2012 Awards and Recognition
2012 was an excellent year for my business – in fact, one of my best years to date. I was able to add some exciting milestones and accomplishments to my curriculum vitae that I would like to share with you. The year started with me adding a new professional designation to my repertoire. I was able to receive training as an Accredited Distressed Property Representative and successfully passed a very rigorous test to be able to claim this designation. The training I received gave me greater understanding and tools to assist my buyers and sellers with foreclosures, short sales and all types of distressed property.
In the early part of 2012 I submitted an article about online marketing to Realtor Magazine, a publication for members of the National Association of Realtors. I’m happy to report that my article was accepted and published in the July/August issue and was potentially read by nearly a million of my fellow Realtors around the world. Since its publication, I have been contacted by many of my peers and have had the opportunity to discuss online marketing concepts and ideas.
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After a flat spring market, what’s in store for Northern Illinois for the rest of 2011? There are some factors that will be starting to influence prices and activity in the region beginning now – the most important being the rate of new foreclosures. Recent statistics show we’re currently at a 44 month low for new foreclosure filings. Also, the “shadow inventory” that was the big worry this spring has yet to materialize and many now believe that it was largely hype. As you can see from the graph, our downward slide in median price bottomed in May and since then we’ve seen things move up a bit. I would expect that to continue through this fall with perhaps a leveling off during the winter months. It remains to be seen what the current turmoil with the financial markets and uncertainty with Europe and the threat of a double-dip recession will do, if anything. I honestly don’t attribute our improvements since May to an increase in the number of new buyers – more of a combination of pent-up demand, fewer foreclosures and time of the year. There are lots of buyers “bottom shopping” this market – snatching up any juicy deals that come through. That’s causing an interesting situation where homes at certain price points are selling in days with multiple offers while others sit un-touched. Often the foreclosures in this market are garnering a lot of attention because they represent a quick purchase opportunity at great prices.
