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Posts in category "buying a condo"

Resisting the temptation to declare the start of a Chicago housing market rebound

The March sales numbers from the Illinois Association of Realtors were good for Chicago. Not only did the number of condo and single-family home sales in the city rise during the month, so did the median price of these sales. That last point is important. For months, city of Chicago home sales have been rising... Read more »
By DanRafter,
April 21, 2012 at 7:21 pm
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Let's apologize media: There really was a housing bubble

A recent reader of my blog — check one post down — took me to task a bit, asking me, in essence, why the media so often get a free pass for the role they played in the housing boom and bust that sent the country into the Great Recession. Well, that reader is right... Read more »
By DanRafter,
April 19, 2012 at 1:24 pm
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Single home buyers do it for the money -- and the independence

There was a time when people waited until they were married to buy a home. That’s been an old-fashioned notion for a while now. A recent survey by Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, though, confirms that single buyers are accounting for an ever-increasing percentage of today’s home buyers. Coldwell Banker last year conducted a national survey... Read more »
By DanRafter,
April 16, 2011 at 1:48 pm
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Chicagoans and their credit scores: We're middling

Credit scores are king today. Mortgage lenders and banks rely on them to determine to whom they pass out loans and at what interest rates. How are Chicagoans doing when it comes to credit scores? Not great, but OK, as it turns out. National credit bureau Experian — the scummy folks behind all those advertisements... Read more »
By DanRafter,
October 5, 2010 at 1:50 pm
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Chicagoans can't keep still, apparently

There are a lot of us in Chicago who don’t like where we live. Not the city, of course. We like that. We just want to live somewhere else in it. At least that’s what the latest numbers from Movers.com, an online provider of moving information, seem to suggest. Movers.com released its latest round of... Read more »
By DanRafter,
October 1, 2010 at 11:58 am
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Want a home that's more attractive to buyers? Live by the Metra

Living close to a Metra station is a good financial move. When my family and I were looking for a new home four years ago, we searched until we found one within walking distance — or bike-riding distance if we’re in a rush — of a Metra station. Turns out, that was a wise financial... Read more »
By DanRafter,
September 18, 2010 at 2:43 pm
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When does renting out that hard-to-sell Chicago condo make sense?

When does it make sense to move from trying to sell your Chicago condo to trying to rent it? For Adam Hrejsa, that point came after he reduced the asking price of his condo in Chicago’s River West neighborhood twice. When his real estate agent suggested he reduce the price a third time, Hrejsa took... Read more »
By DanRafter,
September 9, 2010 at 8:32 pm
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Want to sell your home quickly? Get rid of those smells

The smell of cigarette smoke can scuttle your housing sale. My wife and I were looking at a nice home: It was a brick bungalow, well within our price range and large enough for our family. Problem was, it smelled. The entire place reeked of cat urine. That outweighed the hardwood floors, impressive first-floor staircase... Read more »
By DanRafter,
August 30, 2010 at 2:34 pm
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Here's the scary part: There's no rule that housing has to appreciate

We’re all waiting for housing values to start to rise again. Right? I know I am: I’m underwater on my home, owing more on my mortgage loan than what my house is worth. I’d love for this to change. But what if it doesn’t? That’s the question that a recent New York Times story ponders... Read more »
By DanRafter,
August 23, 2010 at 10:45 pm
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First-time homebuyers still face challenges

First-time homebuyers still face challenges
Buying a home today is supposed to be easier than ever for first-time home buyers. Sellers are desperate, and are willing to compromise on everything from sales price to repairs to closing dates. At the same time, housing inventories are high, meaning that buyers have plenty of homes from which to choose. But Greg McCoy... Read more »
By DanRafter,
August 18, 2010 at 11:31 am
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