Home Buying Power Goes Up Up Up!

According to a report from Freddie Mac (Federal Home Loan Mortgage Association), the national average mortgage rates fell this week to a level not seen since 1971, nearly 40 years ago!

The national average 15 year mortgage interest rate is 3.57%.
The national average 30 year mortgage interest rate is 4.17%.

This is such important news for buyers to absorb; the same $250,000 loan at 4.17% interest rate vs. a 6% interest rate of not many years ago, is suddenly more affordable.

Here are the numbers: at 4.17% the monthly payment would be $1218.17.
at 6.00% the monthly payment would be $1,498.88.

That is a savings of $280.71!

How much does that potential home purchase you are mulling over actually COST you today? Low prices, low mortgage interest rates, low COST to the buyer.

If you have been sitting on the fence, trying to make that decision about buying a home, or maybe just refinancing your current mortgage, it's time to check in with your favorite Realtor or mortgage specialist, wouldn't you say?

Excellent Deal at Museum of Science & Industry

April 19-23, busy? Clear your calendar and head on over to MSI (otherwise known as the Museum of Science and Industry). You must make the effort to get there if you can because those 5 days are free-admission days. What a deal that is! Normal admission for adults runs between $13-$15. And children 3-11 pay $9 or $10 (depending on your home address - Chicago vs. not Chicago).

Where? 57th Street at Lake Shore Drive in Chicago
When? 9:30 am - 4 pm
Why? All those really cool exhibits, like Science Storms and You, and the U-505 submarine.

Allow as many hours as you can spare. It's a full day's worth of exploration and learning, no matter what your age.

How Many Comps Must be Reviewed to Choose a LIsting Price?

Answer - just one.

Scenario: owner wants to list and sell a condo unit. The conversation we had about the desire to sell centered around what it is worth vs. what will the right list price be.

There is a neighbor on market in the same condo building with a very similar unit on market and under contract, and under contract in less than 2 weeks! The average market time in this neighborhood for condos over the past 6 months is 130 days.

There's a lesson in there somewhere, and the lesson was all about pricing with the goal of getting it sold.

It is not always easy to let go of the dream of selling for top dollar in this lackluster real estate market (Chicago), particularly when it comes to condominiums. But when reality comes calling (as in "I MUST sell it this spring!"), letting go is the only way to go.

Da Bears and Real Estate in Chicagoland

I don't know if anyone (especially real estate agents) has ever conducted a quasi-scientific survey on this topic, but maybe it's time to do so.

Every fall, every football season, Sunday open houses are gauged on how "groups" of home shoppers attend, despite the airing of a Chicago Bears football game.

Does it really matter to home shoppers that the Bears are playing yet another bone-crunching game somewhere? Many agents think so, and the more weight that is attached to a particular game, the more the impact on Sunday open houses. Taking it to the extreme, I know of agents who simply refuse to even bother having a Sunday open house if there is a Bears game sharing the afternoon time frame.

Today for example, I was doing an open house in Northbrook. Three hours, two groups of shoppers, and zero potential buyers for that property. Even the streets seem less congested on Sunday afternoons when the Bears are playing, be it the streets in the city or the suburbs.

Should Sunday open houses continue, despite Bears football game happenings? Sure. The open house accomplishes the meeting of agents and the public. Game or no game, the interaction of agents and the public will continue, even if it means missing a touchdown pass or two. (FYI, the Bears won BIG today, outscoring Detroit 48 to 24, and I didn't see one play of the game. Guess they don't need me!)