Submitted by yuinets:
Chicago skyline (point of view from in front of Shedd Aquarium)
Great photo! Strong colors
Massive christmas tree!
This is pretty awesome :)
Trinity Bellwoods Town Homes interior by Cecconi Simone
New Government Refi Program Coming?
With few economic reports last week, focus was on Thursday’s announcements from President Obama and Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke. The President introduced the “American Jobs Act”, a $447 billion package to include tax cuts and spending to stimulate job growth. Today, this spending package heads to Congress, but details around how it will be financed (which is critical given the U.S. budget deficit) won’t be unveiled until September 19th. Bernanke mentioned that the Fed has tools in its arsenal to help boost the economy, but some policy makers are divided on how much stimulus the Fed should provide.
President Obama also alluded to a government sponsored refinance program that would help Americans by cutting their mortgage payments, in his speech. Shortly after, rumors started circulating around a refinance program involving the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), but the FHFA quickly quelled these rumors, indicating they are only reviewing options at this point. Keep a close eye on news in this arena as it could mean some additional relief for borrowers with lower property values who may not easily qualify for the existing HARP or traditional mortgage programs.
Frequently over the past several months we have seen a “Flight to Quality”, as investors rely on the relative safety of U.S. Treasuries when international and domestic economic concerns rise. Today is no exception, as money has shifted away from Europe and global equity markets on renewed concerns of a default on Greece debt, along with the possibility that other European countries may follow. Talks of a possible European depression were only fueled further by the signs of instability within the European Central Bank as their Chief Economist just announced his resignation.
All told, as the world struggles to gain an economic footing, lower Treasury yields translate into lower mortgage rates. As we open up the week, rates are very aggressive. Keep an eye on economic news later in the week along with any updates regarding government stimulus. If we start to see positive economic momentum, mortgage rates may increase slightly to close the week.
A Chicago Tribune article about Parents buying condos for their kids to live in while in college.
‘Alan Shultz, a Realtor with Coldwell Banker’s Chicago Gold Coast office, walks potential buyers through the cost of owning a condo. For example, he said that on a $350,000 three-bedroom unit in the South Loop, with a 20 percent down payment and an interest rate of 4.5 percent, the mortgage would be $1,414 a month. Factoring in taxes and the assessments bring the total to about $2,343. He noted that college roommates could split the mortgage three ways.
By contrast, at University Center, a multicollege building in the South Loop, roughly 1,700 students pay for suites and apartment-style units. Residents can select an academic (40 weeks) or annual (52 weeks) contract.
An academic contract for a deluxe double suite is $9,228 to $9,726, while an annual contract runs $10,002 to $10,500. An academic contract for a two-bedroom apartment ranges from $9,360 to $10,128, and an annual contract is $10,270 to $11,028. Suite residents are required to sign up for meal plans.
“In the competition between renting and owning, owning starts to win,” said Shultz.
Alan May, a Realtor with Coldwell Banker’s Central Street Evanston office, adds that buyers he works with are coming in with a different philosophy about off-campus housing than their predecessors seven years ago.
“They’re not really thinking profit anymore, they’re thinking about less cost,” he said. “It will cost them less for ownership, in something that the student has some control over. They get their own laundry, their own parking place and a nicer location with less noise.”’
*BERNANKE SAYS FED HAS `RANGE OF TOOLS’ FOR STIMULATING GROWTH
*BERNANKE HOLDS `OPTIMISTIC’ VIEW OF PROSPECTS FOR U.S. GROWTH
*BERNANKE SAYS U.S. `GROWTH FUNDAMENTALS’ NOT ALTERED BY SHOCKS
*BERNANKE SAYS PACE OF U.S. RECOVERY HAS `PROVED DISAPPOINTING’
*BERNANKE SAYS RECESSION `EVEN DEEPER’ THAN INITIALLY THOUGHT
*BERNANKE SAYS ECONOMIC GROWTH IN SECOND HALF LIKELY TO IMPROVE
*BERNANKE SAYS RECOVERY FROM CRISIS HAS BEEN `SLOW AND ERRATIC’
*BERNANKE SAYS `FINANCIAL STRESS’ WILL BE A `DRAG’ ON RECOVERY
*BERNANKE SAYS RECOVERY WILL PROBABLY `STRENGTHEN OVER TIME’
*BERNANKE DOESN’T SIGNAL NEW STEPS FOR PROMOTING U.S. GROWTH’
*BERNANKE REITERATES INFLATION WILL PROBABLY BE AT OR BELOW 2%
Just a reminder! The Disco Dash is this Saturday!
For people who like to spoil their dog.
Congratulations to Jeff Mauro, who on Sunday night was crowned the Food Network Star and will now be the host of his very own cooking show! After 10 challenging episodes, Jeff’s personality, sandwiches and hard work put him above Susie and Vic “Vegas”, officially crowning him Food Network…
Congratulations Jeff! We’ll miss your amazing sandwiches and emails!
Mortgage Rates Improving Despite S&P Downgrade
The biggest news to start the week centers on the impact of the U.S. credit rating being lowered from AAA to AA+ by Standard & Poors. Not only have many analysts expected this move, but large investors (both foreign and domestic) have come out over the weekend, stating that their view of U.S. Treasuries has not changed. In fact, we have seen a flight to quality once again, where investors are moving toward Treasury bonds, lowering mortgage rates. Some fears center on the following:
• With the U.S. being downgraded, other investment vehicles will soon be downgraded. Rather than a credit rating, investors are looking at the inherent risk of their different investments and sticking with the U.S. Treasuries.
• Debt concern continues in Europe, making U.S. debt a much safe option. The European Central Bank just voted to start buying Italian and Spanish bonds in order to prevent borrowing costs from getting out of control in these countries (in turn causing the Euro debt crisis to spread further).
• Recession fears remain significant and many investors continue to pull money out of equities and lean toward lower risk investments.
Some of the incredible mortgage rate drops we saw over the past week were paired back on Friday as the economy added 117,000 new jobs vs. an expected 85,000, causing the unemployment rate to drop to 9.1%. But, with the S&P downgrade and the subsequent flight to quality, rates are back near all-time lows for 2011.
With the numerous contributing factors toward today’s low rate environment, it’s hard to say how long it will last. Despite few economic reports being released over the next couple days, it will be important to watch everything from continued rating agency actions, to the U.S. economic outlook, the Euro-Zone debt crisis, and any political statements surrounding the debt ceiling and government spending.
This makes me incredibly happy. I’m not necessarily expecting to see stars in the night sky any time soon, but a reduction of the omnipresent orange glow of a Chicago night will be very welcome.
The city is using a $13.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to replace the orange streetlights, which were first installed in the mid-1970s in an earlier bid to increase energy efficiency.
The new lights use less electricity than the old sodium vapor lights, reducing costs by between about $40 and $70 per light, with a lifespan of two to three years longer than the typical sodium vapor light, which lasts about 5 years, according to a release from the Transportation Department.
The new lights have a more full light spectrum than sodium vapor, so they appear just as bright or brighter than the orange lights and show the true colors of things much better. At the same time, they reduce the amount of sky glow by up to 100 percent, depending on the fixture used, which will make Chicago’s orange city glow a thing of the past once all street lamps are replaced.
