Indications are that we will see overall stability in the employment sector with some modest employment gains by mid 2012 which would have a favorable impact on the economy and the real estate market.

As demonstrated in the chart from Calculated Risk which shows how many houses on a quarter by quarter basis, 30 days, 60 days, and 90 days late and in the foreclosure process.  The overall number of delinquencies is dropping, but there is still more shadow inventory to get through.  This signs of stability in the market reflect that it is better prepared to absorb the upcoming release of more foreclosures.  This fall Chase’s predicted another 6% drop nationwide on home values, and this was likely because they are holding a portion of the shadow inventory which will put downward pressure on prices.  This will happen in two ways:

1)      buyer demand – buyers who might have bought non-distressed properties may now opt to buy a short sale, foreclosure or bank owned property

2)      appraised value – appraisers will be forced to include distressed sales in their reports

You can see from the map below the number of months expected to clear shadow inventory.  In the surrounding Chicago area, we are looking at anywhere from 48-120 months to absorb what has yet to come to market.  If you are considering a selling in the foreseeable future, now is the time to sell.

Statistics and averages are not a perfect science when it comes to determining a value for a particular home, as each home is unique.

Here is a quarter by quarter comparison of each quarter from this year, over 2010.  You can see that the sales volume and number of transactions went up, significantly in the last 2 quarters which reflects the absorption of inventory.  Currently across all three areas there is a 10 months supply of homes, with relatively low numbers of new listings as compared to this time last year. Our spring market will see the seasonal increase in listings, as well as another release of foreclosures.  Chase bank released a statement earlier this month predicting a further drop of 5% nationally of prices, as the second wave of foreclosures enter the market.  As Chase is one of the primary holders of some of this (shadow) inventory, it’s likely this is an educated prediction.

Criteria:

1. small homeowner associations of 8 units
2. single level and multi-level townhomes and condos
3. limited to 3 neighborhoods
4. last column Average Sale Prices reflects MLS data for all condos and townhomes

Experts are suggesting that interest rates will remain historically low through 2012.  This opens doors to excellent opportunities.  In the short term, since 2006 real estate has taken a hit.  Looking at the bigger picture, the fact that real estate market has outperformed the DOW, the S&P and NASDAQ by 43% since 2000 demonstrates that real estate should be considered a good long term investment that can be entered into with confidence.

2011 turned a lot of would-be sellers into reluctant landlords and turned a lot of  would-be buyers into overwhelmed lookers.  As we look toward better employment ratings and continued good interest rates, we can hope for a more stable home buying climate.

When you raise a glass to the New Year, fill it with a new cocktail. Better yet, create your own.

Here’s how to light up your Christmas light display safely and economically.

With a few conscious choices, your merry Christmas can also be an eco-friendly Christmas.

1. Light up with LEDs. LED lights use at least 75% less energy than conventional holiday decorations, according to Energy Star. That saves the average family about $50 on energy bills during the holiday, says Avital Binshtock of the Sierra Club in San Francisco. Or douse the lights and use soy-based or beeswax candles; their emissions are cleaner than those from paraffin candles.

2. Make your own decorations. Save money and keep your kids busy by hand-crafting eco-friendly decor—strings of popcorn or pine cones—instead of buying mass-produced holiday flare.

3. Wrap with stuff you already have. Get creative with reusable shopping bags, magazines, and newspapers instead of using wrapping paper. Even gift bags that recipients can pass on make for a more eco-friendly Christmas, says Brian Clark Howard of The Daily Green.

4. Buy a real tree. Real Christmas trees, wreaths, and garlands are renewable and recyclable, Binshtock says. Real trees mean an annual cost, but that may be a wash if you tend to buy a faux tree several times a decade.

5. Say “no” to glossy paper decorations and wrapping. Shininess and color come from chemicals not easily recycled. Alternative: Decorations or wrapping papers that use soy inks or natural dyes.

6. Package it in cardboard. Plain, corrugated cardboard is good for packaging because it’s easy to recycle. If plastic factors into your holiday plans, look for No. 1 and No. 2 plastics, the easiest to recycle, says Ben Champion, director of sustainability for Kansas State University.

