What’s So Bad About February?

Oh, how I loathe February.  The snow is tiresome.  Snow boots are a bother but a necessity, since I fear icy patches, where I might take a spill.  My parka is soiled with patches of dried salt, and I don’t bother to remove it.  At this point, I no longer care.

“I need to run to the bird seed store,” my husband reminds me.  “Don’t we have enough at home already?” I ask.  He doesn’t listen but instead drives to the local shop to pick up more wild bird seed.

He returns to the car.  “See what they gave me for free?” he says excitedly, handing over a rectangular box.  Oh look, it’s a Thermodynamic Drinking Bird – “a personal heat engine in a handy duck shape.”  Just what we needed.  In times like these, I like to quote Spencer Tracy in Father of the Bride…

“We were never blessed with such bounty!”

Our next stop is to the grocery store, to pick up a few things.  I sigh from boredom, picking up my book to peruse on this colorless day.

A quote on page on page 37 makes me pause and think.

“If you are ever bored or blue,
stand on the street corner for half an hour.”

Maira Kalman

Of course, she’s right.  I make it a point to stop focusing on my glum attitude and instead take note of what’s happening around me.

An ambulance glides through the intersection, its siren blaring loudly.  Someone is on a gurney inside, heading west to the hospital one mile away.

We pass a newly built Andy’s Frozen Custard, boasting a six-foot frozen cone in front of its doors.  The custard reminds me of whipped marshmallows, with an almost pearl-like sheen, tempting passers-by.

In the Jewel parking lot, cars maneuver among high banks of dirty snow.   Walking through the lot, intricate paths make us avoid frozen patches and drenching puddles.  Impatiently, we wish for spring.

A young man and his wife walk toward the entrance of the grocery store.  He lingers, allowing me to walk in after his wife.  Chivalry and manners aren’t dead.

Inside, the store tells us we’re not alone in our thoughts of springtime.  There are fresh flowers.  Cantaloupe.  And jelly beans.

After paying for our purchases, we start to head out the automatic door, when once again I run into the same gentleman.  He waves his hand.  “After you,” he insists.

I smile back, using my eyes to express my gratitude.  Pandemic masks are like that.

Back in our car, I think of my daughter, who waits at my home.  She stopped by this weekend for a short visit.  We will re-heat the chicken tacos I made last night.  She asked if we can watch an old Columbo movie together.  Of course, I say Yes.

Bird seed.  Chivalry.  Cantaloupe and jelly beans.

Icicles, snowmen, and sleds.

Chicken tacos and an old movie.

And I ask myself… really, what’s so bad about February?

Thank you for reading — PIZZA FOR BREAKFAST

There’s been a  huge maelstrom of  varied opinions surrounding Mitch McConnell’s Trump  turnabout.  But I’ve heard no views that express the postulate contained in a mysterious unsigned letter and audiotape I received recently.  It purports to contain a recording of a conversation between Mitch and his wife,Elaine Chao, on the day after Mitch voted against impeaching Trump; though I  must confess that the recorded voices sound suspiciously like my prankster nephew Dexter and his equally mischievously goofy girlfriend, Courtney (or is is Alex or Sydney or some other forename that used to be reserved for males?), in a pale attempt to impersonate both Mitch and Elaine.Though the authenticity of the mailing might be called into question, the theory, unlike Mitch himself, seems to have  some merit.  And so, without further doodoo, the contents:

ELAINE:  So you voted against impeaching that putz . eh?

MITCH;  Well, I–

ELAINE:  You do realize, don’t you, that all  across America there’s been a terrifyingly dramatic eruption in hate crimes against Asian Americans?

MITCH:  Well, I–

ELAINE:   Massive numbers of murders, beatings and property damage against  patriotic citizens who were born here. or whose  families and forbears emigrated from China, Korea, Japan, Viet Nam, Myanmar, et cetera.

MITCH: Well,I–

ELAINE:  Do you think the bloodbath might have anything to do with the putz repeatedly referring to Covid 19 as “the Chinese virus”, Mitch?

MITCH:  Well,   I–

ELAINE:  What would you say if I or  members of my family were attacked?

MITCH;  Well, I–

ELAINE:  When are you going to grow a spine and rise up against the putz?

MITCH:  Well, I–

ELAINE: Mitch, remember, just because you’re a you’re a big shot in congress, doesn’t necessarily  mean you’ve got a clear shot at carnal congress with your wife.

MITCH;  Well, I–

ELAINE;  So when exactly are your going to take a shot at the putz?

MITCH;  Er…soon?

ELAINE;  Very soon?

MITCH;  Very soon,

ELAINE; Good.

MITCH;  Should we have some some Chinese takeout tonight?  Maybe chop suey?

ELAINE;  Mitch, how many times have I told you that chop suey should never be referred to as Chinese?

