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  QUOTE OF THE WEEK “Sometimes you lie in bed at night and you don’t have a single thing to worry about. That always worries me!”—Charlie Brown, Peanuts character created by Charles M. Schultz   NATIONAL MARKET UPDATE   Housing Starts and Building Permits were off in September, as builders focused on completions. Single-family completions […]

    QUOTE OF THE WEEK “Money does not make you happy but it quiets the nerves.”—Sean O’Casey, Irish playwright   NATIONAL MARKET UPDATE   The Mortgage Bankers Association reports, “Purchase activity…continues to show moderate growth on an annual basis,” although it declined for the week by about 1%, while the share of adjustable-rate mortgages […]

    QUOTE OF THE WEEK “If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs, it’s just possible you haven’t grasped the situation.”—Jean Kerr, American author and playwright   NATIONAL MARKET UPDATE   The Pending Home Sales measure of signed contracts on existing homes ended the summer strong, up 4% in August […]

WHAT TO DECLUTTER—AND NOT DECLUTTER—IN YOUR HOME   If you let things pile up, decluttering can be a very tedious task. But don’t try to get rid of it all. There are things you should hold onto, as well as things you don’t really need. Here’s what the organizing pros say you should toss out, […]

  QUOTE OF THE WEEK “Economics is extremely useful as a form of employment for economists.”—John Kenneth Galbraith, Canadian-American economist   NATIONAL MARKET UPDATE  New home sales jumped more than 20% in August, up more than 15% from a year ago. Plus, median sales prices are down more than 10% from their 2022 peak, and […]

5 TACTICS TO MAXIMIZE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA EFFORT Social media platforms have become increasingly effective at landing new business. But getting the most out of social media requires having the right tactics. Here are five things digital marketing experts say are key to a successful social media effort. Choose the appropriate platform. Many social media […]

BUSINESS TIPS A GUIDE TO REAL ESTATE NETWORKING IRLNothing beats face-to-face contact in real life to make effective connections with prospective clients and referral partners. Here’s how to make the most of those experiences. Overall Strategies Where to MeetThe goal is to get in front of potential buyers, sellers, and people who can refer you. […]

  QUOTE OF THE WEEK “Canadians are very well behaved; they don’t throw their food.”—Calvin Trillin, American journalist, humorist, and poet   NATIONAL MARKET UPDATE   Mortgage applications spiked almost 30% last week, driven by refis, but purchase applications also went up a healthy 12% compared to the prior week and are 20% higher than […]

Here’s your monthly Chicago Housing Stats video, courtesy of The Jim Passi Team at Alameda Mortgage Corp. For all of your home financing needs in Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Georgia, Tennessee, or Florida, call The Jim Passi Team today at 847-899-1813! Follow our social media pages for more informational tools!

A HOME INSPECTION CHECKLIST FOR SELLERS     O.K., you’ve accepted the buyers’ offer, so now, in most cases, they’ll hire a home inspector to check out the house. This generally happens before the lender does an appraisal, because if the buyers made their offer contingent on the inspection, it could uncover a deal-breaker. Here’s […]