Kevin Smith on Zillow Kevin R Smith

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Cost More to do FHA

It appears that hte cost to obtain an FHA loan is going up.


FHA TAKES ADDITIONAL STEPS TO BOLSTER CAPITAL RESERVES
New premium structure will help protect FHA’s MMI fund
WASHINGTON – As part of ongoing efforts to encourage the return of private capital in the residential mortgage market and strengthen the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund, Acting FHA Commissioner Carol Galante today announced a new premium structure for FHA-insured single family mortgage loans.  FHA will increase its annual mortgage insurance premium (MIP) by 0.10 percent for loans under $625,500 and by 0.35 percent for loans above that amount.  Upfront premiums (UFMIP) will also increase by 0.75 percent. 



Kevin R Smith, Your HomeSmity

Thinking of making a move? Log onto my website at www.HomeSmity.com and search from over 150,000 Northern Illinois Homes for sale. Registering is quick and easy! 

Kevin R Smith, Broker Associate RE/MAX Center, Phone: 847 231 7618 Kevin@HomeSmity.com

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Lake Villa Number of Sales

Number of sales have fallen but listings are also down.



Kevin R Smith, Your HomeSmity

Thinking of making a move? Log onto my website at www.HomeSmity.com and search from over 150,000 Northern Illinois Homes for sale. Registering is quick and easy! 

Kevin R Smith, Broker Associate RE/MAX Center, Phone: 847 231 7618 Kevin@HomeSmity.com




Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Lake Villa Median Values Up!

Listing have seemed to fall but prices are up



Kevin R Smith, Your HomeSmity

Thinking of making a move? Log onto my website at www.HomeSmity.com and search from over 150,000 Northern Illinois Homes for sale. Registering is quick and easy! 

Kevin R Smith, Broker Associate RE/MAX Center, Phone: 847 231 7618 Kevin@HomeSmity.com




Sunday, February 5, 2012

Lake Villa Price per/sq ft


Kevin R Smith, Your HomeSmity

Thinking of making a move? Log onto my website at www.HomeSmity.com and search from over 150,000 Northern Illinois Homes for sale. Registering is quick and easy! 

Kevin R Smith, Broker Associate RE/MAX Center, Phone: 847 231 7618 Kevin@HomeSmity.com



Friday, January 27, 2012

December Home Sales Down

Most experts are stating that this is to be expected due to season.

From Fox Business

New single-family home sales unexpectedly fell in December for the first time in four months and the median home price dropped, dampening some of the hopes the housing sector will boost the economy this year.
The Commerce Department said on Thursday sales decreased 2.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted 307,000-unit annual rate.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast sales at a 320,000-unit rate. November's sales pace was revised slightly lower.

Kevin R Smith, Broker Associate RE/MAX Center, Phone: 847 231 7618 Kevin@HomeSmity.com



Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Home Price Index Rises 1% In November


U.S. home prices rose in November, a government agency said Wednesday, another sign that the ailing housing market is gradually climbing back after a severe decline.

Home prices rose 1.0% on a seasonally adjusted basis from a month earlier, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency's monthly home-price index.
 

Kevin R Smith, Your HomeSmity

Thinking of making a move? Log onto my website at www.HomeSmity.com and search from over 150,000 Northern Illinois Homes for sale. Registering is quick and easy! 

Kevin R Smith, Broker Associate RE/MAX Center, Phone: 847 231 7618 Kevin@HomeSmity.com




Number Of Listings in Lake Villa



Kevin R Smith, Your HomeSmity

Thinking of making a move? Log onto my website at www.HomeSmity.com and search from over 150,000 Northern Illinois Homes for sale. Registering is quick and easy! 

Kevin R Smith, Broker Associate RE/MAX Center, Phone: 847 231 7618 Kevin@HomeSmity.com



Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Welcome Home Heroes Down Payment Assistant Program

Welcome Home Heroes

Welcome Home Heroes financing package

Launched to honor those who sacrifice to safeguard our freedom, Welcome Home Heroes is open to all qualified Illinois veterans, active military personnel, reservists and Illinois National Guard members.
The Welcome Home Heroes homebuyer financing package includes:
• a $10,000 forgiveable loan over two years for down payment and closing cost assistance
• a 30-year fixed rate mortgage that has an affordable interest rate (4 percent as of 12/14/11)
• an optional mortgage credit certificate to reduce federal income tax liability.