MITCH:  Well, I–

ELAINE:  Just like Covid 19.

S&P Dow Jones released their December CoreLogic Case Shiller home price indices this morning. The year over year price increase for the nation’s single family homes moved into double digit territory with a 10.4% gain, which is the largest increase in 7 years. That was up from a 9.5% increase for November so price appreciation continues to accelerate. And, since this is a December report, it also represents the price gain for the entire year.

The Case Shiller Chicago area index for single family homes rose by 7.7% in 2020. Now, I’m not going to complain about our home prices rising by 7.7% in a year but, unfortunately, that’s the lowest appreciation rate among 19 metro areas that they track. The second lowest appreciation rate? That would be Las Vegas with a 7.9% gain.

I’ve got these year over year home price appreciation rates for Chicago graphed below and it includes a line for condo prices, which grew by 4.6% last year. That’s actually down slightly from the 5.0% gain in November.

Chicago area single family home prices have shown annual gains for 98 consecutive months

Craig J. Lazzara, Managing Director and Global Head of Index Investment Strategy at S&P DJI, commented on the trend in the nation’s home price appreciation:

The trend of accelerating prices that began in June 2020 has now reached its seventh month and is also reflected in the 10- and 20-City Composites (up 9.8% and 10.1%, respectively). The market’s strength continues to be broadly-based: 18 of the 19 cities for which we have December data rose, and 18 cities gained more in the 12 months ended in December than they had gained in the 12 months ended in November.

As COVID-related restrictions began to grip the economy in early 2020, their effect on housing prices was unclear. Price growth decelerated in May and June, and then began a steady climb upward, and December’s report continues that acceleration in an emphatic manner. 2020’s 10.4% gain marks the best performance of housing prices in a calendar year since 2013. From the perspective of more than 30 years of S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller data, December’s year-over-year change ranks within the top decile of all reports.

These data are consistent with the view that COVID has encouraged potential buyers to move from urban apartments to suburban homes. This may indicate a secular shift in housing demand, or may simply represent an acceleration of moves that would have taken place over the next several years anyway.

Case Shiller Chicago Area Home Price Index By Month

This next graph shows the underlying Chicago Case Shiller indices plotted over time so that you can see where home prices are relative to the past. The red line is a trend line I created based upon pre-bubble price history for single family homes. The recent gains buck the normal seasonal drop in home prices. December single family home prices rose by 0.3% instead of falling like they normally do, although condo prices did fall by 1.2%.

Despite recent strong gains we still haven’t recovered to peak prices. Single family home prices are still 8.4% below the peak while condo prices are 4.2% below the peak. To put it another, dramatic, way single family home prices are still lower than they were during the entire period from May 2005 – February 2008 while condo prices are still lower than they were during the October 2005 – July 2008 period.

Don’t get me wrong. We’ve made a lot of progress from the bottom, with single family home prices rising 50.3% and condo prices bouncing 58.6%. On the other hand, if you use the red trend line as your benchmark home prices are depressed 25.9%.

The Chicago real estate market still has a long way to go before catching up to bubble peak prices.

#ChicagoHomePrices #CaseShiller #HomePrices

Gary Lucido is the President of Lucid Realty, the Chicago area’s full service real estate brokerage that offers home buyer rebates and discount commissions. If you want to keep up to date on the Chicago real estate market or get an insider’s view of the seamy underbelly of the real estate industry you can Subscribe to Getting Real by Email using the form below. Please be sure to verify your email address when you receive the verification notice.

Nothing, absolutely nothing lasts forever; whether good or bad, it will certainly come to an end. If the situation you’re in now has you feeling defeated and depleted, the good news is one day it will be over. You have to hang in there until that day comes. You may not know the day, and you may not be able to make the day come sooner, but you can adjust your attitude while you wait. Change the game and make it work for you. Rather than letting it destroy you, strategically find ways to grow and overcome. Likewise, if you’re in a good place right now, that too is for a limited time only. Therefore, get all you can, can all you get and sit on the can!

Can our school’s young debate team survive during the pandemic? I doubted students would show up to online debate meetings and attend virtual debate tournaments. With our Chicago Public Schools debate team starting its third year, I thought remote learning would devastate our team’s participation.

In September, over fifty students showed up to our first virtual meeting.

This year’s topic helped secure past members’ return and new members’ involvement. When students heard we’d debate criminal justice reform, the debate team experience sold itself.

As students learned the criminal reform cases about eliminating money bail, big-data policing, requiring police body cameras, and defunding the police, they kept returning.

This Saturday, our Hancock College Prep team will compete in the fifth and final debate tournament of the regular season.

Read about our experience at the National Association for Urban Debate Leagues Web site.

To subscribe to the White Rhino Blog, scroll down on your phone or go to the right side of this page on your computer.  

You get one email when I post.  This subscription is spam free and you can opt out any time.