Ramblings of a Realtor - My New Blog

• In the Chicagoland Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area (PMSA), September 2011 home sales, including single-family homes and condos, tallied 6,035. That’s up 13.3 percent from September 2010.

• The median home price in the Chicagoland PMSA for September 2011 was $160,000, down 8.6 percent compared to September 2010.

• In the City of Chicago, September 2011 home sales, including single-family homes and condos, totaled 1,498, up 6.8 percent from September 2010.

• The median September 2011 home price in the city was $190,000, up 5.6 percent from September 2010.

• In the North Central Illinois region, the monthly average commitment rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was 4.09 percent in September 2011, according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation.

• September home sales seemed to be stabilizing in the City of Chicago, as evidenced by an increase in both single family home and condo sales.

• Yet while we are seeing some gain in home sales volume, prices remain lower and economists expect to see more sales among homes priced at less than $100,000.

• Economists forecast positive total home sales in October and November on a month-to-month and year-over-year basis.

• Interest rates remain historically low and prices continue to be compelling. Nonetheless, consumer confidence is hampered by the continuing effects of unemployment and the slow economy.

• The Chicago Association of REALTORS®, other housing groups and real estate associations continue to press for home financing reforms and mortgage refinance programs for homeowners facing foreclosure.

• Third-quarter commercial real estate vacancy rates were flat because economic growth and job creation have been weaker than expected, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.

• Modest improvements are expected in the commercial sector over the coming year. Healthy recovery is already occurring in the multifamily sector, with the average apartment rent expected to rise 2.5 percent this year and another 3.2 percent in 2012.

• From the third quarter of this year to the third quarter of 2012, NAR forecasts commercial vacancy rates to decline by 0.3 percent in the office sector, 0.6 percent in the industrial sector, 0.7 percent in the retail sector and 0.9 percent among multifamily rentals.