The Village of Palatine to cut over 30 large trees along Palatine Road!
In the interest of “Progress”, The Village of Palatine is making improvements to a short leg of Palatine Road. The Railroad crossing is being improved (but we will still have to wait for trains), there will be more turn lanes, (but we will have to wait for a break in the traffic from 2 oncoming lanes now), and just West of Bothwell Street, the 2 westbound lanes will funnel into 1 lane. Ugh!
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Hoffman Estates July 4th 2010 Fireworks Grand Finale!
Wild Fireworks at the 2010 Hoffman Estates Celebration.
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Recovery should be Quicker than Thought according to Experts
Economic Recovery could be Quicker than past Recessions according to the experts. Citing growth in both consumer and business spending, economists Justin Weidner and John C. Williams said recovery “is likely to be faster than from the two previous recessions” in a report released Monday. The Northwest Suburban Real Estate Market continues to Rebound with [...]
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Hoffman Estates Recovery Could be Quicker than past Recessions according to the Experts
Experts expect a speedy recovery and gains in Real Estate Sales.
Good News for Schaumburg Sales – Economic Recovery could be Quicker than past Recessions
Good News for Schaumburg Sales – Economic Recovery could be Quicker than past Recessions according to the experts. Citing growth in both consumer and business spending, economists Justin Weidner and John C. Williams said recovery “is likely to be faster than from the two previous recessions” in a report released Monday. The Schaumburg Real Estate [...]
Economic Recovery in Palatine could be Quicker than past Recessions
Defying many analysts’ predictions, economists Justin Weidner and John C. Williams say the rebound ‘is likely to be faster than from the two previous recessions.’
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The Last Breath of Interest-Only Loans?
THE LAST BREATH OF INTEREST-ONLY LOANS?
Interest Only Loans have served a good purpose in mortgage lending thru the years. Much has been written against the use of the interest only loan instrument and much of the criticism is justified. For the “enlightened” an interest only loan may have been used as a more temporary form of financing, often used by investors and flippers or consumers that knew that they would sell the home within the first 4-5 years. Since so little principle pay down occurs in the first few years in the popular 30 year fixed rate conventional loan, the lower interest rate of an interest only loan was attractive and the lack of principle pay off was not that different than a conventional loan for only 3-5 years.
Unfortunately, the pure interest only loan of former years morphed into a hybrid form of adjustable rate mortgage with a sting. The interest rate changes of the hybrid interest only loan backfired on uneducated borrowers. Because of the low initial interest rate the interest only loan was used by many buyers that couldn’t possibly afford the mortgage after a reset.
Now Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has lowered the boom. In the last quarter of 2009, around 18 percent of the interest only borrowers were delinquent. The rest of Fannie’s portfolio had a delinquency rate of only 4 percent.
Beginning in September Freddie Mac will stop buying interest-only loans. Fannie will continue with tougher standards that include a 30 percent down payment and a credit score of at least 720. Additionally, the borrower must have 24 months of liquid-asset reserves following the closing.
In a good move, Fannie will also require that lenders take the responsibility of evaluating if the borrower can continue making payments if the rate increases in the first five years.
What does this all mean? A more sensible approach to underwriting and turning back the clock about 15 years to a more conservative approach to mortgage financing.
Great News on the Economy in the Northwest Suburbs
We now expect the economy to grow by about 3.5% this year, a rate
that’s still well below the typical post recession surge of 6.5% or so.
But it’s a solid, sustainable pace. And it’s a lot better than
last year’s 2.4% decline in GDP.
Consumers and businesses are buying again. A close look at the good
news of a 3.2% pace of economic growth in the first quarter reveals
the really good news: Final sales to domestic purchasers — which
don’t include inventory buildups or trade — rose at a 2.2% annualized
pace. That’s the second best showing in three years and up from the
1.4% rate in the fourth quarter of 2009, when GDP overall was growing
by 5.6%. It signals a genuine pickup in U.S. consumers’ interest and
ability to buy and indicates that businesses are no longer simply
restocking bare shelves, but investing in new equipment and moving
product out the door.
Total consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of
GDP, increased 3.6% in the first quarter, more than double the 1.6%
gain posted in the previous quarter. In 2009, household purchases
dropped 0.6%, the biggest decline since 1974.
A modestly improved housing market also will be a plus this year.
Although residential construction won’t take more than baby steps
until 2011, the sector won’t subtract from GDP this year the way it
did from 2006 to mid-2009. But spending on commercial construction
such as office buildings and shopping centers will remain a drag on
growth through this year.
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Lost History in the Northwest Suburbs
Image via Wikipedia Lost Military History of our Area Barrington, Palatine, Hoffman Estates, Arlington Heights, Deer Park, Vernon Hills, Schaumburg, Libertyville, Addison It is the first Tuesday of the month at 10:00 a.m. and you hear the Tornado Sirens sounding. But these sirens were not created for weather warnings. In the 1950’s and 1960’s the warning sirens [...]
Palatine Real Estate Sales in March 2010
YTD sales of Palatine Homes are running 28.3% higher than the same period in 2009.
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