Enough with the doom and gloom about homehownership.

Sure, maybe thre's more pain to come in the housing market.  But when Time magazine starts running covers taht declare "Owning a homemay no longer make economic sense," it's time to say: Enough is enough.  This is what "capitulation" looksl ike.  Everyone has given up.

After all, at the peak of the bubble five years ago, Time had a different take.  "Home Sweet Home," declared its cover then, as it celebrated the boom and asked: "will your house make you rich?"

But it's not enough just to be contrarian.  So here is 10 reasons why it's good to buy a home.

1.  You can get a good deal.  Especially if you play hardball.  This is a buyer's market.  Most of the other buyers have now vanished, as the tax credits on purchases have just expired.  We're four to five years into the biggest housing bust in modern history.  And prices have come down a long way-- about 30% from their peak, according to Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller Index, which tracks home prices in 20 big cities.  Yes, it's mixed.  New York is only down 20%.  Arizona has halved.  Will prices fall further?  Sure, they could.  You'll never catch the bottom.  It doesn't really matter so much in the long haul.

Where is fair value?  Fund manager Jeremy Grantham at GMO, who predicted the bust with remarkable accuracy, said two years ago that home prices needed to fall another 17% to reach fair value in relation to household incomes.  Case-Shiller since then: Down 18%.

2.  Mortgages are cheap.  You can get a 30-year loan for around 4.3%.  What's not to like?  These are the lowest rates on record.  As recently as two years ago they were about 6.3%.  That drop slashes your monthly repayments by a fifth.  If inflation picks up, you won't see these mortgage rates again in your lifetime.  And if we get deflation, and rates fall further, you can refi.

3.  You'll save on taxes.  You can deduct the mortgage interest from your income taxes.  You can deduct your real estate taxes.  And you'll get a tax break on capital gains--if any--when you sell.  Sure, you'll need to do your math.  You'll only get the income tax break if you itemize your deductions, and many people may be better off taking the standard deduction instead.  The breaks aremore valuable the more you earn, and the bigger your mortgage.  Butmany people will find that these tax breaks mean owning costs them less, often a lot less, than renting.

4.  It'll be yours.  You can have the kitchen and bathrooms you want.  You can move the walls, build an extension--zoning permitted--or paint everything bright orange.  Few landlords are so indulgent; for renters, these types of changes are often impossible.  You'll feel better about your own place if you own it than if you rent it.  Many years ago, when I was working for a political campaign in England, I toured a working-class norther town.  Mrs. Thatcher had just begun selling off public housing to tenants.  "You can tell the ones that have bought," said my local guide.  "They've painted the front door.  it's the first thing people do when they buy."  It was a small sign that said something big.

5.  You'll get a better home.  In many parts of the country it can be really hard to find a good rental.  All the best places are sold as condos.  Money talks.  Once again, this is a case by case issue: In Miami right now there are so many vacant luxury condos that owners will rent them out for a fraction of the cost of owning.  But few places are so favored.  Generally speaking, if you want the best home in the best neighborhood, you're better off buying.

6.  It offers some inflation protection.  No, it's not perfect.  But studies by Professor Karl "Chip" Case (of Case-Shiller), and others, suggest that over the long-term housing has tended to beat inflation by a couple of percentage points a year.  That's valuable inflation insurance, especially if you're young and raising a family and thinking about the next 30 to 40 years.  In the recent past, inflationprotected government bonds, or TIPS, offered an easier form of inflation insurance.  But yields there have plummeted of late.  That also makes homeownership look a little better by contrast.

7.  It's risk capital.  No, your home isn't the stock market and you shouldn't view it as the way to get rich.  But if the econoomy does surprise us all and start booming, sooner or later real estate prices will head up again, too.  One lesson from the last few years is that stocks are incredibly hard for most normal people to own large quantities--for practical as well as psychological reasons.  Equity in a home is another way of linking part of your portfolio to a long-term growth of the economy--if it happens--and still managing to sleep at night.

8.  It's forced savings.  If you can rent an apartment for $2,000 month instead of buying for $2,,400 a month, renting may make more sense.  But will you save that $400 for your future?  A lot of people won't.  Most, I dare say.  Once again, you have to do your math, but the part of your mortgage payment that goes to principle repayment isn't a cost.  You're just paying yourself by building equity.  As a forced monthly saving, it's a good discipline.

9.  There is a lot to choose from.  There is a glut of homes in most of the country.  The National Association of Realtors puts the current inventory at around 4 million homes.  That's below last year's peak, but well above typical levels, and enough for about a year's worth of sales.  More keeping coming onto the market, too, as the banks slowly unload their inventory of unsold properties.  That means great choice, as well as great prices.

