The Chicago 77

On April 1 the Chicago Association of Realtors® (CAR) released some data that I thought was interesting in this time of dropping property values. However, I didn’t see these numbers discussed anywhere other than their web site. I think these numbers deserve a second look and hopefully some comments from our readers. The goal of […]

The new law forces lenders to work with homeowners for a longer time than they were required to provide before the law. The new law probits foreclosures during the first 30 days of a homeowner being delinquent with their payments. Lenders are now required to tell homeowners that they have an additional 30 days to work with a credit counselor. And, if the credit counselor is approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the homeowner is given an additional 30 days, totaling 90 days.

Two wonderful photos. The first is a gorgeous shot of Chicago at night. The second is a gorgeous shot of a Chicago pothole biting a semi’s front tire and not letting go!

The Wall Street Journal is reporting two important conclusions based on data from the Office of Comptroller of the Currency and the Office of Thrift Supervision: Seriously Delinquent Subprime Loans Rise from 10.75% to 16.4% The report found that the number of seriously delinquent subprimes loans is on the rise. This means that more and […]

This morning at The Chicago 77 Media Group’s annual board meeting, a plan was discussed and adopted for The Chicago 77 to acquire and complete construction of The Spire. Last week’s news that the AFL-CIO is in talks with the Spire’s developers to fund the project made it clear that just about anyone can be involved.

One of the most common questions I get from people (or at least I get a quizzical look) is what?s the difference between an agent, a broker, and a REALTOR®. This usually happens when they realize I?m using the words differently. For example, ?The agent?s broker told her she had to be a Realtor® in […]

Carl Case of S&P/Case-Shiller Price Index warns buyers that in good neighborhoods, you aren?t going to find bargains. People are not willing to sell and take a huge hit on the value of their home unless they absolutely must. He went on to explain that their research is showing that bargains are generally only found in lower-income areas.

Housing starts went up in February. By now you have read in many, many, many places about how the Commerce Department announced this amazing fact yesterday (click here for the PDF). First of all, what is a “housing start?” The Commerce Department defines them as, “the number of single or multi-family dwellings that have begun […]

The whole world seems to know, and is talking about The Sears Tower changing its name to The Willis Tower. This will happen in June of this year because Willis Group Holdings, the number three insurance brokerage in the world, will begin leasing 140,000 square feet in the tower. This apparently is enough to give […]

Chicago is an amazing city. It has more depth and breadth of choices from a real estate perspective than nearly any other American city. When you go looking for an apartment or to buy a home, you have an enormous range of options: single family home, condo, co-op, townhouse, three-flat, six-flat, 4+1, loft, soft loft, […]

The This American Life radio show from Chicago Public Radio produced an amazing explanation of how the banking crisis called, Bad Bank. It’s 59 minutes long and taught me a lot. It brought together snippets of information that I had and put them into a cohesive picture of what’s going on. It explains everything from […]

President Obama has signed into law the economic stimulus bill. That meant its name has now been changed to American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The $787 billion law has been greatly cheered and resoundingly booed by all sides of the political spectrum. It’s goal is to get the US economy going, and since housing is […]

On Tuesday, February 10th at 6:00 pm the paperwork was signed and Sudler Sotheby’s International Realty closed on its acquisition of Century21 Sussex & Reilly. This acquisition effectively doubles the size of Sudler Sotheby’s: it now has approximately 500 agents and 10 offices throughout Chicago. As happens every time there are major acquisition rumors flying, […]