HomeSeller’s blog

In the last few weeks economy became number one topic in the news and a reason for huge concern among  Americans. There is a great deal of confusion about what really caused the problems we are facing now and what options are available to deal with them. Unlike many commercial media shows, Marketplace by American Public Media offers an in-depth coverage of the current financial crisis from many perspectives. The show can present even the most complex topics in an easy to understand, jargon-free way. I recommend The Marketplace (available through National Public Radio) for anyone interested in learning more about how our economy works and making sense of current events on Wall Street and beyond. Marketplace is also available on-line.

For more information about U.S. financial crisis of 2008, please visit my real estate blog.

Recent couple of days brought us rumors about possible Fannie-Freddie meltdown, so I believe it is good to have some perspective. Certainly, if any of those mortgage giants looses liquidity, the impact on the housing market would be huge. Doomsday scenarios predict that getting a home loan or refinancing existing mortgage without Fannie or Freddie buying them back, would become virtually impossible. This is because private lenders would have very limited options to re-invest their mortgages. Fannie May and Freddie Mac used to be the most trusted names on the secondary mortgage market. They are either buying or guaranteeing hundreds of thousands of individual mortgages repackaged as "mortgage-backed securities".

Almost all experts agree that U.S. Government will never allow that. No economy in the World can afford to freeze its mortgage lending industry. The most likely scenario is that we are going to have another "bail out" similar to what happened to Wall Street investment bank - Baer Stearns few months ago. How such bail out would affect activities on the real estate market? Most likely, the impact to borrowers would be minimal with both institutions saved by tax-payers' money and continuing to do the business as before. There could be additional government oversight put in place or some rules of making business changed, but in general, U.S. housing market should not suffer if indeed Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac are to be saved by current Bush administration. This is certainly good news given the fact that in some areas each month brings higher home sales figures. For example, in Arlington Heights IL real estate market, the existing single family home sales rose 45% in June 2008 if compared with the previous month. You can observe the trend at www.homes-arlingtonheights.com and also see other houses for sale in Arlington Heights IL

We all can use good news about real estate market. We got some today. Against most expectations - new home sales rose 3.3% in April. Over half million new homes were sold, which is still near the 17-year low but could be a beginning of the upward trend in the real estate market - a good forecast for next year. The median price of a new home sold in April was $246,100, up 1.5% from $242,500 a year earlier, according to the key government report on the battered housing market. Stay tuned for more good news. You may also visit my Chicago Suburbs Homes Sales website for home sales information from northwest suburbs of Chicago.

The volume of homes sold in April 2008 was about 65% of the homes sold in the same period last year. If you would like to find out how homes sold in your neighborhood, please follow the following links:

• ARLINGTON HEIGHTS Home Sales
  
• BUFFALO GROVE Home Sales
  
• DES PLAINS Home Sales
  
• MOUNT PROSPECT Home Sales
  
• PALATINE Home Sales
  
• SCHAUMBURG Home Sales
  
• WHEELING Home Sales
  

If you are interested in real estate sales from other town, please contact me at peter@a1agent.info or visit our website

This home really makes the DIFFERENCE. Beatifully upgraded throughout this brick ranch located in Arlington Heights most desirable school district. Solid all-brick construction, brand-new windows, doors and attached 2.5-car garage. Tastefully decorated and professionally remodeled throughout. Main features include new bathrooms, kitchen, electrical installation, plumbing and A/C system. Enjoy spacious living/dinning room and modern kitchen with extra table space. Gleaming hardwood floors throughout, great attention to detail and superb materials make this home your #1 choice in the neighborhood! Please visit this home's website for more information including school report cards and up-to-date homes sales reports from Schiller Park and other northwest suburbs of Chicago.

Every public school in Illinois has to meet certain standards set forth by the State. Each year the Illinois Standardized Academic Test (ISAT) is administered throughout Illinois to measure each school's performance. The results of these tests are available to the public and are one of the factors families use to determine where they would like to move. On our website we have listed test results of public schools in the Arlington Heights, Illinois area. Upon request, we can e-mail any report in the PDF format for easy preview and printing. On our website you can also find recent real estate sales from Arlington Heights and the list of homes for sale.

Do you know Realtors have access to "insider" information the general public does not? A knowledgeable real estate agent can provide prospective home buyers with:

• area school report cards
• detailed tax information, including taxes of comparable properties,
• demographic and ethic make-up of the selected area(s),
• information about DOM (days on the market), any previous offers and other history of the selected listings

Most of this information is exclusive to Realtors and their clients. At Town & Country GMAC we understand that buying and selling a home can be stressful, time-consuming and sometimes overwhelming. How would your real estate experience improve if you had a skilled professional guiding and advising you every step of the way? At GMAC/Real Estate we have earned a nationwide average 94% Proven Satisfaction rating – the best in the real estate industry

This home really makes the DIFFERENCE. Beatifully upgraded throughout this brick ranch located in Arlington Heights most desirable school district. Solid all-brick construction, brand-new windows, doors and attached 2.5-car garage. Tastefully decorated and professionally remodeled throughout. Main features include new bathrooms, kitchen, electrical installation, plumbing and A/C system. Enjoy spacious living/dinning room and modern kitchen with extra table space. Gleaming hardwood floors throughout, great attention to detail and superb materials make this home your #1 choice in the neighborhood! Please visit this home's website for more information including school report cards and up-to-date homes sales reports from Schiller Park and other northwest suburbs of Chicago