HSA apparently thinks the current sag in housing makes this the ideal time to spend some money, and has set aside a minimum of $200 million to expand its existing brokerages and to buy distressed realty companies at bargain prices, according to its chief executive, who told me the Minneapolis-based company is eyeing Chicago.
"Our goal is to be in the top 60 to 65 markets," said CEO Ronald J. Peltier. "Chicago is one of them, and we definitely will be there. We’re positive that timing and opportunity will converge in the not-too-distant future."
Chicago, he said, will emerge from the slump, though it’s likely to take longer than the anxious homeowner wants to hear.
"We’re seeing bottoming-out in most of the markets across the country, Chicago being one of them," Peltier said. "It’s a vibrant area, with great quality of life, and all of the things that were drivers of the boom are still in place.
"Nationally, I think we’ll have in the range of 5 million existing-home sales this year and next year," he said. Existing-home sales hit 7 million in 2005, the peak of the housing boom.
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