10.  Sooner or later, the market will clear.  Deman and supply will meet.  The population is forecast to grow by more than 100 million people over the next 40 years.  That means maybe 40 million new households looking for homes.  Meanwhile, this housing glut will work itself out.  Many of the homes will be bought.  But many more will simply be destroyed--either deliberately, or by inaction.  This is already happening.  Even two years ago, when I toured the housing slump in western Florida, I saw bankrupt condo developments that were fast becoming derelict.  And, finally, a lot of the "glut" simply won't matter: It's concentrated in a few areas, like Florida and Nevada.  Unless you live there, the glut won't have any long-term impact on housing supply in your town.

When warm weather hits for real, and daylight hours out number the darks ones, when school finally lets out, we take a collective breath.  Summer is finally here. Summer, with all the promise of long lazy days doing nothing much in particular. Fire flies and flying kites. Beach-balls. Naps in the hammock. Ice cream cones dripping onto sticky fingers. Cue the early bird song. The lazy afternoons.

But hold on reality check. This is USA, 2010. Life moves fast. This is the age of scheduled childhood. We live saturated in a technological culture of immediacy - of impatience. Constant activity is as ubiquitous as breathing.

So here we are in the middle of July. Summer is half-gone and many of us feel like something is off.

My advice? Don't panic.

Instead, please, do this. Everyone. First of all, give your calendars a gander. Do you notice, that suddenly they're inundated with so many activities, cookouts, beach parties, road trips, baseball games, soccer games, and so on, that there's barely room to write in one more teeny tiny event on any given square for any day June through August? What the heck? Blackberry and iPhone users, ask yourself this, can you see all your activities for each day without scrolling?

Do you find yourself scratching you head in the middle of the night (since that's the only time you're not running/driving somewhere) and wondering, "so when does the relaxing part begin?" What a bummer that 2 or 3 a.m. is the only time you have for such reflection. Does this sound at all familiar?

Moving with Mindfulness

There is a lot of talk, a lof of speculation, about mindfulness. But really, what is it? And how can we live life more mindfully this summer, right here, right now?

Mindful activity is anything we do fully and completely, with nothing left over. And, with no sense of grasping on, hoping to make the moment last well past what is possible. Mindful living is a process of experiencing life, moment by moment, accepting it for what it is, without judgement.

Take a breath as you read this. Inhale. Know you are inhaling. Feel the body as you inhale. Exhale. Know you are breathing out. Let go of each breath fully -- don't hold on, just let it go.

So now let's talk summer: What do I do about my overcrowded calendar? So maybe you have some things on the plan that would be hard to change without causing trouble. No problem. But for all the rest, try some simple tips and techniques that will slow things down, so you can hop off that hamster wheel of summer frenzy and learn to enjoy the season, moment by moment.

Happiness is not a Pursuit

We tend to think that "happiness" or "relaxation" are out there somewhere. They are things to be obtained, pursued. It's a hunt! We think happiness is something we have to go somewhere to find or buy. After all, we waited all winter long. Now we have to cram it all in! Sound relaxing? (NOT!) And all that "shopping" for experiences only creates more trouble for us.

Example: We plan road trips, take lessons, go to camp (whatever) to make for a happy summer. This is happiness as pursuit.

The ability to have the happiness we seek is right here. No road trip needed. No special equipment required. It's like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, remember? She had what she needed with her all along. And so do we!

Our natural state of mind is quiet, peaceful, full of joy and clear as a pond on a perfectly still day. All the happiness we seek is something we already have. There's nowhere to go and nothing to buy. Isn't it wonderful? The thing we most wish for is already in our possession, we just have to realize it.

But don't take my word for it. Try these ideas and practices out for yourself.

Simplify your morning

Develop simple routines for every morning. Wake up and do the basic things the body requires. Leave the TV and the radio and the media off. Brush teeth. Wash the face. Be aware of your breath and the body. Greet the day quietly, rain or shine, just as it is. Step outside while the rest of the family still sleeps and stand or sit and take in the sunrise. Observe how the sights and sounds change without holding on to any one of them, no matter how lovely.

On the weekend, try doing this with your family. Arise without speaking and have a plan to gather quietly and sit in peaceful silence to greet the day. Hold off on talking until a set time.

Instead of mourning over the impermanence, savor each moment for what it is. Then? Let it go! What would that look like in terms of summer?

