The Chicago 77

18 September 2009 ? As Chicago enters the last quarter of a very turbulent year in real estate, Chicago?s north side neighborhoods are still be the most widely searched by potential home buyers according to Trulia and the Chicago Tribune. Market values in Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Near North Side/Gold Coast, Wicker Park and Bucktown have […]

14 September 2009 ? As Chicago awaits the October 2, 2009 announcement of the decision of the International Olympic Committee, 2nd Ward Alderman Robert Fioretti addressed the Chicago Association of Realtors Government Affairs Committee on Friday. Alderman Fioretti spoke about the unique opportunity the 2016 Olympic games would present for the City of Chicago: 300,000 […]

02 Sept 2009 ? In keeping with yesterdays theme of ?Is your neighborhood appreciating or depreciating?? here are a few more popular Chicago neighborhoods and their year-to-date sales for 2008 vs 2009 (January 1 through September 2nd): These averages are for 2 bedroom / 2 bath condos only: Lakeview 2008: 429 condos sold with an […]

01 September 2009 ? It is no secret that the housing market is a very larger driver of the economy. As we see some rebound in the housing market some are getting out there and testing the waters again. Here are a few neighborhoods that have held steady in this declining market: One bedroom condominiums […]

I recently read a Crain?s Chicago Real Estate article about how the downtown apartment market is improving. The good news about this is that there is finally good news! Chicago?s rental market has been put through the ringer this season and no more bad news is great news. The downtown apartment market is doing marginally […]

This morning Standard & Poor?s Case-Shiller Home Price Indices numbers were released and the results are surprisingly better than expected. In the Chicago condo market, prices showed an increase of 1.1% from May 2009 to June 2009. Over recent months we have seen the leveling off of pricing. This current report shows signs the Chicago […]

25 August 2009 ? Recent changes to the City’s Olympic plans to level all but one building of the near-south Michael Reese campus include reusing additional buildings that were designed by architect Walter Gropius. After voting down a proposal to place the entire campus on the National Registry of Historic Places, the City’s landmarks commission […]

Chicago-area home sales are slightly up in July compared to July ’08, the first year-over-year increase in over 3 years, as reported by the Illinois Association of Realtors. The graph below more accurately shows the details. [TABLE=10] Price Disconnect Between Buyers & Sellers The stats are indicative of how the market is responding. August has […]

24 August 2009 ? With the sale of the Chicago Cubs finalized to the Rickets family, one has to wonder of the future of the Cubs and Wrigley Field. The franchise and the ball park have become Chicago?s most beloved assets. Year round fans flock to the Lakeview neighborhood to take their picture in front […]

14 August 2009 ? The likely demise of the Spire along with other new construction buildings now being marketed for rent instead of sale continues to contribute to the reduction of Chicago?s housing inventory. Another nail in the Spire?s coffin is the lawsuit filed Thursday by Bank of America against the Shelbourne Development Group for […]

10 August 2009 ? The impact of the conditions of the local real estate market is one of the a largest factors to the growing budget deficit of the City of Chicago. With a projected shortfall for the overall budget in 2009 to exceed $300 million dollars, the mayor?s office is predicting a greater number […]

For the price of a condo, you very well could buy 2.7 million square feet in downtown Chicago. Sadly, after 13 years of failed re-development efforts, the US Postal Service is auctioning off what was once described as the world?s largest Post Office with a suggested opening bid a measly $300,000. Hard to believe that […]

5 August 2009 ? The city of Chicago is helping the Sears Willis Tower on its comeback to the tune of about $25 million. That’s the total in incentives the city is planning to give United Airlines to pay for moving costs and building-out expenses on roughly 450,000 square feet of space United will lease […]