"You've Caught the NET!"

THE CHICAGO IL REAL ESTATE MARKET, AND OTHER THINGS CHICAGO, FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF A LITTLE WHITE DOG!

Ok, you warm-weather dogs!   You Floridians.  You Californians.  You Texans, or Carolinans.  You can gloat now, if you'd like!

YES, IT DOES SNOW HERE IN CHICAGO!  Often, quite a lot.  Despite what you've heard, however, we've barely scratched the Top 20 snowiest winters with this season's 50.9 inches of accumulated snowfall.  Even tonight's predicted 1-3", more near the Wisconsin State Line, will drop us in the 17th ranking or so.  And this will be the 35th snowfall of the season here - since way back in 1928, the annual winter average has been 30 snow events each year.

But there is another 6 weeks left to the traditional Chicago snow season, folks, so anything is possible!

The snowiest winter in Chicago - the Winter of 1978-79, when an incredible 89.7 inches of snow fell on the city between November, 1978 and April, 1979.  There were four major snow events in January alone, each with its own 12-inch-plus snowfall!

The previous winter, 1977-78, collected 82.3 inches of snow, during a season that included nearly a whole week in January of temperatures sub-20-degrees BELOW zero.

When was the biggest one-storm snow event in Chicago?  We older City Boomers remember that - it was January 26-27, 1967.  A total of 23.0 inches of heavy, wet snow fell in roughly a 24-hour period then, giving Chicago Public School students, including our Team Leader Dean, several rare Chicago snow days.  (The storm also gave O'Hare Airport several snow days - in fact, all of the grown up humans living in Chicago had about three snow days that January!)

Chicago recorded at 22.5" snowfall on New Years Day, 1999 - but most of that snowfall melted in rare mild early January temperatures within the next 10 days.

Here is a website tracking comparative winter snowfalls during Chicago Winter Seasons dating back to the 1880's.    Also, please check out our Blog Post on our Team Blog Center - BlogChicagoHomes.com - for my further canine insights on Chicago's Snowiest Winters.

Hey, my Four-Pawed Friends - we can take a little snow up here!  You Bulldogs down in Georgia - they would call out the National Guard if it snowed more than an inch or so in your backyard!

If you're ever near the Dean's Team World Headquarters, in a basement on Western Avenue in the Lincoln Square Neighborhood of Chicago - Bark Twice!   The snow muffles mamby-pamby barks!

And, bring a shovel!

YOUR ACE REPORTER ON FOUR PAWS,

BUDDY HOLLY MOSS & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO

Hey, gang!

The more you know about the real estate market here in Chicago, the better you understand we don't have just ONE market here.  There are DOZENS of micro-markets!

Some Chicago Neighborhoods and suburbs are selling well - although, globally, price points have dropped.  Others are struggling, especially in areas where middle and lower middle class buyers made high-leverage, stated-income, and sub-prime loans predominant.

The following blew my mind when I read it, however -

According to RealtyTrac - the company that compiles and sells foreclosure leads to Real Estate Practitioners - foreclosures across the U.S. went up 57%, year to year, from January, 2007 to January of this year.  Here in Chicago, however, they actually DROPPED 8 percent, year to year.

In Cook County - the county in which Chicago is located - foreclosure filings were FLAT year over year.  The "collar" counties surrounding Chicago were all over the map!

Will County, south and west of the city, experienced a 40% drop in filings between January, 2007 and January, 2008.  In Kane County, west of town, foreclosures fell 7% year to year.   They dropped36% in McHenry County, far northwest of Chicago, bordering on Wisconsin. 

Foreclosure filings did increase 22% in DuPage County within the last year, while ex-urban Kendall County, one of the fastest-growing areas in the Chicago Metro Area, but a nearly 90 minute daily commute to The Loop, suffered a 78% surge in foreclosure filings.