7. Create precious moments that don’t leave a trail of debris.

• Do something experiential like taking the family to a museum.

• Give a gift certificate or donation to an organization meaningful to the recipient in the receiver’s name. Happy holidays to you: No sales tax.

• Buy fair-trade, organic, or locally made products, which are often one-of-a-kind and may not need as much packaging and shipping, Champion says.

Solar Christmas lights don’t cost anything to operate, but the high purchase price might not add up to savings.

Now there’s a new kid in the string-light neighborhood: LED solar Christmas lights are appearing at retailers around the country, promising grid-free festive lighting for holiday-happy consumers.

Powering up solar Christmas lights

A string of solar Christmas lights uses a small solar panel for power; there are no extension cords that must be plugged into outlets. The panel — about the size of a hockey puck — powers rechargeable batteries that illuminate a 25- to 100-bulb string of LED lights.

Panels come with small stakes so you can put them in the ground, where they can take advantage of the sun. A fully-charged string of lights should glow for 6 to 8 hours after the sun goes down.

Solar lights vs. LED plug-in costs

Most consumers expect new technologies to cost more, but if saving energy and money is your main reason for considering solar-powered LED holiday lights, solar lights may not offer enough cost-saving to offset the higher initial purchase price.

Compare purchase prices:

• The average cost for a 100-light string of miniature solar-powered LED lights is about $0.30 per bulb, or about $30 per string.

• The average cost for a 100-light string of miniature plug-in LED lights is $0.08 per bulb, or about $8 per string.

Compare costs to operate:

• Operating a string of plug-in LED Christmas lights for 300 hours — more than enough hours for an entire holiday season — costs about $0.30, using an average energy cost of $0.11 per kilowatt hour.

• Solar-powered Christmas lights, of course, don’t cost anything to operate. That means you’re saving 30 cents per year in energy costs.

Do the math, and you’ll see that it’ll take about 45 years for the energy savings from solar-power to equal the difference in purchase price between a plug-in string and a solar-powered string.

Advantages of solar lights

• no extension cords

• no need for exterior electrical outlets

• withstand cold temperatures and precipitation

• zero cost to operate

• light output comparable to plug-in lighting

• a green option

Disadvantages

• higher initial cost to purchase

• may not operate under cloudy skies

• unproven longevity (too new on the market for results)

Include the family in these energy-saving, kid-friendly home maintenance tasks, and you’ll reduce stress while strengthening family ties.

For some home owners, regular home maintenance is a chore and bore. But for Dr. Michael Warren, cleaning gutters and demolishing walls are family bonding experiences and stress reducers.

“Fixing up your home is a perfect way to take your mind off your problems or stress,” the doctor says in his column for a Texas newspaper.

We HouseLogic editors agree. And since October is Energy Awareness Month, we think buttoning up your home for winter is a great way to chillax, spend some quality time with family, and help your kids to become more energy aware. Here’s how.

Hunt for air leaks

Air leaks around windows and doors suck out heat in winter and drive up energy bills – a good lesson to learn young. Light an incense stick and let the kids wave it along window and doorframes, electrical outlets, recessed lights and attic access doors and hatches. When the smoke wavers, air is leaking from the house.

Caulk and weather strip

Kids will love plugging air leaks by spreading goopy caulk along door and window frames. They can also help you fix leaky windows by applying peel-and-stick weather stripping along doors, windows and attic hatches.

Clean HVAC filters

Teach your kids how to remove, clean and replace reusable HVAC filters, an easy but essential maintenance task. They can vacuum dust from filters, or spray clean them in a utility sink. Make sure filters are dry and in good shape before reinstalling.

If you’re replacing paper filters, teach kids how to shop for new ones. Show them how different filters address different tasks. For instance, HEPA filters are particularly good at filtering allergens from the air.

Vacuum grills and vents

Stage a hunt for heating grills and vents, and then let the kids vacuum off dust and dirt that makes your HVAC system work harder than it should.

Review monthly bills

Show your kids the energy bills, and compare how many weeks of allowance it would take to pay, say, the gas bill. Compare different months, so kids can see how price fluctuates with energy use.

Have a contest to see how much money your family can save by reducing consumption. Put savings into a vacation or movie night fund.