To Find out more click here

Kevin R Smith, Your HomeSmity

Thinking of making a move? Log onto my website at www.HomeSmity.com and search from over 150,000 Northern Illinois Homes for sale. Registering is quick and easy! 

Kevin R Smith, Broker Associate RE/MAX Center, Phone: 847 231 7618 Kevin@HomeSmity.com




Saturday, January 21, 2012

Home sales hit 11-month high - Topix

Home sales hit 11-month high - Topix
Kevin R Smith, Your HomeSmity

Thinking of making a move? Log onto my website at www.HomeSmity.com and search from over 150,000 Northern Illinois Homes for sale. Registering is quick and easy! 

Kevin R Smith, Broker Associate RE/MAX Center, Phone: 847 231 7618 Kevin@HomeSmity.com



Friday, January 20, 2012

Lake Villa Home Prices per SqFt

This is becoming a common way to determine value!

Kevin R Smith, Your HomeSmity

Thinking of making a move? Log onto my website at www.HomeSmity.com and search from over 150,000 Northern Illinois Homes for sale. Registering is quick and easy! 

Kevin R Smith, Broker Associate RE/MAX Center, Phone: 847 231 7618 Kevin@HomeSmity.com




Thursday, January 19, 2012

More Thoughts on the Market Bottom


Has The Housing Market Hit Its Bottom?

Morgan Brennan, Forbes Staff
I write about real estate markets, property and cities.

Has the U.S. housing market hit a bottom? Do we have further to go? When will a recovery start? These are the questions every homeowner and real estate investor are currently asking themselves — or should be.

Wall Street firms have optimistically been betting that the bottom’s here. Research firms like Zelman & Associates predict the sector will pick up this year and hedge funds have been jumping into real estate-related investments from brick and mortar building purchases to shares of home builders stocks. In December Goldman Sachs Group released a report stating that “The home price bottom [is] in sight,” according to my colleague Agustino Fontevecchia.

Read Complete Article

Kevin R Smith, Your HomeSmity

Thinking of making a move? Log onto my website at www.HomeSmity.com and search from over 150,000 Northern Illinois Homes for sale. Registering is quick and easy! 

Kevin R Smith, Broker Associate RE/MAX Center, Phone: 847 231 7618 Kevin@HomeSmity.com




Tuesday, January 17, 2012

How Do We Know What Our House Is Worth?


How to Use Comparable Sales to Price Your Home

Published: August 05, 2010 By: Carl Vogel

Read more: http://buyandsell.houselogic.com/articles/how-use-comparable-sales-price-your-home/#ixzz1jixRx5So

How much can you sell your home for? Probably about as much as the neighbors got, as long as the neighbors sold their house in recent memory and their home was just like your home.

Kevin R Smith, Your HomeSmity

Thinking of making a move? Log onto my website at www.HomeSmity.com and search from over 150,000 Northern Illinois Homes for sale. Registering is quick and easy! 

Kevin R Smith, Broker Associate RE/MAX Center, Phone: 847 231 7618 Kevin@HomeSmity.com




Monday, January 16, 2012

Trulia Meidian Sale Prices for the Area

Let Me help you see what your home may be worth!

Lake Villa Summary

The median sales price for homes in Lake Villa IL for Oct 11 to Dec 11 was $130,000. This represents a decline of 26.3%, or $46,500, compared to the prior quarter and a decrease of 32.5% compared to the prior year. Sales prices have depreciated 47.5% over the last 5 years in Lake Villa. The average listing price for Lake Villa homes for sale on Trulia was $293,313 for the week ending Jan 04, which represents an increase of 4.6%, or $13,011, compared to the prior week and an increase of 5.9%, or $16,248, compared to the week ending Dec 14. Average price per square foot for Lake Villa IL was $95, a decrease of 17.4% compared to the same period last year.


