Things to be Thankful For

With Thanksgiving around the corner, and the toughest economic times our industry has seen in decades, we thought it might be a good time to put together a Top 10 List of Things to be Thankful For in the Chicago Housing Market. There are regional benefits of why the Midwest is a great place to live, like the fact that the Great Lakes account for 20% of the world’s fresh water supply and that global warming has extended our growing season by weeks. And if you hang around long enough, the Midwest will be the most desirable retirement region to live in because the south will be too hot!

Things have changed a bit in the last few months in our market, so join us in looking at what we can be thankful for:

1. Looks like the Chicago housing market hit bottom in August of this year
2. Home sales increased for the 4th consecutive month compared to the same months in 2008
3. First time homebuyer tax credit of $8,000 was extended until Jun 2010, and existing homebuyers can receive a tax credit of $6,500
4. Developers, investors and builders are back in the Chicago market buying land
5. Months of supply is currently at 7.8, down from a January 2009 high of 17 months
6. Home prices seem to be stabilizing
7. New construction homes are selling at 3-5 units per month at some west suburban projects
8. Interest rates remain historically low
9. "Only" 900 condo units are expected to be completed in the City of Chicago in 2010, far below the 4,155 and 4,061 condo units completed in 2008 and 2009 respectively
10. There remains pent-up demand that will come out of the woodwork in our market to help spur sales in 2010 and beyond
    

Happy Thanksgiving! We look forward to seeing you at Navigating the Chicago Real Estate Market in 2010 on December 3rd at 8am. For more information on the event, click here.