But with Facebook now being so mainstream among agents in the industry, who exactly is worth following? If you’re looking for quality updates on a regular basis without going overboard, we recommend the following Chicago agents or brokerages:

• Baird & Warner-Real estate is more than just the home you live in – it’s the life you get out of it.

• Resurrecting Real Estate- Resurrecting Real Estate was established for the sole purpose of preserving, managing and selling REO assets. Our goal is to bring innovative and efficient systems into our market place, to service our Clients in a way which has not been seen before

• Ashley Authurs- Ashley Arthurs is focused on providing her clients with a successful and seamless real estate experience. Through her client focused approach, she uses her keen understanding of the marketplace and city trends to guide her clients to the best decisions.

• See Chicago Real Estate- For more than 25 years, Ted Guarnero has been a leader in downtown Chicago’s residential real estate market, developing a loyal following of homebuyers and sellers, developers, and community leaders.

• Sobborgo- Sobborgo.com is suburban Chicago’s most comprehensive real estate website. Contact their team of real estate pros for more info on homes for sale in your Chicago suburb.

• Luxury Living- Luxury Living Chicago is a boutique marketing and apartment finding resource. We work directly with the newest full amenity high rise buildings in downtown Chicago and provide the most professional experience.

• Tessi Neuhauser- Tessi Neuhauser is a Real Estate Broker specializing in The Gold Coast. Her love of people, Chicago and Real Estate makes her the perfect combination for helping you find your next home.

• Danielle Dowell- Danielle has been a Chicago real estate broker since 2006. She provides her clients with firsthand, thorough knowledge of the city while offering market expertise that expands over Chicago’s neighborhoods

• Sherri Kramer- Sherri has been a realtor in Chicago since 1986 and top producer with Coldwell Banker Residential’s Lincoln Park Plaza office for 16 years. Her business is based on repeat and referral clients, providing the best marketing support to Sellers and helping Buyers through the complicated process of purchasing a home.

• Christine Hancock- Christine is very internet savvy and offers the most cutting edge and effective real estate technology tools currently available. Along with that, Christine believes that the best use of technology will save time and money for both her and her clients.

• Urban Real Estate- Creatively mixing Chicago Real Estate and Technology for all Chicagoans!!

• iMove Chicago- Bringing Chicago home… iMove Chicago is a full service real estate brokerage working each day for you. Together, let’s move.

• Skipper Denton- A Real estate professional – integrity, in-depth community and market knowledge, marketing savvy, effective negotiation skills and a high-quality professional network, all of which are hallmarks of how I work.

Main image courtesy of Franco Bouly via Flickr.com

Home listings for many of Chicago’s Western and North Shore suburbs are already highlighted on the website, but over the coming months, additional features such as market and community statistics, in-depth listing pages, Google mapping technology, a Sobborgo.com blog that will discuss suburban Chicago real estate news, and a variety of other state-of-the-art web technology enhancements will be added to the site, making this a must-use for Chicagoans looking for that perfect suburban dream home.

As registered leads come into the website, each potential home buying client will be directed to a qualified agent on the Sobborgo.com team who is a real estate specialist in whatever Chicago suburb that lead is searching. Currently, Sobborgo.com is mainly organized by community, but as users click on their preferred town, they will have the option to search real estate for sale by price, or in many cases, by subdivision.

So if you’re a home buyer who has narrowed down your home search to just a few specific subdivisions in a certain suburban community, simply click on your desired suburb and see the subdivisions populate on the website’s right sidebar. And for several communities, like Naperville for example, other convenient search options have also been installed, which include condos for sale, rental listings, luxury homes, and new listings on the market.

While Sobborgo.com is still being developed, suggestions are welcome for what you would like to see in a real estate website. So if there’s a particular feature or web technology that you feel makes your home search easier, fill out the contact form on Sobborgo.com and let your thoughts, opinions, and suggestions be heard! And while you’re at it, follow Sobborgo.com on Facebook and Twitter, and also be sure to keep an eye on the website over the first part of 2013—you won’t want to miss what’s in store for Suburban Chicago home buyers!

mage by porchlife via flickr.com

We’ve already had 4 years to get a feel for Obama’s impact on housing. It shouldn’t be too difficult to make some educated guesses about the best real estate investment strategies, based on what we’ve already seen.

