Grundy/ Will County Real Estate with Jim Ludes

Rural housing funding soon to be restored.

Jim Ludes — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 19:37:27 +0000

The hard-fought battle to restore the Section 502 single-family rural housing program has been signed into law. On July 29, President Obama signed H.R. 4899, “Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2010,” which included restored funding for the program. Says NAR: “This is going to be a great lift for thousands of rural homebuyers who need to close on their home purchases before Sept. 30 to take advantage of the homebuyer tax credit. Many rural families would have been left out in the cold without these guaranteed loans. Increasing the commitment authority will help rural families, support local housing markets, create jobs and generate new tax revenues.” Learn more about the Illinois Rural Development program from the Partnership for HomeOwnership. Here are a few program details:

first-time buyers in rural areas of Illinois with income levels at 80 percent or lower than area median income
a guarantee fee paid at closing can be rolled into the loan with no PMI
up to $5,000 in down payment and closing cost assistance

*More as it becomes available!

HUD Reform

Jim Ludes — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 21:12:39 +0000

HUD has released a proposal for updates. A couple of the key issues are

Limiting seller concessions from 6% to 3%
Considering raising medium credit score from 580
Eliminating loans to borrowers with credit scores under 500 (if there’s any even doing those, which I doubt)

Want to add your input? Head over to HUD and read up and spout off!

Grundy County Taxes

Jim Ludes — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 15:04:59 +0000

Hey Grundy County,

Get those taxes in the mail. Must be postmarked today if you haven’t done so yet!

Tax Credit Extension (for those under contract)

Jim Ludes — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 22:47:20 +0000

The Senate has approved a plan to give those already in contract to purchase a home an extra three months to be able to use federal homebuyer tax credits. The language, pushed through the chamber by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid gives homebuyers until Sept. 30 to complete their purchases and qualify for tax credits of up to $8,000. Under the current terms, buyers had until April 30 to get a signed sales contract and until June 30 to complete the sale. The proposal was approved by a 60-37 vote but only applies to consumers who already have signed contracts to finish at the later date. About 180,000 homebuyers who already signed purchase agreements would otherwise miss the deadline.

Would this apply to any of my readers?

Grundy/ Will Home sale splits

Jim Ludes — Mon, 17 May 2010 18:13:11 +0000

Let us take a peek at property in Grundy and Will County. More specifically, single family homes that have closed between February and April this year and a couple year’s back.

February 1 – April 30 Grundy County:

2010: 92 homes sold, median value $162,400

2009: 76 homes sold, median value $163,000

2008: 82 homes sold, median value $188,750

2007: 113 homes sold, median value $197,500

February 1 – April 30 Will County:

2010: 1063 homes sold, median value $188,000

2009: 902 homes sold, median value $190,750

2008: 1098 homes sold, median value $239,000

2007: 1465 homes sold, median value $245,000

***What this shows me is that the number of Grundy County homes sold over this time frame is up 21% on last year and 12% over 2008, while being down 19% from 2007’s numbers. It shows that Will County homes sold are up 18% from last year, down a mere 3% from 2008 and down 27% from 2007. Like I’ve stressed in the past, do not worry about the median home values too much. One cannot say, “The Grundy County home I bought in 2007 for $197,500 is now only worth $162,400? I’ve lost 18% of my value?” NO! This merely means that the mix of homes has changed. Half the homes have sold for under $162,400 and half have sold for more than that. Median’s used because average can be too easily skewed by the $15,000 junker that sells or the 1.4 million dollar estate, especially when we’re looking at only 92 homes. In easiest terms, people are buying less expensive homes homes.***

Great Available Ranch in Coal City

Jim Ludes — Tue, 04 May 2010 15:50:10 +0000

Have a need for a reasonably priced 3 bedroom house in Coal City? The house below may well fit your needs. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Virtual Tour # 55479 – 1080 S. Mazon Street, Coal City, IL, 60416. Powered by FloorPlanOnline.

Will County Homes Under Contract

Jim Ludes — Tue, 04 May 2010 11:16:19 +0000

Check out theWill County contracts; homes to go under contract in the past 6 months. Like the Grundy County numbers from yesterday, it appears that things are picking up nicely! Your thoughts?

Grundy County Homes Under Contract

Jim Ludes — Mon, 03 May 2010 21:15:41 +0000

Check out the Grundy County Contracts for the last 6 months. I think that there’s a great trend brewing that the amount of homes put under contract is increasing. What do you think about that?

Coal City Market Survey

Jim Ludes — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 22:40:42 +0000

Area Market Survey Criteria

Status: Active, Back on Market, Contingent, New, Price Change, Re-activated, Temp Off Market, Pending, Closed Property Type: Detached Single Area: Coal City / Diamond Months Back: All Months

Under Contract

List Price Range	# Listings	Avg. Days on Mkt
Less than $149,999	7	126

$150,000 – $199,999	6	251

$200,000 – $249,999	3	145

$350,000 – $399,999	1	320

Under Contract Summary

# Units	Avg. MT	Median List Price	Avg. List Price	Max. List Price	Min. List Price	Total Volume
17	185	$172,000	$175,885	$389,000	$89,900	$2,990,050

Active Listings

List Price Range	# Listings	Avg. Days on Mkt
Less than $149,999	20	126

$150,000 – $199,999	8	298

$200,000 – $249,999	12	344

$250,000 – $299,999	9	400

$300,000 – $349,999	3	141

$350,000 – $399,999	2	153

$400,000 – $449,999	1	517

$450,000 – $499,999	1	42

$500,000 – $549,999	1	301

$550,000 – $599,999	1	303

$700,000 – $799,999	2	291

Active Listings Summary

# Units	Avg. MT	Median List Price	Avg. List Price	Max. List Price	Min. List Price	Total Volume
60	252	$218,250	$239,410	$799,900	$75,900	$14,364,604

ANSWER the Phone

Jim Ludes — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 07:54:37 +0000

I have not been giving a lot of tips on how to sell your house as of late. Here’s one that’s foolproof in any market and it’s more for agents than home sellers: ANSWER YOUR PHONE!!

I just tried to set 6 showings in Ottawa and called one office and 6 agents to do so. One lady in an office was horribly unhelpful and asked me to call the agents directly and ZERO of the 6 agents picked up his/her phone. One was actually disconnected, so that’s an excuse at least I know the weather’s beautiful and it’s Friday, but an awesome weather Friday is a prime time for people to be excited about setting showings for properties (even with impending cruddy weather).

0 for 6 is okay if you’re playing baseball. Get 4 out of the next 6 and you’re back to hitting .333. for setting appointments on listings people have hired you to sell, it’s pretty bad.

I begrudge NOT ONE of these agents if he/she is out working hard “doing what they do.” However, all of them have made a classic mistake, at minimum, of wanting to set his/her own showings and not being free to do so. We dislike when our sellers turn away showings for their various reasons…..they too would dislike if they don’t know about them because of us!