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Posts in category "unemployment"

It doesn't pay to be a small business today

Small businesses are struggling. Just ask John Robinson. He’s executive vice president with the Indianapolis office of Jones Lang LaSalle, a commercial real estate company. When he looks at the commercial real estate market across Indianapolis and its suburbs, he notices one thing: Those tenants that want to lease space in the 10,000- to 30,000-square-foot... Read more »
By DanRafter,
September 29, 2010 at 8:53 pm
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Why so stressed out Chicago?

Trying to get to work each morning in the Chicago area is no easy task. Housing values here are falling. The unemployment rate in Chicago stood at 10.5 percent in July, higher than the national average. And a new report from the Federal Reserve said that the economy in Chicago is actually slowing. It’s all... Read more »
By DanRafter,
September 13, 2010 at 2:31 pm
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Looking to sell a Chicago home today? The basics matter

Suzy Frederickson The latest numbers are enough to make owners think twice before putting their residences on the market: According to the latest figures from the National Association of Realtors, July housing sales across the country fell by 27.2 percent. July sales represented a 15-year low, and the biggest one month drop in housing sales... Read more »
By DanRafter,
August 29, 2010 at 2:19 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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Are you a 99er? Then you've probably lost your house already

Are you a 99er? If so, my thoughts are with you. For those who don’t know, a 99er is someone who’s been jobless for more than 99 weeks. This is significant because these people will no longer receive federal unemployment benefits. Congress in July voted to extend these benefits for people who’ve been looking for... Read more »
By DanRafter,
August 9, 2010 at 8:11 pm
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You can wallow in bad economic times or you can do something about it

Bob Brehmer I interview a lot of people these days about residential and commercial real estate. If you understand anything about the world of freelance writing today, you know this: It’s not the easiest way to make a living. Print magazines and newspapers are shutting down across the country. For freelance writers, this means more... Read more »
By DanRafter,
July 14, 2010 at 8:04 pm
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Real estate slump impacts more than just agents, loan officers

Real estate slump impacts more than just agents, loan officers
Wayne Smith The long real estate slump hasn’t been kind to Chicago real estate agents and mortgage lenders. There’s no arguing this. But these real estate professionals aren’t the only ones hurting because of the housing slowdown in the city. Last month, I interviewed Wayne Smith, president of Chicago’s Pioneer Engineering and Environmental Services. Developers... Read more »
By DanRafter,
July 8, 2010 at 10:24 am
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Real estate and the interconnected world

Robb Bagguley has seen plenty of real estate slumps. But he’s never seen a slump like the one the United States is currently suffering. Bagguley is president of the Midwest region of Transwestern, a commercial real estate company based in Chicago. This slump is different, he says, for one big reason: it’s global. “In previous... Read more »
By DanRafter,
July 6, 2010 at 9:21 pm
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Agents in Illinois like Obama; they don't in most of the rest of the country

Did you know that most real estate agents don’t like the job that Pres. Barack Obama is doing? I didn’t, at least not until I read the 2010 second quarter home prices survecy released by HomeGain. Local Obama supporters, though, shouldn’t be overly dismayed; Illinois is one of the few states in which homeowners and... Read more »
By DanRafter,
June 25, 2010 at 11:35 am
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Some hope from a Chicago transplant

Cleveland isn’t nearly as bad a place to live as its reputation suggests. Michael Glass calls himself a Chicagoan. “I was born and raised in Chicago,” he told me during a recent interview. Today, though, Glass lives and works in Cleveland. Don’t joke. Cleveland is a much better place to live than you might think... Read more »
By DanRafter,
June 24, 2010 at 9:45 pm
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