Koenig & Strey GMAC Voted Favorite Suburban Luxury Real Estate Firm

Wilmette-based Koenig & Strey GMAC is the No. 1 suburban luxury residential real estate brokerage firm in Chicagoland, according to Chicago Agent magazine’s fourth-annual Agents’ Choice Awards. More than 16,000 agents in the Chicago area participated in the magazine’s survey to determine the winner of this category and others, including best mortgage lender, residential architect and overall new-construction development. Winners were selected based on the quality, originality and professionalism of service they provide to home buyers and sellers.

“As one of Chicagoland’s largest residential real estate brokerage firms, Koenig & Strey GMAC has always prided itself on providing home buyers and sellers with unsurpassed access to the area’s leading high-end brokers,” said president Doug Ayers. “The fact that this award was voted on by our peers makes it an even greater accomplishment for us. It truly serves as a testament to the dedication and hard work of our agents.”

According to Ayers, Koenig & Strey GMAC’s presence in the North Shore’s luxury real estate market for the past 50 years, as well as its No. 1 market share position in Chicago’s affluent Gold Coast and Lincoln Park neighborhoods, have allowed the firm to become a leader in luxury residential real estate sales. In addition, Koenig & Strey GMAC’s proprietary luxury marketing program – Properties of Distinction – provides agents with the tools to develop customized marketing strategies for each upscale listing.

“When it comes to the luxury-home market, our reputation and experience truly is second to none, for both buyers and sellers,” added Ayers. “And as an exclusive affiliate of Christie’s Great Estates, we’re able to showcase our Properties of Distinction listings to a worldwide audience. This is a service that is unmatched in the Chicagoland market.”

Koenig & Strey GMAC has 28 residential brokerage offices with over 1,250 sales associates serving some of the finest communities in Chicago, the North Shore, Lake County and the western suburbs. Koenig & Strey GMAC Real Estate is an exclusive affiliate of Christie's Great Estates, the leading network of luxury international property brokers with more than 35,000 sales associates worldwide specializing in high-end

New Homes Sales Up In September

CNNMoney.com reports on the most recent new home sales data:

Sales of newly constructed homes rose in September, according to the monthly report from the U.S. Census Bureau, inching up 2.7% from August to an annualized rate of 464,000.

Read the full article: Sales of New Homes Up 2.7%

Existing Home Sales Up, Inventory Down in September

Sales of existing homes across the nation increased 5.5% in the month of September, compared to August 2008, according to data released by the National Realtors Association (NAR) on Friday, October 24. Sales in September were also 1.4% higher than in September 2007.

NAR President Richard F. Gaylord, a broker with RE/MAX Real Estate Specialists in Long Beach, Calif., said low home prices and low interest rates have been attracting buyers. “This is the first time since November 2005 that home sales have been above year-ago levels,” he said. “Credit tightened at the end of September, but the improvement demonstrates that buyers who’ve been on the sidelines want to get into the market to make a long-term investment in their future.”

NAR also reports that total housing inventory at the end of September fell 1.6 percent to 4.27 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 9.9-month supply at the current sales pace, down from a 10.6-month supply in August. This marks two consecutive monthly declines since inventories peaked in July.

NAR Press Release

Fewer New Houses to be Added to Market

Builders are slowing construction plans at a more rapid pace as the market absorbs the currently available inventory, according to the most recent data on housing starts released by the Commerce Department on Friday.

Housing starts in September declined 6.3% compared to August 2008, reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 817,000, the lowest level since 1991, and 31.1% below the September 2007 adjusted rate of 1,185,000.

Population Growth Seen in Chicago as Slow Housing Market Stalls Migration to South

Chicago and other Mid-western cities are seeing population growth, according to an MSNBC MarketWatch piece that discusses the reasons why fewer people are moving to Southern states:

Chicago isn't the only Midwestern city to reverse its growth trend during the period: St. Paul, Minn., Green Bay, Wis., Kansas City, Kan., Grand Rapids, Mich., and Warren, Mich., also gained residents, said William Frey, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. In the Northeast, Boston also turned around and posted an increase. Meanwhile, hot cities including Phoenix, Houston, San Antonio and Dallas — while not losing population — are showing reduced levels of growth, tempering the trend of Americans from northern states relocating to the Sun Belt, Frey said.

Read the full article: Housing Slump Causes More People To Stay Put

McArthur Foundation Donates $68 Million to help Chicago Homeowners

According to an article in the Chicago Tribune, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announed $68 million in grants and low-interest loans in the Chicago area to help stop the rising number of home foreclosures.

The foundation said its initiative, which began in March but was announced Wednesday, should help 10,000 Chicago households. It also will offer legal counseling to renters affected by foreclosure.

Read the complete Chicago Tribune story

Greenspan Sees Housing Recovery in First Half of 2009

Former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan said the U.S. housing market will begin to recover in the first half of 2009, according to a CNBC.com article referencing a piece Greenspan wrote for Emerging Markets magazine published this month.

Greenspan wrote that the recent slowing in the rate of decline in U.S. home prices is the first positive note in the year-long trauma and that eventually, frozen credit markets will thaw "as frightened investors take tentative steps towards reengagement with risk."

"More conclusive signs of pending home price stability are likely to become visible in the first half of 2009," he wrote.

Full CNBC Article

Full Emerging Markets Article
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Brookfield Residential Services Acquires GMAC Home Services LLC

Read the press release: Brookfield Residential Services Acquires GMAC Home Services LLC

Mortgage Rates Dropping

In the wake of the changes at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, mortgage rates have declined to below six percent. Bankrate.com quotes the nationwide average interest rate for a 30 year fixed, conforming loan is 5.79 percent, down from 6.25 just one week ago.

July Pending Home Sales Up For Midwest

It was widely reported yesterday that the number of resale contracts had decreased from June to July 2008, as the NAR published the Index of Pending Home Sales for July. While the national decline was 3.2 percent, the Midwest actually experienced a 2.8 percent increase in contracts written for the sale of previously owned homes.

Across the nation, pending sales decreased 6.8 percent compared to the previous year. However the Midwest had a more modest 2.4 percent decrease during the same time period.

Existing home sales in the Midwest saw a slight (.9%) increase in home sales between June and July, 2008.