"You've Caught the NET!"

Hope you've taken the day off today - it's beautiful here in Chicago.  Hope the First Official Weekend of Summer is nice where you are!

We all know builders of new homes have taken it on the chin within the past twelve months or so.  In many markets, in newly-built subdivisions across the U.S., sales are off over 50 percent.  Homes have been discounted deeply in order to sell.  And, to incentives fickle buyers, many builders have included new HDTV's, expensive vacations, pre-paid house payments, even stocked school tuition accounts for the buyers' children.

Now, it seems, even these heavy incentives are proving far less effective.  New home builders are trying something new -

PARTIES!

In the Chicago suburb of South Barrington, Toll Brothers Builders hosted an elaborate party at the opening of its 55+ community, Regency at the Woods.  They included a Texas Hold 'Em tournament, a kids story hour, professional fitness consultants, a gourmet lunch, and cooking demonstration from Viking Appliances, manufacturers of super-high-end, professional kitchen appliances.

Of course, guided community tours were included - and names and phone numbers were taken.

Afterward, Regency Sales Consultants called attendees for feedback, and found that 8 out of 10 attendees were "nosy neighbors" - they just wanted the free goodies at the club house.  Not to worry, the builder said - they consider currently-happy homeowners are the best form of word of mouth advertising to attract prospective new home buyers.

Another elaborate reception was held in May at Meier Park Subdivision at West Point Gardens in the Chicago suburb of Elgin IL.  The developer, West Point Builders, provided lunch, entertainment from a barbershop quartet, and information booths manned by the City of Elgin Community Information Departments.

West Point developers expected 200 attendees to their Grand Opening party - they actually got more than 300!  Of course, the builder is hoping all the good will, the fun, the food, and the entertainment, will lead to sales contracts and earnest money very soon.

But will these Grand Fêtes boost sales for new home builders, here in Chicago, and elsewhere?  We'll have to wait and see!

Read our post today at BlogChicagoHomes.com for more info, as well as a link to Mary Ellen Podmolik's story in last Friday's Chicago Tribune.

DEAN & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO

Hi, folks - are any of you in the same boat, or is this just me?

Since our Team began coaching several years ago, we were very aptly guided to block TIME OFF and VACATIONS FIRST - before business.  "You need appropriate re-charge and family time," our Business Coach Patti Kouri of Accelerated Performance Coaching always suggested.   We were scared at first, and a bit reluctant, but we followed her advice.

Each year, my wife, Sue, and I planned several vacations.  Aruba was the most exotic, but we also scheduled several business and non-business trips to the National Association of Realtors Conventions, in Las Vegas, San Francisco, and New Orleans.  We took several Keller Williams Trips, for their Annual Family Reunion Event, to Vegas, and to Atlanta, and to their annual Mega Agent and Mastermind Camps in Austin TX.

This year, however, we're cutting back.

High air fares, hotel room rates, and, of course, $4-plus gas prices have us traveling to visit friends in Iowa and Minnesota this year.  Our Labor Day trip will take us to South Haven MI - about 90 minutes drive from Chicago, on the other side of Lake Michigan.

Our Floyd Wickman Forum Trip, to Ann Arbor MI, will be another Amtrak ride - low on cost, high on relaxation - in mid July.  We will be attending our Business Coach's weekly planning session - her Jumpstart Workshop - in LA in November, both my wife and I.  But we'll be looking for ways to save money on lodging, if possible.

Only one of us will take our August, 2008 annual pilgrimage to Keller Williams Mega Camp in August in Austin TX - it's just too expensive for more of us to attend.  (This year, due to budget costs, I will truly attempt to avoid getting a Speeding Ticket from the Texas Highway Patrol - at $200 a pop, we just can't afford them this year!)

My question for you - are you cutting back on travel, both personal and business-related this year?  Or, like several others we have spoken with, simply staying closer to home when you get away with the family or with others on business?

Please share your thoughts, and any cost-saving ideas, on this one!  We're all ears!

DEAN & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO

Hope you're enjoying your weekend, folks!

If you're from Chicago, or New York City, you may have heard of the Asian Longhorned Beetle.  This speckled insect, which apparently stowed away in packing materials from imported Chinese products, infested, and eventually destroyed, hundreds of trees in New York City Parks, before making its way to Chicago in 2001.