T. J. McKinney, a spokesman for the Chicago-based Illinois Foreclosure Listing Service, an independent mortgage data research firm. says the reason behind the drop is hard to explain. "Possible factors may include the holiday court schedule delaying filings by attorneys, lenders working more diligently with homeowners to postpone foreclosures or the gradual tightening of lending standards that began in late 2006 and early 2007."

In any event, the numbers show, despite public perception, that the nationwide increase in foreclosure filings is not global to every area of the country.  Although foreclosures are happening with high visibility here, and although many unqualified borrowers took advantage of unwise funding programs to get into their new home, the comparative lower levels of housing speculation here in Chicago may have kept our housing market in better check now, in 2008.

For more info, and links to a story by Mary Umberger and Alex Viega's story in the February 26th Edition of The Chicago Tribune, as well as links to RealtyTrac Foreclosure Data, please visit our Team Blog Center, and our posting today at BlogChicagoHomes.com.

DEAN & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO

Hope you're having a productive afternoon, everyone!   The snow is beginning to melt here in Chicago!

I'm sure you've heard by now of Starbucks publicity-laden move to close their stores last night for three hours to "re-educate" their barista crews and other staff on how to make better coffee, and make visiting a Starbucks a better customer experience.  Read "The Stew," the Chicago Tribune Food and Wine Blog, for reader comments and related video.

Competitor Dunkin Donuts countered the Starbuck's publicity stunt by offering free latte drinks most of the afternoon and late into the night yesterday - I tried a cup, and it was pretty good, although the "atmosphere" left much to be desired, under the Western Avenue Brown Line L Tracks in the Lincoln Square Neighborhood of Chicago, just down the street from our offices.

McDonald's is jumping onto the Premium Coffee bandwagon in a big way.  7-11will not be far behind!  Obviously, the once-seemingly-invincible Starbucks is feeling the heat, and feels the need to "retool' a bit in light of intense competition

Hey, what's all this have to do with real estate?  Plenty!

How many times have you ran into the neighborhood Starbucks not only for your morning joe, but to tap their wi-fi connection to verify comps on your way to a Listing Presentation or Market Analysis?  I would wager you have met buyer clients at a Starbucks in the area they are considering moving - laptop in hand, blank purchase contracts in briefcase?  Have you stopped in and treated clients after a long day of viewing properties - often times, an Iced Latte is a more appropriate peace offering than a shot and a beer!

For many of us, Starbucks has provided a convenient, hip, friendly oasis to meet and entertain clients.  You expect each store to be clean.  You expect the service to be predictably friendly and knowledgeable.  You expect the other customers to be respectful.  You even demand that the bathrooms be beyond reproach.  In your mind's eye, most fast food joints, convenience stores, gas stations, and even independent coffee shops might not measure up, so you go with what you know.  Right?

Well, the buzz, and the growing feeling, among consumers and Starbucks management alike, is that their once-unassailable star is starting to tarnish a bit.  Service in some busy stores is often lackluster during busy periods.  Cleanliness, on the tables, and in the washrooms - sub-par.  The clientele - sometimes, not as respectful as you might like.

It's tough to believe that a three-hour "Religion" meeting involving Starbucks employees would do much more than tell the PUBLIC the chain is getting the message, and wants to raise the bar of quality coffee, food, and service.   But - is it too little, too late?

Can you still rely on Starbucks Coffee to provide the products, service, and environment you need to conduct business with clients you value while you are on the road?  Would love your shares here!

You know, last year, Sue and I vacationed in Aruba.  What a strange place - no Starbucks down there . . . not yet, anyway!  I guess, if you are a Real Estate Practitioner working on that beautiful Caribbean island, you finalize transactions over a rum drink, or local beer.  Perhaps - that's a much better, even less stressful, business environment - heh?

Enjoy the rest of your day - and don't over-caffeinate!

DEAN & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO

It wasn't that long ago - 2005, to be exact - that home prices in most parts of the U.S. were flying high.  So to were sales by national do-it-yourself retailers such as Lowe's, and industry-leader The Home Depot.

