We are seeing the two biggest generations duke it out in the housing market. On one end, you have the millennials who are at their prime home buying and family formation period. On the other hand, you have the Baby Boomers. For years, housing experts have been calling for a “silver tsunami” of inventory as the Boomers downsize and sell their long time homes to the next generations. Although we haven’t seen anything close to a “silver tsunami”, we are starting to see supply FINALLY loosed up across the country. This is GREAT news for first time home buyers. If all else stays the same, 2025 should be the year we should have higher inventory levels across most markets than we had pre pandemic 2029. #boomer #babyboomer #millenials #housingmarket #housing #firsttimehomebuyer #chicago #chicagorealestate #chicagorealtor

Looking back on 2023, we got a lot of things right, but of course we got some things wrong as well. In 2023, New construction represented anywhere from 30%-40% of the active inventory for homes throughout the country. This figure is historically closer to 10%! Although most markets held up in 2023, a lot of builders were significantly buying down mortgages in order to incentivize buyers. The net prices of new construction homes was actually lower than what the data shows as this is not generally factored into the numbers. But overall New construction did much better than expected. #chicagorealestate #chicagorealtor #realestate #realtor #chicagoagent #broker #house #homeselling #homebuyers #chicagohome #inventory #residential #supplyanddemand #newconstruction #newconstructionhomes #newlistings

Are you a prisoner of a low mortgage rate! The good news is that you likely built up a lot of equity in your current home (excluding downtown high rises) considering where most markets have gone over the past few years. I always tell people that rates are rates. Residential is not commercial real estate. The market behaves differently. Rates going up doesn't always mean prices go down. Your monthly payment is THE MOST IMPORTANT thing to consider when purchasing a new home whether you are a step up buyer or first time home buyer. Never over extend yourself with the intention of just refinancing when rates go lower. Refinancing isn’t as simple as just clicking a button and getting a new rate. Be comfortable with your current rate. If they come down and you can refinance, great. If you are a step up buyer, know that your monthly payment will be offset with the increased downpayment you will have from the equity build up in your current home. #realestate #realtor #chicagoagent #broker #house #homeselling #homebuyers #chicagohome #milliondollarlisting #milliondollaragent #firsttimehomebuyer #firsttimehomebuyers #milliondollarlisting #milliondollaragent

If you want to sell in a certain market, you have to learn the market first. Residential is my bread and butter, but I also have a small percentage of clients who use me to buy and sell commercial real estate. Early on in my career, I knew that I wanted to become competent when it came to selling commercial real estate. I would spend hours studying comps and underwriting properties in areas I wanted to work in. I quickly learned that commercial and residential couldn't be more different. One is driven by numbers and the other is driven more by emotion. One day, someone called the office looking to rent out their 4-flat on long term leases. Once we got to talking, I found out they were also looking to move their portfolio from Milwaukee to Chicago. We ended up talking over the phone for close to an hour going over various submarkets what was happening locally on a political and economic level. Had I not taken the time to learn certain markets and speak the language of a commercial investor, this conversation might have just lasted a few minutes. This client ended up doing roughly 6 million in transactions through me in an 18-month stretch and is actively looking to expand their portfolio. It's crazy to think about the impact one phone call can have on a career. If you're not prepared, you'll never know what you're missing out on. #chicagorealestate #chicagorealtor #realestate #realtor #chicagoagent #broker #house #homeselling #homebuyers #chicagohome #milliondollarlisting #milliondollaragent #commercialrealestate #multifamilyinvesting #multifamilyhousing #mixeduse #commercialinvestment

In September 2023 the Chicago City Council approved placing a referendum on the March 2024 primary municipal election ballot asking voters to approve a change in the structure of the City’s real estate transfer tax (RETT) from the current flat rate to a graduated rate. The tax would be imposed on buyers of properties. The tax proposal has been described as a “mansion” tax, but it would apply to commercial and industrial as well as high value residential properties. Here is a breakdown of the new proposal: Any sale up to $1,000,000 will be taxed at 0.6%. Any sale between $1,000,000 and $1,500,000 will be taxed at 2.0% on the amount over $1,000,000. For sales greater than $1,500,000 any amount over $1,500,000 will also be taxed at 3.0% for the amount above $1,500,000. Their proposal is to lower the transfer tax for sales under 1M (currently at .75%). Median price in Chicago is 370k, so the majority of Chicagoans will get a tax break. Buyers pay this out of pocket at closing, so this will absolutely have an impact on anything over 1M. Although this will have less of an impact on residential, it will have a huge impact on commercial, especially larger multifamily and office buildings. #transfertax #chicagorealestate #chicagorealtor #realestate #realtor #chicagoagent #broker #house #homeselling #homebuyers #chicagohome #mansiontax #officerealestate #office #commercialrealestate #multifamily

Real estate brokerage is a marathon, not a race. I always tell new agents that your 20's are for learning, and your 30's are for earning. My first few years in the business were tough, but I wouldn't trade them for anything. You never know where your next deal might come from. The work you put in today could show up 2 months from now or 5 years from now. Half the battle is just showing up and staying in the game. The longer you play, the more at bats you'll get. #chicagorealestate #chicagorealtor #realestate #realtor #chicagoagent #broker #house #homeselling #homebuyers #chicagohome #milliondollarlisting #milliondollaragent #leasingagent #rental #luxuryleasing #leasing

