The Chicago 77
Comprehensive Chicago Real Estate Information

9 February 2010 – A recent new loan requirement is that a borrower must obtain a condominium-unit-owners insurance policy —also known as HO-6 insurance. This is a good thing; you want your new condo to be covered in case something happens! HO-6 covers the interior walls, electrical wiring, plumbing fixtures, kitchen cabinets, counter tops, wood floors and carpet. Unless the condominium master policy provides interior unit coverage; coverage may not be less than 20% of the assessed value. I do suggest that you ask for additional insurance, which falls under HO-6, to include special assessment coverage.

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 median sale price of a condo citywide was $270,000, which takes into account all 77 official community areas. Since real estate is local, and Chicago is a patchwork of neighborhoods, here are more specific median sale prices based on closed sales from the Multiple Listing Service for 2009:

Lincoln Park: 593 condos sold with a median sale price of $359,000 ( an 8% decrease compared to 2008)

Lakeview: 1,092 condos sold with a median sale price of $309,500 (a 9% decrease compared to 2008)

Near North Side (which includes the Gold Coast, River North, Old Town, Streeterville, Cabrini Green, Goode Island) 1,737 condos sold with a median sale price of $360,000. (a 13% decrease compared to 2008)

The upside is that so far this year, total sales volume and number of closed transactions for condos are on the upswing, which is promising news.