What home projects have you done with your kids or family?

Take a look at the most common things that can go wrong when you have guests and learn how to prevent them.

That’s just one of many hosting nightmares that can end your holiday party before it even begins. Thankfully, some of the most damaging mishaps easily can be avoided. We collected five of the most prevalent issues and give you preventative tips to keep your holiday party on track.

Problem: The oven doesn’t heat

For any holiday occasion, the oven is the most important appliance in your house. If it fails to work, the centerpiece of your meal could go from roasted beef, ham, duck, or Tofurky to Peking Duck from the local Chinese takeout joint.

How to avoid:

• There are any number of reasons a stove can break, but one common cause of disaster is easy to prevent. Don’t self-clean your oven until AFTER the holidays. You risk blowing a fuse or a thermostat, and tracking down an oven technician around the holidays can be tough.

Problem: The kitchen sink clogs

The day after Thanksgiving is the busiest of the year for plumbers. The prime cause of this clog-a-thon is the mistreatment of drains when cooking holiday feasts. We hope your Thanksgiving went well, and that you avoid clog-a-thons for the rest of the holidays.

How to avoid:

• Fats and cooking oils can solidify in your pipes, so never dispose of them in your kitchen sink.

• If you have a garbage disposal, make sure it’s running before anything goes in it, and never feed it any stringy, fibrous, or starchy foods like poultry skins or potato peels.

• To fix, don’t rely on chemical drain-clearing products that can harm your pipes. Use a snake instead, available for $15 at your local hardware store. Best to keep one on hand.

Problem: The heat goes out

As the party’s host, you’re supposed to hang guests’ coats—not apologize to them for having to keep them on. A lack of heat can stop a holiday party dead in its tracks.

How to avoid:

• The key to avoiding freezing your party to a standstill is regular maintenance of your HVAC. Every 90 days, a new one-inch pleated furnace filter should be installed. If you haven’t done it in a while, now’s a good time to replace it.

• Also inspect insulation on refrigerant lines that are leading into your house. Replace them if they’re missing or damaged.

Problem: The toilet stops up

Toilets have a way of clogging up at the worst times, such as during parties and when you have overnight guests. This is especially true if you have a low-flow toilet from the early 1990s.

How to avoid:

• Don’t flush anything other than sewage and toilet paper down the toilet. And there’s nothing wrong with putting up a polite note to remind your guests to do the same.

Problem: The fridge doesn’t cool

Without a properly functioning refrigerator, your meat could get contaminated, your dairy-based treats could go sour, and you may not be able to save your yummy leftovers. To avoid discovering a warm fridge after it’s too late, take these simple precautions.

How to avoid:

• Get a thermometer for your refrigerator to make sure each shelf stays below 40 degrees and you can be aware of any temperature changes.

• Also make sure the condenser coils located on the back of the unit or beneath it are free to breathe. Coils blocked from circulating air by cereal boxes atop the fridge, or dirtied by dust or pet hair can prevent a fridge from keeping cool.

Getting your home’s heating system professionally serviced every year will keep it running smoothly and help keep heating costs under control.

Who does the job?

The simplest way to get the work done is to hire your fuel company to do it. Oil companies and gas utilities usually provide this service, or you can hire the contractor who installed the equipment. Also, some plumbers handle heating systems.

What is involved?

The technician will clean soot and corrosion out of the combustion chamber where the fuel is burned, and check it for leaks or damage. He’ll inspect the flue pipe for open seams, clogs, or corrosion that could cause carbon monoxide to backdraft into the house. He’ll replace the filters on oil and forced-air systems. Finally, he’ll test the exhaust from your cleaned machine and use the information to adjust the burner for maximum efficiency.

How much will it cost?

You’ll pay between $100 and $180 for the service, depending largely on whether you have a gas system, which is easier to maintain, or oil, which requires a fair amount of soot removal. Usually the cost is covered by an annual maintenance contract that also provides 24-hour emergency service. While the technician is there, he should also service your water heater, assuming it has a separate oil or gas burner.

When is the best time to do the work?