Every year, the "housing doomers" come out of their caves with new housing crash narrative. The new narrative seems to be "the silver tsunami" finally taking form in 2024. This refers to the amount of RE owned by the baby boomer generation that will eventually hit the market. There might be some truth to this. I think it is exaggerated. One of the best indicators of future inventory is actually mortgage application data. The reason being that the vast majority of sellers are also buyers, and almost all sellers who plan on buying end up applying for a mortgage prior to listing their property. The big story of 2023 was lack of inventory. Although we should certainly see inventory pick up in 2024, we will still be in a low-inventory environment in most markets. #chicagorealestate #chicagorealtor #realestate #realtor #chicagoagent #broker #house #homeselling #homebuyers #chicagohome #inventory #housinginventory #supplyanddemand #housingdemand #silvertsunami #babyboomer #boomer

Will we see rates dip below 5.5% in 2024? It's certainly possible. The mortgage spread is the difference between the 10 year treasury and the 30 year mortgage. If rates are wide, then it is expected that we will see lower rates in the near future. The opposite is true when spreads are narrow. Why? There is a lender and a borrow to any loan. The lender believes that rates will be lower in the near future, which means you will refinance out of your loan the first opportunity you get. The lender has to charge a premium in order to originate your loan so to offset the risk of you refinancing and paying back the loan early. When there is a downward sloping yield curve, which is what we are seeing now, the 30 year mortgage behaves more like the 2-year treasury and is a short duration asset for lenders. #chicagorealestate #chicagorealtor #realestate #realtor #chicagoagent #broker #house #homeselling #homebuyers #chicagohome #yieldcurve #interestrates #treasurybills #treasury #mortgage #mortgagebroker #mortgagetips #lender

One of my wildest RE stories. Don't believe me... Check the link below. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5lm071g3NLo I have noticed an uptick in fraud over the past few years. Just a friendly reminder to always do your due diligence during the application process, especially if you are not a real estate professional. I find that a lot of scammers tend to target less experienced individuals not using Realtors. #chicagorealestate #chicagorealtor #realestate #realtor #chicagoagent #broker #house #homeselling #homebuyers #chicagohome #fraud #fraudalert #scamalert #scammer

Will we finally start to see positive price growth for the Downtown high rise market in Chicago? Here is why I think 2024 will finally be the year. #chicagorealestate #chicagorealtor #realestate #realtor #chicagoagent #broker #house #homeselling #homebuyers #chicagohome #craigslist #craigslistfind

One of the biggest reasons why I think the Midwest could outperform in the next decade is insurance. The frequency and severity of weather-related disasters over the past few years has been well outside the insurance models forecast. As a result, we are seeing policies in high-risk areas reprice at drastically higher rates. In some instances, insurance companies are exiting markets entirely. Although insurance generally goes up no matter what because it is so tied to inflation, it is much less of a problem for Midwesterners. #chicagorealestate #chicagorealtor #realestate #realtor #chicagoagent #broker #house #homeselling #homebuyers #chicagohome #insurance #insurancepolicies #climatechange #kingofthemidwest #midwest #midwesthome

Real estate is an exponential business. The hard work you put in, hands you shake, properties you transact, etc. will compound overtime into tangible results. My first ever clients (whom I almost lost) came from a Craigslist ad. I put them in a 2k per month 2 bed rental South Loop in 2016... In 2022 they ended up purchasing a 1.6M Property in Lakeview. This business can be incredibly rewarding at times, but getting started requires a deep level of patience and persistence. You never know where that next sale will come from. It's all about keeping your head up and staying in the game. The longer you stay in the game, the more at bats you will get. #chicagorealestate #chicagorealtor #realestate #realtor #chicagoagent #broker #house #homeselling #homebuyers #chicagohome #craigslist #craigslistfind

Instead of looking at owning as an investment, look at it as an alternative to renting. You will always need a place to live. Both owning and renting have their perks, but it almost always makes sense to own rather than rent in the long run. Here are my top reasons why you should own. 1.) Potential to realize appreciation. 2.) Principal pay down. Think of this as a forced savings account where you are putting money back into your pocket each month. 3.) Write offs. Depreciation and interest write offs add up. 4.) More options. Owning real estate provides you with a lot of options over the long run. When you step up into that next property, you don't always have to sell in order to buy the next one. Maybe you decide to rent it out? Maybe you refinance AND rent it out? Or maybe once you convert it into an investment property, you decide to do a 1031 exchange and swap it for another rental property. You will have more options than you would if you were renting. 5.) Predictable payments. You will never pay more than your mortgage/interest over the length of your loan. Yes, taxes, insurance, maintenance, assessments (if applicable) will likely go up, but your mortgage/interest payments will stay flat. 6.) Customization. You can make a home your own based on your wants and needs. #stripmallguy #retwit #brr #rentvsbuy #chicagorealestate #chicagorealtor #realestate #realtor #chicagoagent #broker #house #homeselling #homebuyers #chicagohome