Dream Town's Chicago Real Estate Search

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Google just added demographic data (screen shot above) to the range of information that's reported about our YouTube channel. I was a bit surprised to see how heavily our viewership skewed male (68%) over the last 5 days. Is that because of our recent Ivanka spa video triggering views of an earlier Ivanka video?

ADDED: My initial speculation was wildly wrong. Looking at the demographics of individual videos the real surprise is that more females (52%) than males (48%) watched the Ivanka spa video. The David Hanna videos biased our demographics heavily male: those videos had a 100% male viewership according to Google / YouTube!

Are Yo videos a guy thing? Some are.

The reports of Waterview Tower’s financing hiccups last month didn’t scare away buyers. In fact, sales director Dorrie Freiman says the project is having a better first and second quarter this year than it did in 2007.

Sales at the super-skyscraper under construction at 121 W Wacker Dr have creeped up slightly since my last report. More than 68 percent of the tower’s 233 residential condos have sold, she says. (Another 222 condos will make up the five-star Shangri-La Hotel, located on Waterview’s 12th through 27th floors.)

I called Freiman looking for a good unit to feature on Yo. The one plan she singled out, seen below, is a two-bedroom floor plan found on the tower’s 68th through 79th floors.

According to the Waterview Tower Web site, the unit has 2,217 square feet of living space, plus an 11’ x 5’ terrace. The front door opens into a 9’ x 6-7” foyer, which forks in one direction toward the home’s main living areas and master bedroom and another direction toward its second bedroom and study.

The living / dining area boasts oak floors and 11-foot-high, floor-to-ceiling windows facing two directions. The 16-10” x 14-5” kitchen has granite countertops, Sub-Zero and Miele appliances, and a Kohler sink and fixtures on an island.

The 15-1” x 15’ master bedroom has two walk-in closets and a bathroom outfitted with Kallista and Kohler fixtures and finished with marble floors and walls.

On the other side of the condo is the 13-9” x 12-5” second bedroom. The room has two closets including one walk-in, as well as its own bathroom. At 10-5” x 11-10”, the nearby study is large enough to double as a third bedroom; it’s also the only room with access to the aforementioned terrace.

For all that, you’ll have to fork over approximately $1.71 million. Homes at Waterview Tower stretch from the $780s all the way to $8.8 million, a range that seems comparable to its nearest new-construction neighbor, the ever-rising Trump International Hotel and Tower.

Deliveries at Waterview Tower are set to begin around the end of 2009.

Aqua, Magellan Development Group's mixed-use skyscraper, is moving skyward at 225 N Columbus Drive in the New East Side, but it's still below the halfway point. I count 28 residential floors on Aqua, which is at least 10 more than there were when Joe visited the site back in March.

The above photo was taken from North Harbor Drive, which is connected to the park by a stairwell and the elevator on the right side of the frame. At 81 stories, Aqua will make Lakeshore East Park seem even more walled off from the rest of the city. (It already feels like a crater.)

We received some press materials from the Macon Group yesterday and learned that three units in the loft development at 3133 N Lakewood Ave have sold since Joe posted a sales update in March. The loft development still has a way to go before sellout, as only seven of the building's 25 units are under contract.

Looking at the press package, this floor plan for unit 3A, a one-bedroom / one-bath unit on the third floor, stuck out from the rest simply because it looks so similar to the two units in 1720 South Michigan that readers ridiculed earlier this week.

If everyone's numbers are to be believed, unit 3A in 3133 North Lakewood is a little bit larger than either of 1720 South Michigan's floor plans. The kitchen area alone gives you 100 square feet more than what you get at 1720 South Michigan, but it comes at a price: Whereas those 1720 South Michigan's one-bedrooms are listed in the $210s, this one is listed in the $340s.

For comparison within Lake View, Clifton Crossing, located just a few blocks to the south and east, is offering one- and two-bedrooms from the $210s. Over on Ashland, one-bedroom units start in the $290s at the LV Lofts.

Name the nabe of this bright blue home reminiscent of Alice's adventures through Wonderland. Don't worry, there won't be any lizards named Bill flying out of the chimney. The first person to guess the neighborhood correctly will receive a YoChicago packet with t-shirt, shorts and Yo yo-yo.

In the June issue of New Homes, columnist Don DeBat looks at several condominium projects that are moving forward thanks to foreign developers and investors. Financing dollars from countries such as Ireland, Germany, China and Kuwait may be the muscle that pulls Chicago’s new-construction market out of its slump, he writes.

Backed by Irish developers, Lexington Park Condominiums, a 35-story new-construction high-rise development on the northeast corner of Michigan Avenue and Cermak Road in the South Loop, appears to be on a sales and construction roll.

Sales at the 333-unit Lexington Park have surpassed the 50-percent mark, and construction has soared past the 14th story, noted Sean O’Sullivan, chief operations officer and director of Ireland-based Chieftain Group, the developer. Prices range from $237,900 to $727,900.

Chieftain has also signed a contract for a second South Loop development site at Harrison and Wells streets.

Read the entire column here.

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The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) just released its 2007 Mortgage Fraud Report. Illinois maintained its ranking in the top 10 states for mortgage fraud, but Chicago failed to crack the top 10 3-digit ZIP markets.

Wait till next year?

File this one under "I'll believe it when I see it" (we really could use a post category along those lines): Russland Capital Development Group supposedly will stop packaging free parking spaces with the remaining units at Michigan Avenue Tower II after May 31.

If I sound skeptical, it's only because this "spring incentive" was already in place last fall. As Barry said in a post about the offer way back in October, "limited-time offers have a way of extending these days."

Don't get me wrong - it's entirely possible that Russland will start charging $37,500 per space starting this June, so buyers who like the 28-story high-rise at 1400 S Michigan Ave might want to take the plunge in the next couple of weeks. I'm just sayin', don't be surprised if Michigan Avenue Tower II rolls out some free parking spaces for its limited-time-only "summer incentive" sometime next month.

Michigan Avenue Tower II has been about 90 percent sold for the past six months, judging from old Yo posts. Among the 30 or so condos left in the building are one-bedrooms starting in the $300s, one-bedroom-plus-dens starting in the $310s, two-bedrooms starting in the $410s and two-bedroom-plus-dens starting in the $490s.

A single two-bedroom penthouse, similar to the one seen below, is still available in the $550s. Upgrade packages are included in all the prices.

Deliveries at Michigan Avenue Tower II should begin sometime this fall.