The Chicago 77

June 1, 2010 As of today, Fannie Mae will now be requiring all loan applicants to run a second credit report right before closing on a real estate transaction. Not only will the credit report be required with the original loan application, at closing Fannie Mae will now require a second report to be generated. [...]

13 April 2010 The First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit has been extended from some. For those that are part of the Armed Forces, Us Foreign Services, and Intelligence Community that have served outside the United States for over 90-days have a one-year extension. With that said the extension is good for one calendar year. The [...]

31 March 2010 ? There is no doubt about it, Chicago is a condo kind of town. With an estimated 260,000 condo units in approximately 12,000 buildings, Chicago ranks as the nation?s 3rd largest condo market. 2009 saw 10,070 condo units sold, which is a 20% decrease compared to the 12,596 units sold in 2008. [...]

24 March 2010 ? Last year, prices for condominiums ranged from $4,000 for 1,200 sq ft in South Chicago to $5 million for a 5,000 square foot penthouse in the Gold Coast. The 2009 median sale price of a condo citywide was $270,000 which represents a 13% decline compared to 2008 prices. Last week, I [...]

23 March 2010 The Republican party recommended yesterday that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac be phased out. In fact House Representative Barney Frank was referring to Fannie and Freddie and was quoted as saying, “We made a mistake. Partially public and partially private hybrids are not workable.” However, Federal Reserve Chief, Ben Bernanke is holding [...]

22 March 2010 Mortgage analysts have estimated that mortgage investors and banks have held a total of 645,000 of foreclosed homes in their inventory for the month of January, 2010. This number up from 617,000 in December, 2009. It would appear that supply is rising again due to banks determining that many homeowners will not [...]

18 March 2010 You either love it or hate it – the iconic purple brick hotel at the corner of Touhy and Lincoln. Previously a Hyatt, the hotel has allegedly been the site of a mob hit, raucous sex parties, and the base for Stuart Levine’s politically corrupt activities. Now, however, Lincolnwood town leaders are [...]

17 March 2010 ? Did you know that at any given time, there are approximately 10,000 condos actively for sale in Chicago? Annually, between 10,000 ? 20,000 condo units are sold in the Windy City. That represents about 2% of the 900,000 condos & co-ops bought and sold across the entire country. In 2009 the [...]

15 March 2010 Foreclosures in Illinois increased 22% in February, 2010. The high foreclosure rate can be attributed to the high unemployment rate and declining home prices. With the declining market many people are finding themselves underwater in their homes. Meaning . . . they owe more on their home than their home is worth. [...]

12 March 2010 While the market for loop office buildings has been stagnant, the family that makes Jose Cuervo was expected to close yesterday on 303 W. Madison for more than $60. This will be the first sale of a downtown office building this year, and one of the first significant real estate investments made [...]

10 March 2010 ? Many people are wondering how the condo market is doing so far in 2010. In short, not bad! Here we are, only two months into the new year, and according to figures generated by MRED, our regional Multiple Listing Service, condo sales are off to a strong start compared to 2009. [...]

9 March 2010 James Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase Bank was recently named in an arrest warrant in the city of Atalanta, GA for an illegal tire dump. The City of Atalanta issued the arrest warrant on February 23, 2010 for the illegal dump. The city tax records show that Chase Bank is responsible [...]

4 March 2010 Jones Lang LaSalle, Inc, just published the 2010 Chicago Skyline Review, its graphic report that highlights the downtown rental market. While vacancies in some key buildings are limited, including Willis Tower and several others, there is plenty of space available in prime locations. Vacancy rates currently run at just under 15%, which [...]