Hey {{first_name}},

Hope everyone got some good grill time in this weekend. Between the Lake County Fair wrapping up, back-to-school photos flooding my feed, and Friday night lights starting back up at the high schools, it's officially that stretch where summer quietly hands the keys over to fall.

It's the same handoff in real estate. Every year around this time I get asked some version of "should I wait until spring?" — so this week I dug into what the data actually says happens between now and Thanksgiving, because the answer isn't as simple as "market slows down." More on that below.

Also in this issue: a real shift in how condo buyers get financed, a new Illinois law that's a big deal if you've ever fallen behind on property taxes, and a new listing just up in Round Lake.

What the numbers actually say right now:

If you're working with anyone eyeing a condo — especially in a building with more than 10 units — pay attention to this one. As of August 3, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac killed off the "Limited Review" process that let buyers with solid down payments skip a deep look at the association's finances. That shortcut covered roughly 4 in 10 condo loans, and now it's gone for every down payment size.

In plain terms: nearly every conventional condo loan now requires lenders to pull apart the HOA's budget, reserve study, insurance, and litigation history before your buyer gets to the closing table. If the association is disorganized or sitting on thin reserves, that can stall a deal that would have sailed through a year ago.

Before writing an offer on a condo, ask for the HOA's current budget and reserve study up front. Reserves sitting near the old 10% minimum are worth a question to the board — that floor jumps to 15% in January 2027. For buyers who run into a building that can't clear a Full Review, cash, portfolio, and non-QM lenders are still an option — a different conversation about rate and down payment, but exactly what the Home Buyer Protection Plan is built for.

On July 10, Governor Pritzker signed House Bill 4537, ending a practice that's been on the books in Illinois forever: if you fell behind on property taxes and lost your home in a tax sale, the buyer used to keep 100% of the proceeds — even if your home was worth far more than what you owed. Illinois was the last state in the country still doing it this way.

Under the new law, tax debt now gets sold through public auction, and any surplus above what's owed goes back to the original owner. It also stretches the redemption window from two and a half years to three, giving people more runway to catch up before losing the property entirely. Not a headline that sells houses, but worth knowing if you've got a friend or family member who's ever gotten a scary tax bill letter.

Existing-home sales dipped 1.7% month-over-month in July to a seasonally adjusted 4.06 million, though still up 0.7% from a year ago. The median price hit $434,100 — a record for the month, and the 37th straight month prices have climbed. Meanwhile mortgage rates hit their high for the year: Freddie Mac had the 30-year fixed at 6.69% in early August, the fifth straight weekly increase.

NAR's chief economist Lawrence Yun put it simply: sales have been "remarkably stable" even with rates climbing, but the market would be humming if rates got back closer to 6%.

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Here are a few active buyer needs we're working on right now — real clients, ready to move:

If your home — or someone you know's home — fits one of these profiles, there's a real chance we can skip the open market entirely. Feel free to forward this to anyone thinking about selling.

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Short answer: usually, yes — for a while. Summer brings volume, but a lot of it is window shoppers racing the school calendar. Once Labor Day passes, the tire-kickers clear out and the buyers still shopping tend to be more serious. Showings pick back up through September and October, and sellers who've been sitting since June often get more willing to talk price and terms — which is really the buyer's best negotiating window of the year. Then, like clockwork, things quiet down again around Thanksgiving.

Here's the wrinkle this year: we're not heading into fall from a hot summer. NAR's Pending Home Sales Index actually fell 2.3% in July to its lowest level since January, with the rate spike getting the blame. So instead of a hot market cooling into its normal fall rhythm, we're starting this Labor Day from a market that already took a step back over the summer. Two dates worth circling: September 10, when NAR releases August existing-home sales data, and September 15–16, the Fed's next meeting.

If you're a seller who missed the spring rush, this fall is genuinely a fine time to list — less competition from other sellers, and buyers out looking right now are looking because they're ready to move. If you're a buyer, the seasonal math is on your side for negotiating leverage, even with rates where they are.

Thank you for being here — I don't take it lightly that you let this newsletter into your inbox every week. If this issue was helpful, pass it along to someone who might be thinking about making a move. The forward button is one of the kindest things you can do for someone who doesn't know where to start.

And if you're not already following along on Instagram, come find me — I share market updates, local content, and the occasional thing that didn't make it into the newsletter. @michaelsteber_realtor

Until next week…

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