Ideally, have your system tuned up in the fall so it’s in top shape for the start of the heating season. Of course, that’s when technicians are the busiest, so if you can’t do it when you want, do it when you can—as long as your system is serviced once a year. And don’t expect your provider to call to remind you that it’s time. Even if you subscribe to an annual service plan, you still need to call to make an appointment. Call in the spring or summer to be sure of getting on the schedule in the fall.

To successfully appeal your property tax bill, you first need to do a bit of sleuthing into your real estate assessment.

Read your assessment letter

A real estate assessment is conducted periodically by the local government to assign a value to your home for taxation purposes. An assessment isn’t the same as a private appraisal, and the assessed value of your home isn’t necessarily how much you could sell it for today. Real estate assessment letters are mailed to homeowners annually, or perhaps every two to three years, depending where you live. The letter will include some information about your property, such as lot size or a legal description, as well as the assessed value of your house and land. Additional details—number of bedrooms, for example, or date of construction—can often be found in the property listing on your local government’s website. Your property tax bill will usually be calculated by multiplying your home’s assessed value by the local tax rate, which can vary from town to town. If you think your home’s assessment is higher than it should be, challenge it immediately. The clock starts ticking as soon as the letter goes out. You generally have less than 30 days to respond, though the time frame varies not just between states, but within each state. Procedures are often outlined on the back of the letter.

Gather evidence

Start by making sure the assessment letter doesn’t contain any mistakes. Is the number of bathrooms accurate? Number of fireplaces? How about the size of the lot? There’s a big difference between “0.3 acres” and “3.0 acres.” If any facts are wrong, then you may have a quick and easy challenge on your hands. Next, research your home’s value. Ask a real estate agent to find three to five comparable properties—”comps” in real estate jargon—that have sold recently. Alternatively, check a website like Zillow.com to find approximate values of comparable properties. The key is identifying properties that are very similar to your own in terms of size, style, condition, and location. If you’re willing to shell out between $350 and $600, you can hire a private appraiser to do the heavy lifting. Once you identify comps, check the assessments on those properties. Most local governments maintain public databases. If yours doesn’t, seek help from an agent or ask neighbors to share tax information. If the assessments on your comps are lower, you can argue yours is too high. Even if the assessments are similar, if you can show that the “comparable” properties aren’t truly comparable, you may have a case for relief based on equity. Maybe your neighbor added an addition while you were still struggling to clean up storm damage. In that case, the properties are no longer equitable.

Present your case

Once you’re armed with your research, call your local assessor’s office. Most assessors are willing to discuss your assessment informally by phone. If not, or if you aren’t satisfied with the explanation, request a formal review. Pay attention to deadlines and procedures. There’s probably a form to fill out and specific instructions for supporting evidence. A typical review, which usually doesn’t require you to appear in person, can take anywhere from one to three months. Expect to receive a decision in writing. If the review is unsuccessful, you can usually appeal the decision to an independent board, with or without the help of a lawyer. You may have to pay a modest filing fee, perhaps $10 to $25. If you end up before an appeals board, your challenge could stretch as long as a year, especially in large jurisdictions that have a high number of appeals. But homeowners do triumph. According to Guy Griscom, Assistant Chief Appraiser of the Harris County (Texas) Central Appraisal District, of the 288,800 protests filed in his Houston-area district in 2008, about 58% received reduced assessments. How much effort you decide to put into a challenge depends on the stakes. The annual U.S. median property tax paid in 2008 was $1,897, or 0.96% of the median home value of $197,600. Lowering that assessed value by 15% would net savings of about $285. In some parts of New York and Texas, for example, where tax rates can approach 3% of a home’s value, potential savings are greater. Ditto for communities with home prices well above the U.S. median. There are a few things to keep in mind as you weigh an appeal. The board can only lower your real estate assessment, not the rate at which you’re taxed. There’s also a chance, albeit slight, that your assessment could be raised, thus increasing your property taxes. A reduction in your assessment right before you put your house on the market could hurt the sale price. An easier route to savings might lie in determining if you qualify for property tax exemptions based on age, disability, military service, or other factors. This article provides general information about tax laws and consequences, but is not intended to be relied upon by readers as tax or legal advice applicable to particular transactions or circumstances. Readers should consult a tax professional for such advice, and are reminded that tax laws may vary by jurisdiction.