While here, the bug - actually, it's larvae, which grew after adult insects planted their eggs in many Willow, Box Elder, Poplar, Maple, Horse Chestnut, and Apple Trees throughout Chicago and the suburbs - feasted under the bark of these affected trees, eventually killing them.

Here in Chicago, dozens of trees in the Lincoln Park and Ravenswood Neighborhoods, on the North Side, had to be cut down and incinerated to kill the insects.  Only today are the younger, heartier trees that replaced them growing enough to provide some shade - but nothing like the nearly-100-year-old trees that had to be destroyed because of the Asian bugs.

The Asian Longhorned Beetle was officially declared eliminated here in Chicago in mid-2005.

This past week, a new tree-eating pest was discovered in Chicago, near 29th and State Streets, just south of the Chicago Loop, on the Near South Side.  The trees were found in a forty-year old tree grove, containing Ash and other trees.  This new pest feeds exclusively on Ash trees.

Earlier this month, the City of Chicago Department of Forestry found four of the 3/4" long, emerald green insects nearby.  They collected the bugs, and sent them to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, who confirmed their identity.  (See the Chicago Tribune File Photo of the Emerald Ash Borer, on the right).

This past week, Chicago Forestry Workers felled the first tree affected by the newly-discovered pests.

 "Our immediate priority is to control the spread of this infestation and to try to save as many trees as possible.  We want to contain it, to make sure that it doesn't spread."  says Chicago Streets and Sanitation Commissioner Michael Piccardi,

Picardi is making every effort to spare trees from being cut down to kill the Emerald Ash Borer, whose larvae kill ash trees by chewing through their inner bark.  Illinois' Emerald Ash Borer Outreach Coordinator, Juli Heminghous, says about 25 million ash trees have been lost to the insect across the United States, including roughly 5,000 trees in Illinois.  The City of Chicago estimates about 20% of its 500,000 parkway trees are ash, and susceptible to the insect.

The insect has been seen throughout Cook County, in which the City of Chicago is located.  It has also been found by local officials in neighboring Kane, DuPage, and LaSalle Counties.  They are thought to have spread through infested nursery stock or firewood - especially firewood left over from season to season.  Illinois ash trees have been quarantined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as a result of  the threat of Ash Borer infestation. 

See our BlogChicagoHomes.com post from June 19th, for more info.  You'll find a link to the Chicago Tribune story from Robert Mitchum and Melissa Anderson.  Residents of Chicago suspecting one of their ash trees is infested should call the Chicago Bureau of Forestry, at 312-742-3385.

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!

Hey, you dogs - be concerned, be careful - but don't be alarmed!   The canine flu has been confirmed here in Chicago, and may be spreading to other dogs in our area. 

It was identified a couple of weeks ago.  The owner of Buddy (no, not me - another Buddy) - a Yellow Lab, 4 years old, showed typical dog flu symptoms - lethargy, vomiting white foam, coughing - three days after coming home from a dog day care center.  He was the first Dog Flu case confirmed in Illinois.

Subsequently, more than 50 cases of the serious - but usually not fatal - canine ailment were reported at the Animal Ark Veterinary Clinic, where Buddy was treated, in the Logan Square Neighborhood on the Northwest Side of Chicago, and at other vet clinics throughout the Chicago area.

Canine flu is often mistaken for kennel cough.  Both ailments affect dogs confined to close quarters or in cages - such as grooming parlors and animal shelters.  The flu was first reported among Greyhounds in Florida in 2004, and has spread to 27 states since.

"The fortunate part is that most dogs recover just fine from this influenza, just like most people do," said Dr. Cynda Crawford, a research assistant professor at the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Florida in Gainesville who has been studying the disease since its emergence.

As a whole, we dogs have yet to develop immunity against this Canine Flu.  Most dogs who are exposed to the illness, through contact with other dogs, get infected, and about 80 percent will get sick.  Exposed dogs remain contagious for 7 to 10 days after infection, whether or not they show symptoms.  When sick, symptoms can continue for as many as three weeks.

The Dog Flu is treatable with rest and antibiotics, but not preventable.  Humans cannot contract the disease.

The State of Illinois is the 27th state to show documented cases of canine flu. 

For more details, check out my post from last evening @ BlogChicagoHomes.com.  Here, you'll find links to Deborah Shelton and Kristen Kridel's story from the June 14th Chicago Tribune.