Right here in Chicago, and all over the suburbs, contractors were busy completing new kitchens, baths, family rooms, and decks for many proud new homeowners.

Apparently, these home improvement retailers, and professional trades people, are seeing their businesses affected by the shifting housing market as well.

Some might think that a weak housing market might create a bit of a "bunker mentality" - "We're not buying, some might say, so we'll improve the house we now own!"

Countering that thought are recent studies indicating that the vast majority of home improvement dollars are spent within nine months of a new home purchase.  Fewer homes purchased, few home improvement dollars spent!

Indeed, Home Depot saw its earnings fall 27.5% for the Fourth Quarter, 2007.  Competitor Lowe's saw a 33% earnings decline.  Sales of cabinets, fixtures, and materials for re-doing kitchens, baths, decks, and family rooms severely declined for both companies last quarter.  Coupled with declines in prices for building materials, such as lumber and wall board, due to weakened demand, Home Depot's average customer sales ticket dropped below $55, and 2007 was the first year in Home Depot's 30-year history they posted an annual sales decline.

Many home improvement contractors also saw their business drop, as tightening consumer credit made it more difficult for many homeowners to tap home equity for home improvement funds.  A couple of years ago, HELOC draws were as automatic as the sun rising for most homeowners.

Most building professionals see the home improvement slump mirroring the housing market shift, with weakness projected to continue at least through the end of 2008.

Read our post today on our BlogChicagoHomes.com Blog Center for more information, as well as relevant links to Mary Umberger's column in last Sunday's of The Chicago Tribune.  We also linked to today's Wall Street Journal story by Mary Ellen Lloyd, discussing key sales and earnings figures for Home Depot and Lowe's.

DEAN & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO

By now, you've heard about the continued weak sales pace nationally for single-family homes and condos.  The 0.4% drop year-over-year in January, 2008 is the sixth straight month of declines across the U.S.  The annualized sales estimate of 4.89 Million Units Projected Sold is the weakest projection since 1999.

Median sales prices also fell across the country in January, 2008, versus January, 2007, to $201,100 - down 4.6% from a year ago.  National Absorption Rate, or the theoretical time to clear existing home inventory, jumped to 10.3 months in January, from 9.7 months in December, 2007 - just off the record national high of 10.5 months set in October of last year.

The median sales price here in Chicago IL, and the suburbs, far exceeds the national median, at $239,700 (the State of Illinois Median in January was $189,400 - down 5.3% from a year ago).  The Chicago figure, however, is actually down over 2 percent from January of last year.

Units sold in the Chicago Metro Area, however, are off 34% over last year.  In many areas of the City of Chicago and the surrounding suburbs, theoretical levels of inventory exceed 24 months, and the likelihood of selling during a normal marketing time frame of six months, often less than one in five.

From a subjective level, our Team members are seeing stalling and hesitancy from many of the buyer clients we are working with.  They seem to feel prices are still on the downswing - it would be foolish to buy now, when you can wait a while, and save more money, in many buyer's opinions.

Sellers are beginning to understand the market is shifting lower in price, but many are still quite reluctant to drop their asking prices, or start their marketing at a new, prudent price level.  Often, as a Listing Agent, I feel like a Military Family Emissary, knocking at a family's door with very dire news.  Very disconcerting!

Please read our post today at BlogChicagoHomes.com, our Dean's Team Chicago Real Estate Blog.  Here, you'll see links to more detailed discussion in today's Chicago Tribune and the online edition of Crain's Chicago Business.

DEAN & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO

Happy New Week, Everyone -

Here are updated Chicago Real Estate Market Stats for the week ending February 25, 2008.

Total Active Listings increased this week - perhaps more sellers are listing their properties in advance of the Spring selling season - but not a substantial jump.  Properties Pending Sale still sluggish.  Sales Volume up this week to just better than average levels over the last 4 weeks, and Average Sales Price about the same, washing a considerable drop last week.   The Average Market Time still very high.

