at term, or more 5 year adjustable rates mortgages, but, I think we will still see the 30 year fixed rate mortgage.