The Chicago 77

3 August 2009 ? The deadline to nominate your Chicago Bungalow for the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Bungalow Award is August 28, 2009. This recognition is part of the Chicago Historic Bungalow initiative started in 2000 by Mayor Daley. The objective is to preserve Chicago?s most distinctive style of architecture while maintaining affordability. The program [...]

31 July 2009 ? Chicago?s North Shore high-end market has been especially hard hit by the real estate market?s downturn as reported today on Rismedia. Even offering creative incentives and major price reductions has not helped in moving luxury properties in Chicago?s north suburban areas. According to the North Shore Association of Realtors only 154 [...]

Let?s face it, it’s a scary time to be a landlord. The apartment rental market is facing difficulties like never before. For the first time in six years apartment rents are down nationwide. Fueling the fire are investor-owned properties (usually condos or town homes), which has expanded the rental supply by roughly 50 percent. Whether [...]

29 July 2009 ? PrivateBank & Trust Co. has filed to foreclose on Pearson on the Park (222 E. Pearson St.) a 219-unit condo conversion that as of late has been struggling to sell its remaining twenty percent of units. According to records found in MLS (Multiple Listing Service), three developer units have sold since [...]

28 July 2009 ? The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller Home Price Index is reporting that Chicago-area home prices were up 1.1 percent in May when compared to April. This is the first monthly increase in since Sept. 2006. According to the index, Chicago-area prices were down 17.5 percent compared with May 2008, which is more than [...]

23 July 2009 – Chicago finally has its first net zero home. Simply stated, a net zero home produces as much energy as it uses. Chicago resident Michael Yannel has built a 2,695 square foot showcase for emerging green technology at 4895 N Ravenswood. The home?s green features include 48 photovoltaic roof panels, a rain [...]

Today the Illinois Association of Realtors released very encouraging data on both Chicago and the state of Illinois. Chicago Home Sales Way Up, Price Up Too There were 7,140 homes sold in Chicago in June compared to 5,674 sold in May. That is an increase of 25.8 percent. However, it’s not all good news. In [...]

22 July 2009 ? Walmart is trying another route to gain access to the city of Chicago. Walmart has plans to run a Farmers Market this Saturday from 10 am to 2 pm in the vacant lot that was slated to be a Walmart. This is a publicity opportunity for Walmart after its five year [...]

16 July 2009 ? A Chicago architectural icon is losing its identity today. Or is it? Willis Group Holdings, the London-based insurance broker who has leased a substantial portion of the Sears Tower, will officially change the building’s name on Thursday. But how many of us Chicagoans will give up tradition and call the building [...]

The Chicago Tribune posted an article in yesterday’s Business section titled, “Chicago housing prices drop even faster.” In the article there was a graph which posted home prices and their price reductions broken down by neighborhood. The news source for the pricing was Trulia. Trulia is a website where seller’s and agents alike are welcome [...]

13 July 2009 ? Trulia reports that nationwide as of July, sellers cut $27.1 billion from asking prices. This is the first month Chicago has made the top ten list nationally. The volume of price reductions in Chicago was $229,444,054, ranking the city at number seven. Thirty one percent of active listings took an average [...]

The economy is still leaning against the ropes. People are tightening their belts to buckle down for the next few quarters. And, now people are talking about the insurance industry giants, such as State Farm and Allstate, ?sucker-punching? their customers. Double Digit Home Owners’ Insurance Rate Increases Allstate was the first to announce last month [...]

Don’t count on your property taxes dropping as a result of reduced market values. 2009 is a reassessment year for the City of Chicago. The Sun Times recently reported that homeowners in portions of Rogers Park received notice that the assessed value of their property has decreased up to 6.1%. While that news may seem [...]