Freedom of Indecision

Let someone else make the plans for a day without your input. This eliminates your own picking and choosing. Accept whatever plan is made without getting caught by liking or disliking what someone else selects. Focus your attention on what you are doing without holding on to any one moment. Observe each moment come and go naturally. Enjoy to the fullest that which gives pleasure to others without thinking of what you might prefer. You can always take turns.

Since there is nowhere to go and nothing to get, we can stop running and mindfully be present to acknowledge what is.

The Power of One

Whatever you do when you head out for relaxation, try to do that one thing only. Allow yourself to be fully present by leaving work behind you. Leave the work cell behind. When you drive to the beach, just drive to the beach. When you walk, just walk. Take time to notice the body, the breath.

Smell the flowers. Drink the iced coffee. Play in the mud puddle. Do it all and try to hold off on your own internal assessment and comment. Instead of scheduling a busy day, take the day as it comes. Let the kids be bored and dig around for something to do. Let things unfold as they will.

Try breaking your plans for the day. Before you all head out for whatever is on the calendar, try asking, "who really wants to go do X, Y, or Z?" Make a spontaneous new plan to do nothing.

I'm suggesting that when you open up to the present moment by taking a regular breath, by throwing in the towel on plans and making time for quiet, you'll discover that you can be mindfully present without judgement. In abandoning judgement, you'll find the freedom and peace of a more quiet mind. In being present with what is, you will experience life more mindfully, with nothing left over. This way, we can all savor each moment as it is, resist the impulse to hang on to it.

We can enjoy what's happening and be ready to let it go at a moment's notice. This allows us access to a mindful summer, lived moment by moment without stress or frustration, without the heavy schedule. The time opens for us like a flower coming into bloom. We can enjoy the flower while it lasts and let it go when it's time to do so. And this will give us the summer we always wanted. Peaceful, unhurried. The summer we dreamed of all winter long.

Article written by

Hillary Johnson

Calm and Consciousness

Hillary Johnson is the founder and lead instructor for Calm Chicago, dedicated to uniting body, breath and mind through stress-reduction training.  Hillary gives Chicagoans an eastern flavored reality check to an often-too-busy western lifestyle via training in taijiquan, meditation and qigong.

A great Zig Ziglar quote, "We all need a daily check up from the neck up to avoid stinkin' thinkin' which ultimately leads to hardening of the attitudes," had me thinking about most of our attitudes about work.  How many times have we let opportunites to pass us by because we were focusing the wrong things?  How many times have we gone home to tell our loved ones we had a "bad" day at work because we allowed one event overshadow the positive things that also happened?

We would all agree life is more than about what we do to make a living; but while we're at work, let us focus on that.  In 2010 there are only 254 work days.  It is entirely up to you how you will spend it.

New Homebuyers credit which was signed into law on Nov. 6, 2009, extends and expands the $8000 for first-time buyers. This  is GREAT news for Chicago Real Estate.

An eligible taxpayer must buy, or enter into a binding contract to buy, a principal residence on or before April 30, 2010 and close on a home by June 30, 2010. For qualifying purchases in 2010, taxpayers have the option of claiming the credit on either their 2009 or 2010 return. 

For the first time,long-time homeowners who buy a replacement principal residence may also claim a homebuyer credit of up to $6,500 (up to $3,250 for a married individual filing separately). They must have lived  in the same principal residence for any five-consecutive year period during the eight-year period that ended on the date the replacement home is purchased.

contact Fevin Reyes, your Chicago Real Estate Professional. Let's make this dream a reality. Don't let this homebuyer's opportunity pass you by! 

Doing the same old thing year after year. Why not get out of your box for some good ole fashion fun this year and make it the best Chicago Halloween ever!

1. Get your pumpkin from a farm: Take a day trip to a pumpkin farm and show your kids how a pumpkin is actually grown
2. Free Halloween events: Haunted houses, hayrides, are happening all over the city, all sponsered by Chicago Park Districts.
3. Get in touch with nature: listen to ghost stories around a campfire or fire pit with neighbors and friends at your home.
4. Make your costume: Why not make a costume? Search thrift stores, hobby and crafts stores, and even your home for eco friendly ideas.
5. Trick or treat bag: Help your child create their own unique canvas bag for carrying there treats while trick or treating.
6. Safety in Chicago neighborhoods:  Just a few simple tips to be safe. Stay in well lit areas, on sidewalks and avoid crossing yards. Supervise your children if under 12.

Happy Halloween!

I am the team leader of  red era group, former managing broker for 8 years under Red Era Realty, and RE/MAX 212 Degrees. contact me today for information on buying or selling chicago real estate.