I knew it was coming and it finally did. For a few months now Chicago home sales have been trending slightly downward but not dramatically. Sales remained at the top end of the historic range of the past 15 or so years. However, contract activity has been declining more significantly so it was inevitable that eventually closings would be hit harder than they had been.

So it’s no surprise that June closings were down 12.6% from last year. On the one hand that’s the biggest year over year decline in 2 years but on the other hand last June was an all time record for closings. So there. Also, if you look at the graph below you’ll see that we’re still running at the upper end of the range for the last 15 years and higher than both 2018 and 2019.

So it’s not the end of the world but it’s going to sound worse when the Illinois Association of Realtors reports the decline as 15.8% in about a week and a half. They just have a different way of doing math.

Chicago Home Contract Activity

Here is the contract activity problem I was just talking about. Each of the last 4 months has had a larger year over year decline than the prior month. For June the decline was 22.4% and if you look at the graph below you’ll see that it hit the lowest level of the last 10 years. However, what’s interesting is that most of this decline is attributable to far fewer contracts on attached homes – i.e. condos and townhomes. I’m going to guess that attached contracts are down 31% while detached contracts are down maybe 12%. I’ll get into the reason for this a bit later but it’s not as bad as it sounds.

Pending Chicago Home Sales

Until June sales have been subsidized by a backlog of homes under contract waiting to close – i.e. pending home sales. I think that subsidy has pretty much run its course as pending sales just hit the lowest level of the last 11 years, down 1378 units (that’s a lot) from last year and 561 units from May. Maybe this backlog can be drawn down a bit more but instead look for closings to track more closely with the declines in contracts going forward.

Distressed Chicago Home Sales

The percentage of home sales that are distressed is ever so slightly drifting up after trending down over the last 10 years or so. In June 1.7% of Chicago home sales were distressed, compared to 1.6% last year. When the foreclosure moratorium was in place it definitely depressed this number but now that the moratorium has been lifted it’s not like foreclosures have come roaring back. Basically they came back to where they were trending (downward) before the damn virus started to make its rounds.

Chicago Home Inventory

The inventory of homes for sale in Chicago may be a big part of the story as to why home sales are so low. Attached home inventory reached a new low for June with only a 3.1 month supply, down from 3.3 months last year. Detached inventory matched last year’s low of only 2.4 months. However, the months of supply number actually tends to mask the magnitude of the problem because I’ve got contracts in the denominator. So if an inventory shortage depresses contract activity then the months of supply number won’t look as bad. So I’ll put the situation in perspective. In absolute terms the number of attached homes on the market is down 27% from last year. That may very well be causing the decline in contracts.

Chicago Home Sale Market Times

When you look at how fast homes are selling in Chicago the market looks pretty strong actually. Market times are near record lows. On average attached homes went under contract in 54 days, down from 69 days last year, lending more credibility to the argument that the condo market is strong but there just isn’t enough for sale. Detached homes averaged 43 days on the market which is up only slightly from 40 days last year. And half of the homes are going under contract in about 2 weeks.

#RealEstate #ChicagoRealEstate

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.

Traveling has been a dream of mine for years. As restrictions loosened up, I waited anxiously to get the first stamp on my brand new passport.

That finally happened when my middle son, daughter and I attended the wedding of my son’s best friend in Ireland! It was a surreal experience. The venue made all the guests feel like we were in a fairy tale. Alice in Wonderland definitely came to mind. I fully expected the Cheshire cat to smile down at me from the 500 year old Japanese tree.

My children and I had never been abroad before. Walking around the old world city of Dublin was another surreal experience. No skyscrapers blocked our view. Visiting Trinity College (established in 1592!) and seeing the Book of Kells brought to mind how young our own country is.

The saying goes that Chicago is the melting pot, but I would say Dublin, Ireland is. We caught a cab after we landed and our cab driver was from a small town just outside of Hong Kong. The hotel desk clerk was from France and much of the staff had accents from the Slavic countries to Kenya.

The Irish people are friendly except the cab drivers until you tip them! (The Irish acknowledge this.) Tipping is a custom that the Irish frown upon. We always asked before we tipped. Since we were Americans, they would smile and agree to a tip.

Late one night while watching television, I saw an ad that reminded the viewer that a license was needed to watch TV. Wow.

