It is interesting, is real estate recovering or did we see a temporary spike this Spring?

Our business in 2009 was up 24% over 2008 and so far in 2010 it is up 50% over 2009! We are seeing sales closing. Now maybe this was due to the first time buyer credit and maybe the rest of the year will level out, but this increase in transactions, which reflects the results of the overall market as well, will go a long way to assure buyers they are making the right decision to move forward today. And it has confirmed to the sellers that, while prices may not be what they would like, when the home is priced properly, it will sell.

All in all, the Spring 2010 has been great at Charles Rutenberg Realty. We look forward to the Summer and to closing out the year with an active Fall market.

Well, we didn’t win the Small Business of the Year award but it was still an enjoyable process to go through and the awards banquet was quite impressive. The winner was Anderson Bookstore in Naperville. Theirs is a story of a long and successful operation in the Naperville area.

Back to real estate, we are continuing see an increase in activity in the Chicago area. Our activity, however, isn’t close to the activity that our Florida offices are experiencing. Florida hit the wall about a year earlier than we did and they are coming out of the doldrums with a vengeance. Perhaps a year from now the Chicago area will see a similar boom in sales activity. We will be ready for it!

We are proud to announce that Charles Rutenberg Realty is a nominee for the Small Business of the Year award from the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce. One of the compelling reasons for our nomination has been the outstanding growth we have enjoyed since our founding in 2004.

We track our business by the number of agents actively with us and by the number of transactions those agents do each year. We started business in April of 2004 with one employee and no agents. We grew to 50 agents and two employees by the end of 2004. We have seen steady growth from 266 active agents at the end of 2005 to a total of 725 at the end of 2009. We have four full time employees, one part time employee, and 758 active agents as of April 12, 2010.

Our total sale transactions completed each year started with 583 in 2005, increasing
to 1499 in 2009. While we had a slight decrease in transactions each year from 2006 through 2008, most real estate firms saw dramatic decreases over this period resulting in many going out of business. Our business rebounded solidly in 2009, increasing by a substantial 25%, and agents continue to join which will result in even greater transaction growth.

Have you been looking for an alternative to creating your own blog?
Check out this LinkedIn Idea on this video by Matthew Ferrara

The following is from the recent IAR Talking Points:

Now is a good time to sell a home.
• Low interest rates, coupled with price declines give trade-up buyers a unique opportunity
to take advantage of market conditions. What an owner may lose on the sell side can be
more than recovered on the buy side.
• In some markets, prices have begun to rise, however, sellers should not expect explosive
growth in home values.
• A return to the traditional 3-5 percent annual home price appreciation rate is likely by
next year. However, this is a national average and local markets vary widely. It’s best to
consult a REALTOR® for the most accurate local market conditions and to help you set
the right selling price.
• To sell quickly, make sure your home carries a compelling price, not just a comparable
one.
Homeownership continues to be one of the best financial investments.
• Most Americans still believe buying a home is a good investment. Nine out of 10
consumers consider home ownership to be a sound financial decision.
• Given the leverage in purchasing a home, the average return on a 5 percent down
payment over 10 years is usually three to five times greater than stock market returns.
• If you bought a house 10 years ago, it would be worth almost 27 percent more today.
• Real estate has delivered the best return of any investment over the last 40 years.
• The typical homeowner’s net worth ($205,200) was 49 times that of the typical renter
($4,200) in 2008, according to NAR calculations using statistics from the Federal
Reserve Board.

We are pleased to announce, that every Charles Rutenberg Realty listing placed in the MLS will have a virtual tour and YouTube video automatically created by CirclePix using the photos in the MLS listing. There is no charge to CRR agents for this extraordinary new service!

All the YouTube videos can be seen on our website GreatHomesOnVideo.com.

According to Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) statistics, Charles Rutenberg Realty ranks as the 16th highest producing real estate firm in the Chicagoland area. This after fewer than 6 years of operation in the Chicago market. Charles Rutenberg Realty’s philosophy is that it is the agent that generates the business and, as such, should be the one keeping the commission that is earned.

This philosophy matches that of a large number of agents in the area resulting in having over 1,360 agents bringing their business to CRR over the last 5 and a half years. We anticipate hundreds more will do the same thing in the coming months. We expect to be one of the top five firms in the marketplace in the next five years.

Will 2010 be a Better Year?
Have you been wondering what
is in store for your real estate
business in 2010?
Have you been wondering if the
story behind Charles Rutenberg
Realty is real?
Over 1300 Chicago area
REALTORS have discovered
the “secret” that’s changed their careers… nothing comes
close to being a Charles Rutenberg Realty agent. And as
Realtors in the Chicago area continue to learn how exactly
we work, hundreds more will continue to join.
While our current agents know they made the best business
decision of their real estate career, they also know there is more to Charles Rutenberg Realty than simply keeping all of their
commission. At Charles Rutenberg Realty, you also have:
• Expert advice whenever you need it
• Communication with all our agents through AgentsShare.com
• Technology that truly makes your computer your office
• A non-competing managing broker who isn’t in the market competing against you. The focus of the office is to help you get
your deals done and to see that you get paid quickly.
I’m Ray Zabielski, Managing Broker. Give me a call and let’s talk. Better yet, go to BestChoice.us for a complete overview
and then click on PickYourTime.com to schedule a personal meeting with me to discuss your questions.
Whether you’re a “Top Producer”, a new agent, or an experienced agent looking to improve your business, you’ll never be
happier, nor more profitable, than here, at Charles Rutenberg Realty! I look forward to hearing from you.

Matthew Ferrrara, has created a brief video for BrainChain highlighting the keys statistics Realtors should know about what buyers expect from and how they found their real estate agent. The video can be accessed via this link.

Home Sales Increase More Than 31 Percent in West, South Suburbs
October Marks Fifth Straight Month of Year-to-Year Improvements

DOWNERS GROVE, Ill. – Sales of single-family detached homes went up 31.8 percent in October compared with the same period a year ago, according to statistics released today by the Mainstreet Organization of REALTORS® (MORe), indicating the fifth consecutive monthly increase.

MORe measured activity on homes in about 120 southern and western suburban communities through information from Midwest Real Estate Data LLC.

“The significant growth in the market demonstrates that pent-up demand is disappearing thanks in part to the incentives available to first-time homebuyers,” said Mike Drews, President of MORe, and the Designated REALTOR® of Charles Doss, REALTORS®, in the Aurora and Oswego areas. “I believe move-up buyers also will continue to spur growth in the market and we’ll begin to see more movement related to condos and townhouses as a result of the federal government’s extension and expansion of the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit.”

There were notable home sales gains across the 120-community area, where the numbers of homes sold leaped by double- and triple-digit percentages.

Standouts in the south suburbs for number of homes sold were Burbank (140 percent increase from a year ago); Country Club Hills (240 percent); Orland Park (37 percent); and Tinley Park (150 percent).

In the DuPage County area, home sale activity was highest in Addison (80 percent increase from a year ago); Batavia (100 percent); Bensenville (400 percent); Geneva (27 percent); Hinsdale (122 percent); and Villa Park (80 percent).

Home sale activity also was up in the western Cook communities of Bellwood (120 percent increase from a year ago); Elmwood Park (125 percent); Franklin Park (180 percent); Maywood (186 percent); Melrose Park (200 percent); and Westchester (73 percent).

There were dramatic increases in the numbers of homes under contract in October 2009 compared with a year earlier – a 70 percent improvement for detached homes and an 81 percent increase for attached dwellings. The strongest increases were seen in detached homes in Addison (225 percent increase from a year ago); Aurora (118 percent); Bensenville (229 percent); Downers Grove (74 percent); Glen Ellyn (244 percent); Naperville (48 percent); Oak Lawn (92 percent); and West Chicago (127 percent).