ABC News in Chicago reported on May 7, 2022 that “an analysis of property values reveals new insight about the real estate market on Chicago’s South Side, which is also home to some of the city’s largest new development plans.” Apparently, the real estate market on Chicago’s south side can be summed up in one… Continue reading
Category: Real Estate
Steep Rise in Home Utility Bills
Home utility bills have been increasing for many consumers as more people spend more time at home. Extreme weather events also seemed to contributed to higher utility bills in 2021. In 2020, median household electricity usage rose by 8.2 percent year-over-year, and only declined slightly in 2021. Between April and October, the period of peak… Continue reading
Home Values Keep On Climbing
After 2021 marked the largest home price gains on record, home prices seem poised to continue to grow in 2022. In 2021, the median sales price for a home rose to $346,900, up 17 percent from one year earlier, a gain of $50,200 for the average homeowner in just one year. Many economists cite this… Continue reading
How has the Pandemic Impacted Moving Trends?
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a game-changer for interstate migration. MoveBuddha (an internet based company that advertises it helps coordinate cross-country moving services) conducted a study of over 400,000 relocation queries in 2021 to uncover Americans’ patterns for moving. Another company connected to helping people relocate, United Van Lines, did a survey of their own,… Continue reading
Certification of Trust: Protecting your Living Trust’s confidential information
I have helped many of my clients develop comprehensive estate plans that include revocable inter vivos trusts, often referred to as “living trusts.” A “living trust” is a legal document that allows a person to distribute their possessions and assets to the people they want to after they die. A living trust “owns” the property… Continue reading