YOUR ACE REPORTER ON FOUR PAWS,

BUDDY HOLLY MOSS & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO

Here's some cold water in the face, folks!

While many in other parts of the U.S. are belly-aching about $4.00 per gallon gas where they live, some here in Chicago have already experienced a gallon of gas for $5.00!

Well - this pricey petrol is for any grade, and at only one station we can find - in the pricey Gold Coast Neighborhood of Chicago, at a BP Station at the corner of LaSalle and Clark Streets.  And it's for FULL SERVICE gas!

You remember "Full Service Gasoline," you Boomers, don't you?

Back when the first Doobie Brothers album (in vinyl, of course) came out, ALL gas stations pumped your gas, checked your oil, and topped off the wiper fluid - all for less than 50 cents a gallon!  Well, around Chicago, and we assume elsewhere, Full Serve Gas Stations are hard to come by.  Instead, you see the big Pumper Stations, with the mini-mart attached.

Who buys full service?

Surprisingly, many folks.  Those who've got the extra dough, and don't mind the nearly 9% premium.  Those who don't want their hands smelling like gasoline.

And, sometimes, just regular customers who have gotten accustomed to their Gas Station Attendant.

Well, at nearly $5 for a gallon of gas, the station has found that even such loyalty has its limits.  Sales are down at the Full-Serve Pumps (eight out of twelve pumps at the station pump Full Serve gasoline; the remaining four provide Self Serve, at a savings of 40 cents per gallon today).

Several of the attendants pumping full serve have seen their tips decline (tips for pumping gas - believe it!), and a few are considering other jobs.

Loyalty, it seems, goes out the window - as its price gets too high!

See our post on BlogChicagoHomes.com today for more info, as well as a link to Mary Schmich's first-hand account in yesterday's Chicago Tribune.

DEAN & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO

Hi, Ho kids!  Hope all is well in AR Land!

Hey - got a question for you (or, "y'all," as my Southern Brethren might say).

As far as increasing the visibility, the stickiness, the lead generation capability of your website - which do you use, and in what proportion?

Those on our Team know enough about the power of blogging and use of key words to be a little dangerous, and, finally, after 18 months of a complete website re-design through Build Real Estate Results and Kathleen Allardyce, the hiring of Compass Internet Systems and Mike Parker for SEO, and screwing around with Google Keyword Pay Per Click on a limited budget, I am finally generating some serious leads from my web presence.

Dean's Team Chicago averages about two leads per day (of average or better quality, through my Team Web Center - Dean-Team.com).  My Team Blog Center - BlogChicagoHomes.com - averages about 15 clicks per day for new articles posted.  Each AR post generates about 50 click throughs within the first 5 days, and I post every day.  Conversion is improving - I can honestly say our Team picks up at least two new clients each month due to our web presence, with a slight trend to buyers over sellers.

Over the past four months or so, we have changed the graphic look of our sites to allow for easier and more intuitive click through, and have chosen keywords according to my SEO companies suggestions for maximum penetration (he used another term, but can't remember what that is right now).

Most of my clicks come from Google Search Engine Keywords relating to Chicago homes and condos.  A few, but significant amount, come from Pay Per Click to similar keywords.  And, I get more than my share through Active Rain Referrals, including roughly six referrals over the last few months.

Am I on the right track, folks, or way off base?  Any suggestions, or things you have found to help you maximize your self and your Team on the Web?

And, I know - your suggestions are subject to radical change on a day-by-day basis as web technologies continue to evolve.

Here's the challenge, folks - any improvements you suggest would have to be cost effective!   (Tough one, ehh?) 

It's easy to spend a bunch of dough adding enhancements to a website.  The difficult thing - spending that money WISELY!  Do you agree?

Looking forward to reading your wonderful comments!

DEAN & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO

My wife, Sue, and I have been fortunate over the last few years.  We've had good neighbors!

Bob next door has every type of hand and power tool imaginable, and will even use them for you, if you need him to (a great guy to know - yes?).  The lady down the block has lived here in our South Edgebrook Neighborhood here in Chicago since 1952.  She's getting up there in years - but she still keeps an eye on everthing that happens up and down our street.

There have been times, however, when we have not been so lucky.  Growing up in an old courtyard apartment building in Chicago's West Rogers Park Neighborhood, we could here every word as the couple downstairs would argue with each other - often, nightly!