The trip was not without a little drama. As we perused the Book of Kells exhibit, my daughter noticed a bracelet she purchased a few months ago was missing! The look on her face mirrored my own. We were both horrified. My son was bewildered because he wasn’t sure what was happening (“Why are they crying?”). My daughter didn’t want to ruin our experience, so she took some deep breaths and we both tried to focus on the exhibit.

A few minutes later, my daughter opened a shopping bag. The look on her face said it all: the bracelet was in the bag. We both had tears of relief and joy and my son was still a bit bewildered (“Why are they crying again?”) until we explained what happened.

As I look through my photos of the wedding and other places we visited, my emotions are all over the place. We witnessed the wedding of two people, one of whom I’ve known since he was three years old. We saw amazing scenery and ate our way through Dublin! There was also some retail therapy involved.

Retail Therapy copyright 2022 by Pam Spano

Most of all, my son, daughter and I have forged a new bond. We were blessed throughout this amazing trip by the people we met for the first time and even those back home who prayed for us along the way.

After we returned home and got back into our usual routines, a friend of mine asked if I had the “travel bug.” I laughed. I didn’t realize I was ready to pack my bags and do it all again!

Another beer that has been sent to me by the brewer for comment.

The folks from Sapporo have sent me a big can of the flagship Sapporo Prelium, and their Light. While I was waiting for a chance to sample the beer, we got news that Sapporo was acquiring Stone Brewing for about $168 million. Sapporo already owns craft pioneer Anchor Brewing, but this deal nets it Stone’s two large scale breweries in San Diego and in Richmond, VA. The plan will be to bring Sapporo’s brands to those plants for stateside brewing.

This beer was sent to me by the brewer’s rep, and in this case, it was made at their Vietnam facility. Other Sapporos brought into the States can be made in Canada at Sleeman, another brewery it owns.

So this is about 4.9% abv. Their website says the current version is all barley malt.

The smell when I pour is a light “beer” smell. I can catch a whiff of German type hops over some malt sweetness. Kicked up a very stiff head that took a while to settle down. Sipping it through more of the foam made it pretty watery, but once I could get a full mouthful, it came through. Nothing extraordinary, just a light beer for all tastes. Malts are kind of sweet, but probably not from adjuncts. In fact, I got some sweetness on my lips after sipping through the whole can. Some noticeable hop bitterness gives it a few more points.

Sapporo Pure

How gauche, using a competitor’s glass for your beer photo. I grabbed the first thing I had.

And this is their light beer for the US market. It’s labeled as having 90 calories and 2.4 grams of carbs. It’s also, apparently brewed and canned in San Diego, CA. Whether they were already using some of Stone’s capacity, or one of the other big San Diego breweries is not readily apparent.

Decent, slightly grainy beer smell under the pop tab. Pours a slightly amber color, with a swiftly dwindling and fizzy head. It may be just a shade darker than the Premium, if I recall. I do get some toasty malts in the glass, but a tang of the “processed” taste from some light beers. But there’s also some decently sharp hop bitterness. And it comes across as a little more filling than expected in a light beer. Not bad for a summer brew.

BY SANDRA GUY

We know good and well that greens should be part of our daily diet. But what can truly motivate us to actually buy and eat them?

Try these reminders.

 Popeye the Sailor Man offered wise advice. Salad greens, kale and spinach are rich in vitamins A, C, E and K, and turnip greens, collard greens, bok choy and Romaine lettuce are rich in many of the B vitamins.

These vegetables bestow antioxidants that protect cells and may play roles in fighting cancer. And they contain high levels of fiber, iron, magnesium, potassium and calcium.

Who wouldn’t want fewer colon polyps and lower sodium?

Greens have few carbohydrates, sodium and cholesterol. Dark greens supply folate, a B vitamin that promotes heart health and helps prevent certain birth defects. Studies have shown that high folate consumption may lower the risk of colon polyps by 30 percent to 40 percent compared to low intakes. Dark greens include kale, arugula, broccoli, escarole, watercress, Swiss chard, mustard greens and romaine lettuce.

One way to make greens easier to eat mirrors how you entice children to eat their fruits and vegetables — disguise them. Steam or stir-fry the greens and mix into salads, stir into soups, and add them to wraps, omelets and sandwiches.