Category: Market conditions
Reports on the state of the housing market
Appraisal Research: Climate good for first-timers, tough for luxury buyers
The strongest player in the downtown market today is the first-time buyer, according to Appraisal Research Counselors' 1Q 2009 Downtown Benchmark Repo [...]
Appraisal Research: 20-percent price reductions attracting buyers
Developers who are determined to move unsold inventory are finding that price reductions in the vicinity of 20% tend to garner strong interest. Lesser [...]
Appraisal Research: 42 percent of new downtown condos remain unsold
Of the 5,389 downtown condominiums under construction and set for delivery between this year and 2011, just 3,139, or 58 percent, are currently under [...]
Quote of the day: Lawyering up
"These cancellations were almost 100% out of fear — fear that they were going to lose their jobs or that they were paying too high a price."
- Gerald [...]
Searches for Chicago real estate near 5-year low
Since almost everyone begins their home search on the Web today the volume of search activity is a good indicator of the state of interest in buying a [...]
Crain's: Another Chicago Graystone Realty project faces foreclosure
The latest familiar name to face foreclosure is The Catalina, Chicago Graystone Realty's 12-unit project at 2524 N Ashland Ave in Lincoln Park, Crai [...]
Case-Shiller numbers send mixed signals
"Finally, we’re seeing a touch of moderation... This is the kind of thing one might see if we’re beginning to see a bottom. I would not run out and ce [...]
Report: Chicago homes valued fairly
Homes in Chicago are priced fairly in relation to household income, population density, and other factors, according to the latest quarterly market su [...]
Market snapshot: A look at last week's sales
Apropos of nothing, here's some fresh Chicago sales info courtesy of Midwest Real Estate Data and the Chicago Association of Realtors.
Units sold, Ap [...]
It's another Case-Shiller Tuesday!
It's the final Tuesday of the month, which means its time for another wet blanket / wake-up call from Standard & Poor's and Case-Shiller. The Janu [...]
Networking in the city: denser neighborhoods are more valuable
Life in a city is very expensive: Not only do you pay more for your home, you also pay more for the things you enjoy about living here. Our museums, s [...]
Are foreign investors returning to Chicago?
Has anyone who pays attention to such things noticed a resurgence of foreign investment since last fall? According to the New York Times' "Raising the [...]
'Month on month' sales trends can be misleading
It’s a common refrain that the real estate markets pick up in the spring and summer, as the weather gets better and families prepare to move during su [...]
WBEZ: City's urban design and planning director says slump can be good for planning
Chicago Public Radio ran a feature story this morning on the state of Chicago's downtown condo market titled, "The Big Chill: Chicago’s Condo Market I [...]
Near South Side leads weak field in new detached home sales
Sales of new construction detached homes fell 58 percent between 2007 and 2008, according to an analysis of all home sales in Chicago by Lakeshore Ana [...]
Just say no to no-condos.com
Google serves up ads on our site from a variety of sources, some of them great businesses, some of them borderline sleazy, some beyond the pale.
Of l [...]
Quote of the day: Ta-ta, Shangri-La
“Under the current economic environment, regrettably, the implementation of the hotel project has been suspended with no indication of when activities [...]
Democratization of new condos: Five top neighborhoods become 12 in one cycle
Last week, I reported that sales of new condominiums and townhomes collapsed in 2008, falling 75 percent from the year before and dipping below 2002 l [...]
A reminder about those Case-Shiller numbers
You'll see a lot of reports by midday about the latest S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Value Index, which shows an 18.5 percent drop in home prices in [...]
The ghost town on Michigan Avenue
A little over a year ago a Chicago Tribune reporter was suckered into writing an overwrought article about Clublands of Antioch, describing it as a [...]