Tenants in one of my investment properties often complain about the guy upstairs playing his brand-new, 64" widescreen HDTV too loud, with bass from his sub-woofer waking them up at 1:30 each morning.

And what about the guy a couple of doors down who thinks his back yard is a car repair shop - for un-driveable 1960's vintage Dodges and Chevys?

Well here in the Chicago area, some suburbs have set up procedures for resolution of Neighbor-to-Neighbor disputes (in the City of Chicago, however, city-sponsored options are fewer, however).

Northwest Chicago Suburban Des Plaines IL starts with the Alternate Dispute Resolution Process.  This old fashioned process involves the police coming over, and separately, then together, talking to disputing neighbors to attempt to find mutual common ground.  The threat of going to court if neighbors can't work things out "like grown ups" looms heavy as an incentive here!

Over 50 Suburban Chicago Towns and Municipalities, and several of the unincorporated areas, are members of the Northwest Municipal Conference.  They provide, sometimes for a fee, professional, independent mediation services through the Center for Conflict Resolution in Chicago.  Agreement is written, and potentially enforceable in court, if it later needs to be.

Mark Fowler, Executive Director of the NWMC, says the key is to keep talking - calmly - to resolve inter-neighbor disputes.  "If they can't do that, then they should contact their municipality and see if there's some services that they may be able to provide. If it's an ordinance violation, it's pretty clear-cut what's allowed and what isn't. But if it's a dispute over behavior, there are options available."

There's even a new website, RottenNeighbor.com, where neighbors can comment, good or bad, about those who live next door.  Indeed, you may be able to research your nearby neighbors before you move in! (This site offers links to the national database of sex offenders as well, for an added measure of security).

Of course, we all subscribe to the "Do Unto Others As You Would Have Them Do Unto You" philosophy.  Sometimes, as we all know, however, this doesn't work!

See our post today @ BlogChicagoHomes.com for more info, as well as a link to William Hageman's story in last Sunday's Chicago Tribune.

DEAN & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO

Good Morning, AR! 

Here's the latest Stat Summary on the Chicago Real Estate Market, based on data pulled yesterday evening, June 15, 2008 -

Indicators continue to see-saw over the last few weeks - but the pattern still suggests high unsold listing inventory, low number of units pending sale, lengthy market time, moderating average sale price and still-lackluster home-sales volume.

The comparison between Listing Inventory and Properties Pending Sale continues to confound me!  The number of Listed Properties continues fairly steady, while Pending Sales and Closed Properties show large fluctuations week to week. 

Typically, sold properties are marked "Pending" on the MLS Computer only after they successful pass a five-day Home Inspection and Attorney Review period.  Our Team's experience indicate many sales are failing during this initial five-day period, often because some buyers use this period to attempt to negotiate a lower sales price based on inspection issues.  Many sellers, already forced to sell at a discounted price versus their original expectations, refuse to negotiate further, and the sale falls through. 

Absorption Rate, or average inventory turnover, bounced up just over 5% since last week!  The theoretical level of home inventory in the City of Chicago areas we serve jumped to just over 28.7 months within the past week.

Percentage of Sale Within Six Month (180 Days) improved held fairly stable this week, as Average Market Times continued high.

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

                             ACTV LISTINGS        JUST SOLD         CLOSED        EXPIRED  

w/e June 16th              5,241                  44                        67                     45

w/e June 9th                5,201                  72                       105                   101

% CHANGE                  +0.8%               -38.9%                   -36.2%              -55.4%

CLOSED PROPERTIES DATA

                              AVG SALE PRICE     AVG DAYS ON MKT     TOTAL VOLUME   

w/e June 16th             $347,625              169 DAYS                      $23,290,902

w/e June 9th               $372,456              131 DAYS                      $39,107,880

% CHANGE                      -6.7%                  +29.0%                          -40.4%

THEORETICAL TIME TO CLEAR EXISTING INVENTORY (ABSORPTION RATE) -

w/e June 16th - LAST 12 MOS - 18.84   LAST 6 MOS - 23.22     LAST 3 MOS - 28.74

w/e June 9th - LAST 12 MOS - 18.29     LAST 6 MOS - 23.30    LAST 3 MOS - 27.26

PERCENT OF HOMES SELLING IN 180 DAYS - 

w/e June 16th - 22.63% (UNSOLD - 77.37%) 

w/e June 9th- 22.57% (UNSOLD - 77.43%)

SOURCE: MIDWEST REAL ESTATE DATA LLC, AREA MARKET SURVEY DATA

Please visit and review our Chicago IL Real Estate Stats Pack Archive via our Team Blog Center - BlogChicagoHomes.com. 