Absorption Rate and Percentage of Sale Within Six Month (180 Days) remain stubbornly high.  In aggregate, a over a four-year theoretical supply of properties for sale exists in the North and Northwest Side of Chicago areas we serve. The chances of selling a home within a normal six-month marketing time frame dipped to 22.02%, very close to last week's 22.92% figure - still very high!

Extremely high inventory, and weakened demand, continues to impact the Real Estate Market on the North and Northwest Sides of the City of Chicago.

Communities and clients we serve reside, or plan to reside, in the Chicago Neighborhoods of The Chicago Loop, The Gold Coast, River North, Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Uptown, Edgewater, North Center, Lincoln Square, Albany Park, Ravenswood, Wicker Park, and Bucktown. 

Also, these Great Chicago Neighborhoods: Logan Square, Rogers Park , West Ridge, Portage Park, Jefferson Park, Norwood Park, Sauganash, Edgebrook, and Edison Park.   Plus All Chicago Suburbs. 

SINGLE FAMILY, CONDOS, AND SMALL MULTI-UNIT PROPERTIES - NORTH SIDE OF CHICAGO, NORTH OF ADDISON STREET, WEST OF ASHLAND AVENUE

Remember, our Chicago IL Real Estate Stats Pack Archive is viewable via our Team Blog Center - BlogChicagoHomes.com. 

Contact us if you have any questions about the Chicago Real Estate Market, and trends within any Chicago Neighborhood,  or suburb nearby. 

DEAN & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO

Here in Chicago this Sunday morning, it's cool, crisp - and sunny!  Hope its beautiful where you are.  Relax - it's Sunday Morning!

Buyer's Agents?  Do you have any FENCE SITTERS among your currently-active clients.  You know the type - they are waiting for prices to drop even further?  Or, they they are scared about higher loan cost due to stricter underwriting requirements or PMI on low down payment loans?  Or, they are freaked out by those boarded-up homes they see every once in a while - not just on "60 Minutes," but in the actual neighborhoods they are looking in?

Right now, our Buyer's Specialist Kathleen Weaver-Zech is working with three couples considering buying a small home or condo here in Chicago.  Each one of them, however, continues to be procrastinating before pulling the trigger on what seems to be nice properties, well priced in today's market. 

We still see a few sellers here in Chicago that don't realize the real estate market has shifted here!  In a surprising survey conducted by Harris Interactive for Zillow.com, 2/3 of home sellers questioned feel their own home values have either remained stable or INCREASED since 2007.  They feel the objective market statistics DO NOT APPLY TO THEM!

Many buyers we encounter today are running scared!   They don't want to pay too much, and don't want to get in over their heads.  In our opinion, it's important to explain to them that today's market does indeed offer some very good reasons to buy NOW.  A few of these -

1.  LESS COMPETITION FOR NICE HOMES.  As we all remember quite well, many properties sold in MULTIPLE OFFERS just a couple of years ago.  Many homes sold considerably over their asking prices.  Investors, expecting quick returns on flips, would drive up prices on cheapest properties.  Today, investors just can't justify the same attractive return, and there are fewer buyers competing to buy.  A more attractive purchase price usually results.

2.  ATTRACTIVE MORTGAGE RATES.  Mortgage rates are still quite affordable.  For home buyers with strong credit, loans can be had between 5.75 and 6.25 percent.  Buyers with some down payment money can still find an attractive rate and loan program.

3.  LESS RUSH TO ACT.   Contrary to many buyers behavior, less competition is not license to procrastinate!  As we all know, the nicer homes still sell for good money, and often quickly - if they have good value.

4.  INSPECTION ITEMS AND REPAIRS.  Unless the home seller in in distress (estate, foreclosure, or short-sale)buyers today rarely have to purchase many homes "as-is," waiving their right to inspection.  We're not talking here about building minor blemishes into big price re-negotiations.  As we all know, however, it  was tougher to address even the some serious items when the market was more robust, in 2005, 2006.

