the wasserblawg

Every Chicago are real estate closing I participate in has some sort of allocation of property taxes between the buyer and seller; the tax pro-ration. Calculating the pro-rations amount is based, in part, on the day of the year on which the closing takes place. So, as a lawyer who helps clients buy and sell their homes, I refer frequently to the "day of year" counter on my title-company issued desk blotter monthly calender. Which is why I am so very aware of the fast approaching chronological mid-point of the year. So, how are we doing in residential real estate? The Illinois Association of Realtor's monthly activity report came out again this week. Analysts who sifted through the data were able to find a few shiny nuggets of good news, but things still are not quite trending the way we might hope they would be. 422 fewer condos sold in Chicago, (1,053 fewer total residences sold in the metro area) May 2009 compared to May 2008. Drops of 27.5% and 18.7% respectively. Pu...