Michael Hobbs's (michaelhobbs) Blog

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Real Estate Appraiser - PahRoo Appraisal & Consultancy
RECENT BLOG POSTS
In the fourth week of August 2013 mortgage applications have decreased significantly.  The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that applications were down 2.5% compared to a week prior. Refi’s also decreased by 5% in the same period.  The average 30 year fixed rate mortgage, FRM, is currently 4...
08/30/2013
With new construction on the rise all over the country, Chicago is thriving with a yearly increase of 44% from 2012.   July 2013 turned out to be big month for Chicago home sales, and reports of increases in building permits, housing starts and housing completions nationally have been in the head...
08/29/2013
New construction is gaining momentum this year and in Chicago, the housing market continues make headlines.  Based on July 2013 home sales, building permits, housing starts, and home completions nationally were all areas of significant improvement in July. According to the Census Bureau, building...
08/28/2013
July 2013 was a roaring month for home sales in the entire Chicagoland area.  Home sales are up over 36% from July 2012 to July 2013 and the median price rose 18% in that time as well. The Mainstreet Organization of Realtors revealed data regarding attached single family home sales, townhomes and...
08/26/2013
Which cities are the hot foreclosure markets?  For example, in May of 2013, Palm Bay, Florida, the average foreclosure purchase is 28% less than all conventional sales in the area.  Courtesy of Realty Trac’s best places to buy a foreclosure list in 2013, out 20 of the largest metro areas in the c...
08/21/2013
In President Obama’s State of the Union address, he called for change in mortgage regulations claiming that they were hindering “responsible young families from buying their first home,” and in turn hindering the growth of the economy. U.S. bank regulators have said new changes will be proposed b...
08/20/2013
Live in the city or live in the suburbs?  A question that has been a source of many conversations for nearly 60 years.  Chicago was a city that attracted all types of residents for the last century, from its architecture, to museums, to its large companies that began here.   Chicago has always be...
08/16/2013
In the third quarter of 2004, there were almost 5,200 condo units available in Chicago, and now, Tracy Cross & Associates indicated that only 600 available condos remain.   With the housing market on the rise, and seemingly a rise in demand for new condo buildings, one might assume that developer...
08/15/2013
The busiest time of the year for home builders is typically the spring season and this year’s second quarter did not disappoint.  New home sales grew in both Chicago and the suburbs.  Tracy Cross & Associates, a national real estate research firm, revealed that over 1300 new homes were sold in th...
08/12/2013
Colony American Homes is one of the largest owners of single family home rentals in the country.  Having raised over $2.2 billion privately they are reallocating these homes into a Real Estate Investment Trust, REIT, with Colony Capital, headed by Thomas Barrack. Their portfolio was recorded to h...
08/08/2013
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Michael Hobbs

SRA, LEED GA, RAA
local_phone(773) 388-0003
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