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2014 Predictions

by Stephanie Sims

The Next Year

Fortunately, the signs all seem to point to continued growth in the Chicago area; we have witnessed slow and steady improvement in all of the numbers – number of sales, sales prices, days on market and the number of foreclosures and short sales hitting the market.

The economy is obviously key in terms of how to track next year’s market – unemployment rates, job numbers, etc. – especially in the Chicagoland area. Besides the market, what will happen with mergers/acquisitions next year?

• “Illinois, in general, has dealt with a higher than national average unemployment rate and a higher than average foreclosure rate. But with a slight increase in employment – even a point or two – we could see many people being able to re-enter the housing market. The recent figures coming out of Washington are encouraging. I’d like to see the great Wall Street numbers turn into improving jobs numbers, but to date there has been no correlation between the two. The foreclosures are slowly working their way through the system and should not impact us as much as prior years. That bodes well for keeping prices up and sales growing. My predictions include more acquisitions by the large franchisors, as well. Berkshire Hathaway/Home Services will continue to absorb many Prudential firms, and will continue to go after other medium to large firms nationwide. I also expect the sleeping giant Realogy/NRT to start becoming more active in acquisitions. Keller Williams and RE/MAX will continue their growth as more people are returning to real estate as the economy improves.” –Russ Bergeron, Midwest Real Estate Data, LLC.

• “We anticipate a seasonal slowdown, with the market picking up in the spring. While we’re very optimistic that a recovery will continue, the supply and demand ratio will determine the pace of recovery for the Chicago marketplace.” –Matt Farrell, Chicago Association of Realtors; Urban Real Estate CA


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