Chicago Real Estate Blog

According to Valuation Review the sales of newly built, single-family homes inched up 1.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 307,000 units in October, according to newly released data from the U.S. Commerce Department. The gain is from a downwardly revised rate in the previous month, and marks the best pace of new-home sales activity since this May.

"Builders have been seeing some marginal improvement in sales activity over the past few months, particularly in select markets where consumer confidence is higher due to improved economic conditions," said Bob Nielsen, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a homebuilder from Reno, Nev. "While this trend is encouraging, overall sales activity is still well below normal due to the effects of overly tight credit conditions for builders and buyers, the continued flow of distressed properties on the market, and inaccurate appraisal values on new homes."

"[The] report is right in line with our forecast for modest and gradual improvement in sales activity through the remainder of the year," said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. "Particularly encouraging is the fact that builders continue to hold down their inventories to match the current sales rate, with the number of new homes for sale now down to a sustainable, 6.3-month supply."

Regionally, new-home sales held unchanged in the Northeast and gained 22.2 percent in the Midwest and 14.9 percent in the West in October. The South was the only region to post a decline, of 9.5 percent.

The nationwide inventory of new homes for sale held at an all-time record low of just 162,000 units in October, which is a 6.3-month supply at the current sales pace.

As U.S. home prices continue to fall, property owners in most major U.S. cities are demanding lower taxes, Bloomberg reported Dec. 8. Bloomberg reported specifically on states such as Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, California and Illinois.

Real estate values plunged 30 percent below their peak of April 2006, according to the third quarter S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values in 20 cities, released Nov. 30. Values may drop 10 percent more, Greg Lippmann, a founder of LibreMax Capital LLC, said Dec. 2 at the Hedge Funds New York Conference hosted by Bloomberg Link.

In the Midwest, Illinois may have 19,350 property appeals in 2010, 10 percent more than in 2009, Louis Apostol, executive director of the state’s Property Tax Appeal Board, told Bloomberg. The backlog amounts to about 35,000 claims, of which more than 80 percent come from homeowners and the board approves an average of 30 percent of them, he said.

According to a new report released today from the real estate website Zillow.com, home values decreased 6.6% year-over-year to a Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI) of $189,600. Values also fell in the short-term, changing -1.1% from August to September. The ZHVI measures the value of all homes, not just those that sold in a particular period.

The online real estate tracker also reported that 12.4% of Chicago homes’ values increased in September, while 82.4% decreased.

A large percentage of all sales in September were foreclosure re-sales (REO sales). Nationally, foreclosure re-sales made up 20.1% of all sales.

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Labels: Chicago Metro Zillow Home Value Index

Sunday October 10th visit historic Pullman

One weekend each year, Pullman residents open their homes to the public for the annual Historic Pullman House Tour. These 120-year-old landmark homes range from executive mansions to 14-foot wide worker's cottages to multi-unit apartments, all with a charm and uniqueness that is part of the Pullman experience. Tour homes open 11:00am to 5:00pm.

Historic Pullman Visitor Center, 11141 S. Cottage Grove Avenue, Chicago, IL

www.pullmanil.org