We already know that student loan funding is a priority for the Obama administration. As long as student loans are readily available, rental properties well located in cities with major colleges and universities should see strong demand, low vacancy rates, and the ability to rent for above-market rates, since a 3 bedroom house may be rented to three separate students.

Consider this article from Market Watch, listing the top ten towns for rentals to college students. Most folks probably didn’t know that there are over 40 major educational institutions in the Boston – Cambridge market where Harvard and MIT are located. 3 bedroom homes in the college market are renting for an average total of $3900 a month, when rented to 3 students. Compare that to a typical mortgage payment there of $1370 per month, and you can see how this might be an interesting investing angle.

Atlanta is also on the top ten list, with a 3 bedroom / 3 student rent rate of $1485 compared to average mortgage payment of $650. Atlanta is also a hotbed for foreclosures, many of which are located near various educational facilities within the downtown area. Combine a good buy on a foreclosed home with a student rental in a market like Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Emory University or Spellman College, for a winning combination of low buy price and high market rental income.

Also included on the top ten list were Nashville, TN, South Bend, Indiana, St. Louis, Syracuse, NY, Houston, TX, Washington DC and Chigago, Il. Notably these towns are more likely to see growth in the construction sector as a direct result of expansion of academic facilities. One of the few commercial sectors that has been doing steady business is additions or improvement projects for colleges and universities. I’ve personally seen several colleges in my local area building new facilities or expanding existing facilities since Obama took office in 2009.

Another “holy grail” of the Obama administration will be the full implementation of Obamacare. Many college towns are also home to one or more major hospital or medical facilities that may also be tied to a local university. Demand for workers of all types in the medical profession will be growing in the years ahead, no matter who is president, as a result of the aging of the baby boomer generation.

Rome, Georgia, a small town located in the northwestern mountains did not make the top ten list, but Rome is one of those towns that exemplifies the educational – medical relationship. The population of Rome is only about 37,000 officially, but Rome has several universities and colleges, as well as two major hospitals and lots of other clinical facilities. As such, the employment rate and rental market in this town has not suffered nearly as much as it has in other nearby cities that do not have colleges or major hospitals.

Another related segment that is seeing increasing demand is in the unique niche of providing access to short term housing or apartment rentals for family members of those who are in town to receive medical treatments. When a patient has to undergo several days or weeks of chemotherapy for example, family members would prefer accommodations in the immediate area that, unlike hotels, will allow them more space and the ability to eat “at home” to avoid extra costs. Veterans hospitals have many out of town families with a need to stay close by for extended periods of time.

The rental property market does best where job growth is strongest. The Educational and Medical sectors are primed for major growth over the next four years and probably well beyond that time frame. Incidentally, the advances in medical technology and educational technology have not yet resulted in a reduction of their labor force. Instead labor needs have increased along with the availability of new equipment and applications. This is unique when you consider that technology is also the reason why many industries such as manufacturing, no longer need a large labor force.

In today’s challenging economic climate, it makes sense to think creatively about the economic and legislative fundamentals that lie before us, and develop real estate investment strategies that are most likely to be supported by those fundamentals.
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Donna S. Robinson is a real estate investor, author and residential market analyst located in Atlanta, GA. Follow her on twitter at donnaconsults. Her latest book, Basics Of Real Estate Investing is now available on Amazon.

© morganimation – Fotolia.com

The qualifying process began in the spring, for investment groups that could meet specific FHFA guidelines for capital assets, management capability and other criteria. Bidding began during the late spring – early summer, and culminated with closing of escrow for winning bidders in September. Some of the results are now being made public.

According to the FHFA report, there seems to be only two sales that have closed as of October 1st.

The largest sale was for a block of 699 properties throughout the state of Florida, and was sold to Pacifica Companies, LLC.

The terms of the deal include a $12.3 million down payment, and a structured cash flow split for the balance of 49.3 million. Once this amount is paid, the deal will shift to a higher cash flow rate that may be retained by Pacifica. FHFA is basically predicting a total value of around $78 million dollars for the 699 properties, which they estimate at about 95 cents on the dollar. And Pacifica, as the owner, will be responsible for ownership expenses, including taxes, insurance, and maintenance. That roughly equates to a buy price of $111,588 per house, plus ownership costs.