Kevin R Smith, Your HomeSmity

Thinking of making a move? Log onto my website at www.HomeSmity.com and search from over 150,000 Northern Illinois Homes for sale. Registering is quick and easy! 

Kevin R Smith, Broker Associate RE/MAX Center, Phone: 847 231 7618 Kevin@HomeSmity.com




Saturday, January 14, 2012

Home Prices In Lake Villa

Call Me for more information!


Kevin R Smith, Your HomeSmity

Thinking of making a move? Log onto my website at www.HomeSmity.com and search from over 150,000 Northern Illinois Homes for sale. Registering is quick and easy! 

Kevin R Smith, Broker Associate RE/MAX Center, Phone: 847 231 7618 Kevin@HomeSmity.com




Friday, January 13, 2012

RE/MAX Agents Anticipate Modest Improvement for Metro Chicago Real Estate Market in 2012

Pick on link to read full article!
 RE/MAX Agents Anticipate Modest Improvement for Metro Chicago Real Estate Market in 2012

ELGIN, Ill., Dec. 15, 2011 -- What’s ahead for the housing segment of the metropolitan Chicago real estate market in 2012? RE/MAX recently asked a representative sampling of its experienced agents for their assessment of where the market stands today and what the New Year may hold. A sizable majority of those agents expects that the first half of 2012 is likely to see a slow steadying of home prices and a continuation of the recent trend toward increased home sales.
Can you feel it coming?

Monday, January 9, 2012

Grayslake says welcome home and thanks to veterans

Welcome Home and Thank YOU for serving!

Read Full from Daily Herald

Army Specialist Adam Trost of Lake Villa, center, talks with Ben Thompson, left, and Raul Gutierrez about 6th Branch during the Oasis Grayslake Youth Center's 'Welcome Home' event Sunday for military personnel who served in an overseas war.

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Curb Side Appeal durung the Winter Months

If you are considering selling your home this spring don't forget to spend type during this great weather cleaning up that front flower bed or trim a few branches.

Anything you can do to make your house stand out now even if it is not listed will start to draw attention when that For Sale sign shows up.

Enjoy this GREAT weather, Lake County!

If you are considering selling your house lets start that conversation so that you can have the information to make a good decision.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Making Home Improvments in 2012?

Great article from Realty Times

 Read Full Article

Which Home Improvement Projects Offer the Best Returns?

"This year's Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report shows the value of putting your home's best façade forward, so to speak," said National Association of REALTORS® President Moe Veissi. "Inexpensive exterior replacement projects are not only crucial to a home's regular upkeep, but are also expected to recoup close to 70 percent of costs. Specific exterior projects such as siding, window and door replacements are part of regular home maintenance, so many homeowners are already undertaking them. These projects also do not require expensive materials and they have the added bonus of instantly adding curb appeal."

If you are thinking about buying or selling a home it would be my honor if you allow me to help!

Monday, January 2, 2012

Fixed or Adjustible; Inman article

A better mortgage fit: fixed or adjustable?
Integrated calculators help you decide
By Jack Guttentag, Monday, January 2, 2012.

Inman News®

 Read Full Article Here!


In many, if not most, countries, borrowers are offered one type of mortgage: Take it or leave it. Borrowers in the U.S., however, can choose from a large menu of mortgage types designed to meet different borrower and lender needs.
These include fixed-rate mortgages (FRMs) with terms ranging from 10 to 40 years, and adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) with 30-year terms but initial rate periods ranging from one to 10 years. Many of these mortgages have an interest-only payment option for the first five or 10 years. And all are offered with multiple combinations of interest rate and lender fees. But having options is as much a curse as a blessing to borrowers who have no idea of how to make a selection. Most focus on the immediate financial burdens imposed by the mortgage, and give little thought to the future.The loan originators (LOs) who borrowers encounter in the process are seldom helpful because their time horizon is even shorter than the borrower's.
They want the loan to close so that they will get paid, and they fear that extended discussions of different loan types and options will slow down the process, and perhaps derail it altogether. Their impulse is to suggest the loan type that the borrower might find acceptable, which may or may not be the best. Many LOs are not qualified to counsel borrowers effectively, even if they wanted to do so.