5.  FLEXIBILITY IN NEGOTIATION.   Today, everybody fancies themselves as Howie Mandel on "Deal or No Deal" - some buyers fell they have free reign to get their new house dirt cheap - and that sellers are desperate to move.  Some sellers are are indeed offering discounts today, over what they would have offered, or will offer, during more balanced or seller-oriented markets.   When the market gets closer to a balanced state, as most experts predict it will - time uncertain - many of these "bargains" will most likely disappear. 

Check out our post today via our Dean's Team Blog Center - BlogChicagoHomes.com.  Here you'll also find links to Lew Sichelman's article in today's Chicago Tribune. 

Please, tell your PROCRASTINATING CLIENTS considering Chicago - come out and BUY, while the opportunity is great!

DEAN & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO

Hey, everyone, from icy Chicago!

Many years ago, my very rich uncle from St. Louis gave this young kid some valuable pieces of business.  One,"You don't get rich by WORKING HARD - you get rich by MOTIVATING OTHERS TO WORK HARD with you!"

Today, however, let's focus on the classic saying, that I bet your rich uncle gave to you, too - "It's not what you MAKE, it's what you SPEND!"

How many of our clients earn a lot of money each year, but, net-net, they are actually BROKE. (One physician client of mine comes to my mind here - his and hers BMW's, great colleges for their two kids, the finest home, the finest things - but only had a 570 credit score, and couldn't qualify recently for a home loan).  But, they are DOCTORS - beware the wolf in sheep's clothing!

But what about US?   They say the shoemaker's children have no shoes - but, often times, perhaps we don't practice as we preach - and I am including myself in that group!

Within the last three months in our business, we have trimmed quite a bit of fat out of our operating budget, without sacrificing our lead generation, business-building, or training activities.   Here are a few of the larger itemized adjustments - please share yours with us -

BIG TICKET ITEM                              OLD COST/MO                    NEW COST/MO                   SAVINGS/MO

Auto Lease - Honda                                       $555                            $343                                  $212

Accord EX-L 4 cyl vs

Acura RL 6-cyl 4WD

Gas For Business Car  -                                   $280                            $211                                    $69

Regular vs Premium,

16MPG City vs 13MPG

Visual Tour Flat Fee vs.                                    $225                             $39                                   $186

Virtual Tour per Tour

MOZY.COM Online                                            $75                                $5                                    $70

Back-up vs Connected.com

Print ad schedule deleted                                  $150                              $0                                 $150

"Under Performing" Web                                  $100                              $0                                  $100 

Services - (E-neighborhoods,

Connecting Neighbors,

Realtor.com

Separate Web Site)

Health Insurance- GTL vs                                $1,073                        $472                                  $601

Blue Cross, similar coverage

TOTAL MO. SAVINGS THUS FAR                      $2,458                   $1,070                              $1,488

(Still Looking to Further Economize)

THAT'S NEARLY $1,500 SAVED MONTHLY, IN 2008, JUST BY BETTER STUDYING MY BUDGET AND TRIMMING A LOT OF FAT!  Projected Annual Savings - $17,856!

During the stronger market of a couple of years ago - I would rarely scrutinize by budget this way.   Quite frankly - never thought I needed to, because we were RIDING HIGH!   Imagine the savings if we would have!

Haven't even touched the personal side here - expensive vacations, dinners out and entertainment, etc.   But you know we can give these discretionary items a bit of a work out as well.

Let me know if you think I'm out of my mind for thinking this way - but, in today's market, and in ANY market, you have to give as sharp a look at money GOING OUT as you do to MONEY COMING IN!  Now - I THINK I GET IT!

Your thoughts - and budget-trimming ideas?

DEAN & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO

Hey, Gang!  Get your single-game Chicago Cubs tickets yet - today is first day of box office sales?  No need to rush, though - as usual, most of the biggest Cub games this coming summer are already sold out!