Pacifica Capital LLC has resort and multiunit properties in a number of locations according to their website. They are based in San Diego, California.

I will be watching this deal with great interest, to see how it all works out. Rental houses have a way of eating up lots of cash and Florida is a high maintenance, high insurance environment. From what I gather, checking out info on the web, the local Florida Realtors Association is not any too happy about this either. The local dynamics will be interesting to watch. This is something of a classroom study for real estate investors, as single family investing with such a high number of properties owned by an out of state investor has never been done successfully, as far as I know.

The terms of the deal, allowing for a relatively low $12 millon dollars down, with the remaining balance to be paid for out of proceeds from property cash flows is an opportunity that any investor would relish, but time will tell how much profit, if any, will be realized. My guess is that some properties will perform very well, but as many as 70% could be average or below expectations. I’m told by sources with experience in bulk sales that legal issues over unanticipated title problems along with repair, maintenance and vacancy costs can eat up a lot of cash flow.

In Chicago, a deal closed for a much smaller package of 94 properties with a total price to Fannie Mae of approximately $11.8 million dollars, or what FHFA says is about 86% of market value. Hardly a great price by investor standards, but Cogsville Group, LLC, the buyer, paid only $2.1 million up front, with the balance also to be paid out of cash flow. This is about $125,583 per property, plus all ownership costs.

FHFA also noted that the Atlanta package of some 572 homes was not awarded to any bidder, though they are still willing to look at bids. Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Phoenix were also to be included in the bidding, but there were no details about any specific transactions or buyers. Presumably those transactions may have been awarded but have not yet been settled.

Potential bidders may also continue to apply to prequalify by going to FHFA’s bidder prequalifying page.
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Donna S. Robinson is a real estate investor, trainer and residential market analyst located in Atlanta, GA. Follow her on twitter at donnaconsults and read her blog at www.RealtyBizConsulting.com

© mostafa fawzy – Fotolia.com

So what about the agents who don’t have a website–what are they using for an e-mail address? Obviously, whenever a brokerage hires new agents, a new e-mail address is provided to them. The problem, however, is that should agents decide to leave a brokerage, your e-mail address is also now gone and there’s always a chance former clients may lose touch.

To counter such issues, Chicago.com, Inc. has launched a new product that now allows agents and professionals in various other industries to invest in a new e-mail address that is easily remembered by customers and helps promote the city in which you currently do business. All you have to do is log onto Chicago.com, pick-out an available e-mail address such as joe@chicago.com, and create an account. And although it really is that simple, is it actually worth your time and money? Let’s take a closer look:

Pros to having a Chicago.com e-mail address

1)      Easy to remember.  As long as you’re able to secure an e-mail address that’s simple and easy to remember, this is definitely a positive aspect.

2)      It’s permanent. When I say permanent, I of course only mean it as long as you keep paying your monthly, quarterly, or yearly dues. But as mentioned, should you change companies at any point during your career, this e-mail address stays the same.

Cons to having a Chicago.com e-mail address

1)      Bad Branding. While Chicago.com, Inc may argue this is a great way to brand your real estate business, I would disagree. A marketing e-mail I received from Chicago.com, Inc read:

“Chaz Walters, Coldwell Banker, recently purchased chaz@chicago.com as well as the domain hotproperties.chicago.com.  Thad Wong, CEO of @properties, and his wife Emily Sachs-Wong recently acquired thad@chicago.com and emily@chicago.com respectively.  Six of the ten largest real estate companies in Chicago are customers of our product, including @Properties, Habitat Corporation, ESW Properties, The Pritzker Group, and many more.”

If I’m Chaz at Coldwell Banker and I just bought a new domain name, the obvious goal is to generate as much traffic to my site as possible, right? So why wouldn’t I want my e-mail address to include @hotproperties.chicago.com? Sure, it’s a bit longer, but I still want my web address to be included in anything and everything I do, which involves the dozens of e-mails I likely send out a week if I’m a real estate agent.

2)      Creates Confusion. Aside from being a great communication tool, an e-mail address also defines who you are professionally. If I send a message to someone from my e-mail address, joe@realestatewebcreation.com, it shows that I either work for Real Estate Web Creation or am affiliated with that company in some way. If I’m not totally familiar with Chaz Walters’ business and I receive an e-mail or drip letter from him, there’s a good chance I might automatically think he’s with Chicago.com. If I’m a home buyer, I then might log on to Chicago.com to learn more about what Chaz can do for me or even search the Chicago real estate market. There’s only one problem: Chicago.com isn’t Chaz’s website and Chicago.com has nothing to do with helping find a new condo or rental around the Chicago area. There goes a potential lead.

3)      Expensive. Chicago.com offers three separate e-mail plans: a monthly rate at $79, a quarterly rate at $199, and a yearly rate at $749. A 79 dollar per month cost for an e-mail address? Really? The average cost to host a website with an IDX is around $50 per month, so why not just start your own website and start branding yourself through your own domain name? Not only is this better branding, but as you continue to build your website over time, it will hopefully be generating some quality leads for you as well.

From a business perspective, I think this is a great concept from Chicago.com, Inc and will probably work for plenty of real estate professionals. Some real estate agents have such a broad client base that a lead-generating website with an e-mail address isn’t necessary. But is a Chicago.com e-mail address something I would have? In a word: No.

Joe Heath is a graduate of Indiana University and also holds a Graduate Certificate in Real Estate Development from Drexel University. After working in the market research sector and authoring published Market Snapshots for Hanley Wood Market Intelligence, Joe now works as a Web Marketing Specialist and co-owns Real Estate Web Creation with his partner, Ted Guarnero, a 25+ year real estate veteran.

RE/MAX

Three Re/Max Offices in Chicago, Re/Max City, Re/Max Signature and Re/Max Premier Properties, took home some of the most prestigious awards during the annual Re/Max Northern Illinois award ceremony held in late April.

All three offices were honored for their steady sales and a willingness to embrace strategies designed to help them thrive in the changing Chicago real estate market. The Technology Award was given to the broker owners of Re/Max City, Henry Sakowski and Martin Lata. In addition the office took home two top production awards. Their office at 720 W. Higgins Avenue was named the top Re/Max office in Chicago for closed sales volume. Their Re/Max office network was honored as the multi-office Re/Max brokerage in Chicago with the most closed transactions and highest sales volumes in 2011.

The technology award was due to the offices impressive use of the newest digital tools, helping to maximize office and agent productivity. This included holding weekly meetings and seminars on the best way to implement these tools, and their offices went paperless last year.

Linda O’Donnell, broker owner of Re/Max Signature, 2411 N. Clybourn Avenue, received the Eagle Award, which is given to the individual who best embraces corporate directives designed to help brokerages through challenging economic times.

During the economic downturn O’Donnell has focused much of her business on the distressed property sector, and has been very successful. She is known for generously sharing leads with agents in her office, and opened the doors of Re/Max Signature to others in the Re/Max network forced to consolidate due to market conditions. Re/Max Signature was recognized for closing more sales transactions than any other single Re/Max office in Chicago last year.

Janice Corley and Cynthia Bauer, formerly associated with Sotheby’s International Realty, are broker owners of Chicago’s Re/Max Premier Properties, located at 1205 N. Dearborn Parkway. They took home the Trendsetter Award which is given to individuals who are best able to analyze changing real estate trends for the benefit of their business and the entire Re/Max Northern Illinois network.

The Re/Max Northern Illinois network has its headquarters in Elgin, and consists of 2100 sales associates as well as 110 individually owned and operated Re/Max offices, providing a full range of brokerage services.

Tim Binning

Tim Binning, broker and owner of Re/Max All Pro in Bloomingdale and Sugar Grove, Illinois, and Re/Max Great American North in St Charles, Illinois, has just been awarded one of the top honors presented by the Re/Max Northern Illinois real estate network. He was named Broker/Owner of the Year, Multi-Office at the networks annual awards event last April.

Binning received this award due to his successful efforts to keep three offices thriving in spite of tough market conditions faced by real estate professionals today. As a result of his efforts, Re/Max ranks as the market-share leader in all the local markets in which his offices are located, holding more than a 30% share in each.

Binning strongly believes in giving back to the community, as he and his agents support the Children’s Memorial Hospital (the Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago), and they were amongst the Re/Max networks leaders in raising funds for the hospital last year.

Every year Re/Max Northern Illinois awards ceremony honours affiliates who have achieved outstanding results in areas of service and sales, as well as in technology and philanthropy. Re/Max has been the leader in the Northern Illinois real estate market since 1989, and has headquarters in Elgin, Illinois. The network consists of 2,100 sales associates, and 110 individually owned and operated Re/Max offices providing a full range of residential and commercial brokerage services.

The Illinois property.com and Re/Max.com websites are leaders in consumer visits among real estate franchise brands. The Northern Illinois network is part of Re/Max LLC, a global real estate organization with 88,000 sales associates in 89 countries.

© Mopic – Fotolia.com

Data from Re/Max shows 8,194 homes were sold in the seven-County Chicago metro area in May compared to 6,644 in May 2011. This is the highest number of homes sold for this month since 2007. The median sales price increased from $170,000 to reach $172,000, and inventory levels fell by 18% compared to a year earlier. Re/Max based its analysis on transaction information from Midwest Real Estate Data, LLC.

Positive factors boosting the homes market in Chicago included a steady decrease in the percentage of sales involving distressed properties. In May distressed sales, including foreclosures and short sales, accounted for 36% of all transactions, down from 52% in February. The counties that saw the greatest increase in the number of home sales transactions included DuPage and Will counties, where sales were up by 29%. Sales increased by 27% in McHenry County and by 26% in Cook County. Lake County saw an increase of 15%, while Kane County saw an increase of 6%. In a Kendall County, the number of homes sold in May 2012 was just one transaction short of last May’s total.

Median sales prices rose in three out of the seven counties, which were Cook, Kane and McHenry. Kendall County saw the largest decrease in the average time taken to sell a home, dropping from 201 days in May 2011 to just 116 days in May 2012. In the city of Chicago, the time taken to sell a property fell by 25 days to an average of 142 days.

Sales of detached homes increased by 22% in May compared to May last year, and sales increased by 20% compared to April this year. The median price of a detached home in May was $187,500, an increase of 4% compared to a year earlier, and 6% more than in April this year. Sales of attached homes increased by an average of 26% in May, and the average price was $141,000. In May 2011 the average price was $145,000, but in April 2012 it was $130,000.

The Legacy at Millenium Park

The Legacy is an elegant design which makes the most of views over Millennium Park, Lake Michigan and Grant Park,and was recognized for its contemporary architecture, luxury residences and innovative planning. This included the restoration and preservation of historic facades in the Jewelers Row district on Wabash Avenue.

Richard A Hanson, principal and founder of Mesa Development LLC said “The Legacy is a modern building successfully woven into the historic fabric of Chicago’s civic and cultural center. We are proud to have our efforts affirmed with this prestigious award.”

The development team also included Solomon Cordwell Buenz architects and Walsh Investors, all of whom are based in Chicago.

In addition to this latest award the building has also been a finalist for the international 2010 Emporis Skyscraper Award, and was named Best New Residential Holding of 2010 by Friends of Downtown. It offers a choice of one, two and three-bedroom luxury condominiums as well as several penthouse residences. Prices range from just under $400,000-$6 million. The development also includes several luxury amenities such as an indoor pool and spa, two community rooms, sky gardens, fitness center, an on-site concierge and a 24-hour doorman.

The property is being marketed by @properties who are the number one residential brokerage firm in the city of Chicago by market share, and more information on this development is available on The Legacy website.

Mesa Development LLC is a Chicago-based National real estate investment and development firm. Walsh Investors, LLC is the investment arm of the Walsh family and is one of North America’s largest general contracting, construction management and design build firm.

The property via Google Street View

Just across the street from Daley Plaza, this property is home to Morningstar, as well as the local CBS television element. With the purchase, Prudential obtains a fully leased property that will continue to be maintained by one of the former owners, Golub and Company. Catherine Marcus, a managing director and portfolio manager for PREI, had this to add about the acquisition:

“We believe 22 West Washington is a perfect example of the kind of high quality core office property that is going to provide a stable cash return over the long-term for our investors. The low risk profile of this Class A property contributes to the attractive risk-adjusted return and fits in nicely with our broader strategy in the current market environment,”

For those who do not know, PREI is a leading global real estate investment brand, which offers a vast array of investments worldwide. The firm manages in excess of $48.1 billion in gross real estate assets. For more information about this news, please consult the original Businesswire release here via MarketWatch.