Real estate news & trends
Latest news from YoChicago
Five years ago we posted the following report: Sales of new homes downtown fell 46 percent during the first quarter, according to a story in Crain’s Chicago Business, which quoted a new report by Appraisal Research Counselors. Buyers signed contracts for 1,207 new homes downtown during the first quarter, a ...
Read the full article →
Posted by Joe Zekas on May 17, 2012
When our then-editor Barry Pearce picked up his copy of the June 2007 issue of Chicago Magazine, he was “astounded … to learn that the South Loop is pretty much perfect.” The issue’s cover touted the neighborhood’s “booming real estate … hip restaurants … exploding population … Welcome to the ...
Read the full article →
Posted by Joe Zekas on May 17, 2012
Studs Terkel, as probably everyone in Chicago knows, would have turned 100 today. Back in 2007 YoChicago attended the Studs Terkel Community Media Awards ceremony. Afterwards, the staff and board of the Community Media Workshop joined Studs on stage for a sing-along. The Chicago Tribune’s Chris Walz on banjo, Eric ...
Read the full article →
Posted by Joe Zekas on May 16, 2012
Some high-rise buildings have very elaborately engineered machinery for washing their windows. For some buildings, window washing is as simple as having a man rappel down the side of the building with a bucket of soap and water. As you can see from the following photo, the window washer is ...
Read the full article →
Posted by Joe Zekas on May 16, 2012
City living in the suburbs is how Missy Jerfita of Koenig & Strey describes this luxurious 4000 square foot, 4-bedroom, 3.5-bath townhome in The Glen in Glenview. The Glen is a complete neighborhood built on the former Glenview Naval Air Station base that includes parks, a lake, various housing, recreational ...
Read the full article →
Posted by sponsored post on May 16, 2012
The international-style apartment tower at 1212 S Michigan Ave changed ownership recently, and has been renamed Park Michigan to emphasize its location across from Grant Park. In addition to the rebranding, the building is in the midst of a major makeover of its common area and in-unit amenities. One thing ...
Read the full article →
Posted by Joe Zekas on May 16, 2012
Five years ago we spotlighted a 3-bedroom, 2-bath condo for sale for $176,000 at 501 W 60Th Pl in Englewood as our deal-of-the-day. Unit 2E in the building, also a 3-bedroom, 2-bath, sold for $164,500 with 100% financing in November of 2004. It resold last September for $27,500 – 85% ...
Read the full article →
Posted by Joe Zekas on May 16, 2012
Our recently-launched YoRents service connects renters directly with quality landlords. Many renters, however, are daunted by the task of finding an apartment on their own, or unwilling to invest the time, and choose to work with a rental agent. That choice presents them with an even more daunting task: finding ...
Read the full article →
Posted by Joe Zekas on May 15, 2012
Day in and day out the best real estate reporting in Chicago can be found at Crain’s Chicago Real Estate Daily. If you want to understand what’s happening and what’s trending in Chicago real estate, you’ll want to check in frequently with Crain’s. We link most of the articles on ...
Read the full article →
Posted by Joe Zekas on May 15, 2012
Last week I shot video at 16 different rental properties in Evanston, Lake View and Rogers Park with BJB Evanston and BJB Properties. Whenever I’m shooting video at a property I like to talk to the residents about their experience living there. Most are reluctant to go on camera on ...
Read the full article →
Posted by Joe Zekas on May 15, 2012
Anticipating a slow Mother’s Day, the 215 West apartment tower in the Loop sent an email blast on Saturday reminding rental services that it’s paying a higher than normal commission for renting some of its apartments: Hi Brokers! We don’t have many showings scheduled for tomorrow (Sunday) so I thought ...
Read the full article →
Posted by Joe Zekas on May 14, 2012
For the second week in a row the number of MLS-listed homes, apartments and condos in 6 north lakefront ZIP codes reached a new high since we began tracking earlier this year. There are currently 581 units listed for rent in the MLS from Lincoln Park north to Rogers Park. ...
Read the full article →
Posted by Joe Zekas on May 14, 2012
Five years ago today our “deal of the day” spotlighted Lincoln Crossing, a 35-unit condo development at 5588 N Lincoln Ave in the Budlong Woods neighborhood of Lincoln Square. The developer was offering $20,000 discounts on one-bedrooms priced from the $260s and $30,000 discounts on 2-bedroom, 2-bath units starting at ...
Read the full article →
Posted by Joe Zekas on May 14, 2012
I’m not a fan of domu’s rental search, despite its slick map-based interface and ease of use. I’d rather take a slower path to accurate, up-to-date information than domu’s quicker one to info that’s often stale and sometimes misleading. If you’re a renter, check out our at-a-glance apartments lists and ...
Read the full article →
Posted by Joe Zekas on May 14, 2012
Twenty-five years ago you could have bought the equivalent of several square blocks of the western part of Old Town for unpaid taxes totaling less than $100K. In the interim, the area bounded by Sedgwick, Division, North and Larrabee has been almost completely transformed. Chicago-based MCL Companies spurred development of ...
Read the full article →
Posted by Joe Zekas on May 11, 2012
It’s been almost exactly three years since we received word that Kimball Station, a 59-unit condo development in Albany Park, had converted to rentals. Although we’d been told at one point that 15 of the units were under contract, none ever closed. Crain’s has just reported that the project, which ...
Read the full article →
Posted by Joe Zekas on May 11, 2012
Five years ago today we were reporting that the 43-unit North Beach Lofts, 1225 W Morse Ave, was nearing a sellout, with only four units still available. A year later, in June of 2008, we were told that “only a couple of units were left.” Our reporter described the Rogers ...
Read the full article →
Posted by Joe Zekas on May 11, 2012
At 7000 square feet on nearly one and a half acres, this home in The Glen of South Barrington is big and bright with incredible outdoor spaces. Lake Adalyn, in the center of the community has a sand beach for swimming and walking trails for taking in the vast green ...
Read the full article →
Posted by sponsored post on May 10, 2012
When we looked in on 77 West Huron, back in March, the River North high-rise had 22 vacancies and was offering a $100 a month discount on 9 to 12-month leases. The building currently lists 48 of its 304 apartments available for rent between now and June 3, most of ...
Read the full article →
Posted by Joe Zekas on May 10, 2012
There are only a few dozen single-family homes in Wilmette that have private beaches, and it’s extremely rare to see one of them become available for rent. The 6-bedroom home on a 50 x 509 foot lot at 1204 Michigan Ave was just listed as a short-term rental (August 25 ...
Read the full article →
Posted by Joe Zekas on May 10, 2012
Subscribe: 