You might have heard of Evanston IL.  It's the home of prestigious Northwestern University.  This conservative North Shore town, formerly dry, was also home to the Prohibition Stalwarts, the Women's Christian Temperance Union for many years (I'm sure there are a few die-hard members left over!)

Well, Evanston, one of Chicago's older and larger suburbs, and one of its most well known nationally, is sleepy no more!  The city has added nearly 1,600 new, mostly luxury condominium units in the heart of its downtown area, along with classy restaurants, shops, and live theatre.  All located within three blocks of beautiful Lake Michigan, and about 35 minutes, by METRA Commuter Train or CTA L, to Downtown Chicago and The Loop, about 13 miles directly south.

Other old Chicago suburbs have entertained massive condo development projects in their downtown areas - Des Plaines, La Grange, Arlington Heights, Mount Prospect, and several others, but none with the scale of Evanston.

High rise buildings over twenty stories cluster in an area formerly populated by small shops and businesses.  Area vibrancy and culture are heightened, but congestion, noise, and far-tighter parking as a result is unnerving many long-time residents.

The few who complain are not negatively impacting condominium sales, however, even among long-time Evanston residents.  Many older Evanstonians are buying downtown condos as their children grow older and leave home, and they seek a lower-maintenance lifestyle.

Condos in downtown Evanston IL are not cheap - most range from the low $300's, to over $1.5 Million, generating cries to expand more affordable development in the city's less-prosperous western section.  Others are concerned about many of the older, smaller-scale buildings being removed to accommodate the new high-rise luxury condos.  The city does have a Historic Preservation Commission in place to monitor growth, and keep the scale of construction projects manageable.

See our post today at BlogChicagoHomes.com, as well as Dan Rafter's story in last Sunday's Chicago Tribune for more details, and photos,

DEAN & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO

THE CHICAGO IL REAL ESTATE MARKET, AND OTHER THINGS CHICAGO, FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF A LITTLE WHITE DOG!

Here I am - getting set to root for the World Series Champions of 2008 - The Chicago Cubs!    (A Lil' White Dog can dream - can't he?)

Each year, the Human members of our Team, get together and decide which charitable organizations in the Chicago area are worthy of our financial contributions, support, and volunteer work.  Every year, my vote goes for a very special organization located in the Lincoln Park Neighborhood of Chicago.

PAWS Chicago is the city's premier no-kill animal shelter.  Since its humble beginnings in 1997, they have found loving homes for thousands of my four-pawed brethren - dogs, and kitties alike!  They run a no-kill, cageless animal shelter and humane society, at 1997 N. Clybourn Avenue on the Near North Side, as well as a Pet Sterilization Facility, the Lurie Spay/Neuter Clinic, in Chicago's Little Village Neighborhood on the Southwest Side of the city.

Before PAWS came along in 1997, over 42,000 dogs and cats were put to death across the city, those for whom loving homes could not be found.  In 2006, that number dropped to just over 19,000 - still high, but great progress to the PAWS Chicago goal of finding a loving home for every adoptable dog or cat that comes their way.

When in Chicago, you should really stop by their Adoption and Humane Center in Lincoln Park.  Man, it's classier than most human hotels!  Completely cageless, well lit (for reading and blog article writing), ventilated, large exercise areas, and easy parking for humans driving over.  And the human staff, mostly volunteer, is SO FRIENDLY - and they will even rub your belly, time and time again, if you just sit there and look cute for a couple of minutes!

PAWS Chicago is nothing like those outmoded shelters of an earlier time!

Visit the PAWS Chicago Web Center.  Click over for dogs or cats available for adoption TODAY.  Or, if you prefer, volunteer your time, or a little dough, to help them out in their noble cause.  See our Team Posting today at BlogChicagoHomes.com as well.

This Lil' White Dog gives PAWS Chicago my "TWO BARKS" Seal of Approval.  So do our Human Team Members with their help and financial contributions.

Perhaps you can help, too!

YOUR ACE REPORTER ON FOUR PAWS,

BUDDY HOLLY MOSS & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO