Walmartization of Real Estate

In the recent surge of bad economic news and bad corporate earning, Walmart emerges as one of very few companies to stay stable during the recession and even make some healthy profits. Obviously, price driven consumers see the value in $9.99 toasters and $8.99 pairs of jeans. Bargain hunters are also prevailing on the real estate market. The average home sales price in Chicago metro area dropped significantly in February 2009 with huge discounts put on bank owned properties. In Chicago suburbs deals likes a $20,000 condo or a $99,000 house is what really brings buyers to the market. Some properties even receive multiple offers and sell in less than 2 weeks. Is this a start of a long awaited recovery on real estate market? Quite likely so. Especially that the word of cheap deals on condos and incredible prices on both investment and live-in properties, travels fast and more and more people get interested in buying a home again. As for now, real estate agents will have to learn to live on a “minimum commission” level that most of these cheap deals offer.  After all, a typical payment from a $20K sale is almost on a “poverty” line. But what starts small, hopefully will end up large. Some day.