I find it hard to believe that Chicago’s real estate market is anywhere near as bad as Detroit but I was shocked to learn that the serious delinquency rate for first liens in the broader Chicago metro area at the end of 2010 was in excess of 11% and actually slightly higher than Detroit. I got this information from a gratis copy of Keith Jurow’s Chicago housing market report where he shows a graph from the Local Initiatives Support Corporation. Seriously delinquent includes mortgages that are at least 90 days delinquent or in formal default.
The graph shows Detroit ahead of Chicago for most of 2009 and 2010 but as Detroit’s problems trailed off their delinquency rate finally dropped below Chicago. Hard to believe since Detroit is the symbol of a city in decay.
Keith’s conclusion is that there will be plenty of foreclosures hitting the market in the Chicago area for some time to come.
Other interesting tidbits from Keith’s housing market report include:
- There is a considerable surge in cash purchases of real estate as older, wealthier individuals look for better places to park their cash than in money funds paying 0.01%.
- The percentage of investors paying all cash for properties has risen steadily from 17% in 2004 to 32% in 2006 and hit 59% in 2010.
- Anyone looking to sell their home in this market needs to approach it in a totally non-emotional and realistic manner.