Call us anytime for current trends in any Chicago Neighborhood or Chicago Suburb! 

DEAN & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO

"YOU FOLKS MAKE SO MUCH MONEY, AND WHAT WORK DO YOU DO FOR IT?"

That seems to be the prevailing attitude among the general consumer public, isn't it?

Years ago, when I was considering Real Estate as a full-time profession, one of my relatives encouraged me!  "You're an independent guy," she said.  "Every Real Estate Agent I know gets up mid-morning, has breakfast about 11 AM, hangs out with his buddies, and rakes in lots of money!  Ahhh - that's the life!"

Those of us that have been in the business in excess of about three months know that is far from the truth!  But, the perception continues - especially when prospective sellers ask us to reduce our fees (never say "COMMISSION!")   "Since you'll walk away from thousands of dollars from my sale," we imagine many to think.  "Of course, you can give us a break!"

Well, the latest National Association of Realtors Statistics counter that perception.  According to NAR, the median income for a practicing Realtor, who is also an Association Member, was $42,000 in 2007.  This was down 11% from its 2006 median.

Those new to the business - with less than two years experience - earned a median $10,500 last year.

I don't know what it's like where you live, but these medians don't provide you with a luxury lifestyle here in Chicago!

Of course, Realtors with greater experience earn quite a bit more - those with 16 or more years experience reported a median income of $69,000.  Better - but not "gas up the yacht" income!

We all know that we veterans have stuck through the strong times and the weak times, continue to commit and improve our business, and might earn considerably more.  But it's all through our hard work, developed skills, and ingenuity.

Not necessarily who we have coffee with each morning!

The current real estate market doldrums have not been taken into account in the latest NAR figures; many expect a median income dip next year, after 2008 figures are analyzed.

Also, plan to expect an agent-count decrease as well.  NAR Members, which represent about 50% of all Real Estate Licensees nationwide, topped out at 1.36 Million during Boom-Year 2006.  Current membership - roughly 1.2 Million, a decrease of nearly 12% from two-year-ago levels.

See Mary Umberger's column in the June 1 edition of The Chicago Tribune for more info.

DEAN & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO

Happy Fathers Day, you Dads!  You're kids treated you like royalty today, took you out to a man-sized breakfast, and cut and edged the grass first thing this morning, right?

Naah - didn't think so!

All around the U.S., and here in Chicago, more and more people are increasingly conscious about the cost of a fill-up for the car today.  Here, in the city, regular gas now stands over $4.50/gallon in some places.  It is over $4.25 per gallon in the suburbs, where taxes are a bit lower.

Many are riding their bikes to work, if they can.  More, however, are using Public Transit with greater frequency than before.

Those living in the City of Chicago use the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) as their mass transit option.  Suburban commuters here ride METRA Commuter Trains into Downtown Chicago and The Chicago Loop, or Pace Suburban Buses for getting around suburb-to-suburb.

For all of these transit agencies, officials project the cost of expensive diesel fuel will exceed 2008 budget projections by $37 Million. 

The big question for many - will transit fares increase to cover the seemingly never-ending rise in fuel costs?

The CTA says "NO!"  However, the Chicago Transit Authority does plan to introduce far more fuel efficient hybrid buses by the end of this summer.  They will also re-work a few routes to reduce mileage driven and fuel consumed.  The CTA will also reduce the use of some of the older, less-fuel-efficient buses as the new buses hit the streets.

METRA had plans to offer weekend service on their Southwest Service to far south suburban Manhattan IL, and their North Central Service to far north suburban Antioch.  For now, these plans have been placed on hold.  The agency may consider other fuel-saving moves later.

Pace, which operates buses serving those traveling suburb-to-suburb, as well as a few express buses originating in the suburbs heading into Chicago, has no plans to modify or curtail service at the present time.

Outside of the Chicago Metro Area, however, according to the American Public Transportation Association, 48% of U.S. Transit Agencies are considering fare increases to offset rising fuel costs.

Read our post yesterday evening at BlogChicagoHomes.com, with a link to Richard Wronski's article in last Friday's Chicago Tribune, for more info.

DEAN & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO