StartingPoint Realty Blog
Paying Down Debt Boosts Your Chicago Homebuying Power
Your Chicago home buying power involves four main things: your income, your down payment, your credit score and your outstanding debt. Even if your debt load is well-managed, it can reduce your home buying power. As far as mortgage lenders are concerned, the more...
Financing Repairs and Upgrades for Your Chicago Home
If you're buying a Chicago home that needs some work, or making upgrades on a Chicago home you wish to sell, there are several ways to finance the improvements. Here's a look at your options! Chicago area home buyers, let's start with you! If you are buying a...
What Chicago Homeowners Should Know About Equity
If home sale prices are rising, how can so many homeowners have negative equity?
Will Chicago Home Prices Continue Double-Digit Gains?
Chicago's spring real estate market was hot! Hot enough that April median home prices increased 10.2% compared to April 2020. Homes in the city of Chicago spent an average of 74 days on market, meaning homes sold about 8.6% faster than last year. With the median sales...
Considerations for Finding a Happy Chicago Home
Finding the right place to call home during your Chicago home search can be tricky. The pickings can be slim in your price range, and the fast pace of the market requires quick decisions.
Preparing for a Hot Market as a Chicago Home Buyer
The Chicago and suburban real estate market is tough for first-time home buyers these days. The lack of listings has forced home prices higher, and caused homes to sell faster! Yet the basics of the home buying process are still critically important. Without them, you...
Millennial Renters Daunted by Chicago Home Prices
Chicago area home prices aren’t as steep as other major U.S. cities. But for some first-time homebuyers, they’re still too expensive.
Chicago and Midwest Real Estate Among Best Markets for Sellers
Chicago and Midwestern real estate has become a hot commodity, according to an analysis from property management and investment company Mynd Management. Out of the top twenty real estate markets in the U.S. for home sellers in 2020, nine of them were in the Midwest.
Chicago Suburbs See Home Buying Surge
Chicago area home buyers displayed a preference for suburban homes during 2020, and the trend will probably stick around for a while. Here's a look at what 2021 will bring for home buyers! Suburban home buying competition. As urban events and attractions shut down and...
Chicago Needs More Home Sellers in 2021!
While Chicago home buyers snapped up available properties, median home prices posted a year-over-year increase. The median home price in the Chicago Metro area reached $274,050 in October 2020, representing a 14.2% gain from October 2019.
Chicago Area Home Sales Keep a Fast Pace
Chicago Area Home Sales Keep a Fast Pace Chicago area home buyers are staying determined! The latest home sales report from Illinois REALTORS© shows robust September sales activity. Here’s how Chicago area home prices shaped up! The Chicago Metro’s median home price...
Bigger is Better for Chicago Suburban Home Buyers
Pandemic-induced home preferences are driving more buyers to the 'burbs. With work-from-home sticking around, and remote learning offered at most schools, Chicago home buyers need square footage like never before. Yard space has also become more important to home...
Chicago Area Real Estate Sees Busy Summer
Chicago area real estate didn’t stop for anything this summer. Despite a season of negative headlines and economic uncertainty, we have busy transaction volumes and higher home prices
Millennial Home Buyers Fare Better in Chicago
Millennial home buyers have struggled against high student debt loads, rising home prices, the Great Recession and now the pandemic. But here in Chicago, Millennial home buyers are doing better than most of their counterparts around the country. This insight...