In cooler market, buyers demand – and builders deliver – perks aplenty 

Story by Alison Soltau

Lisa and Miguel Cabrales wanted to buy a vacation home in downtown Chicago so that they could enjoy weekend trips to museums and strolls through Millennium Park. But the couple from northwest suburban Carpentersville was determined to get a deal. They decided to sit out the frenzied market for new construction in 2005, when developers sold a record number of new condos in Chicago. (more…)

They're growing rare, but deals remain for those in the know

Wouldn't it be nice to turn back the clock to that golden age, just six months ago, when interest rates sat obediently under 6 percent? What a party that was. Chicagoans dived gleefully into the housing market, spurred by the kind of interest rates posted in February 2005, when the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage stood at a mere 5.14 percent, according to Freddie Mac. (more…)

Even a hot housing market has its share of bargains
Perhaps the heat index should be used to measure Chicago's housing market, which remains as hot as the city's notoriously steamy summer temperatures. Spurred by low interest rates, growing suburban commute times and a vastly improved cityscape, Chicago continues to build and sell homes at a historic pace. (more…)

Developers have long known that throwing in a little something extra can tip buyers shopping for a new home off of the fence and into the sales center. At the Edge Lofts and Tower, that little something is hot and red and convertible, and while it is little compared to others of its kind, there's nothing small about its $25,000 value. (more…)

Chicago-area condominium buyers will find their holiday stockings stuffed with developer incentives ranging from real estate tax and assessment breaks and cash discounts to free parking spaces and gift certificates to buy furniture, real estate experts say. (more…)

The Thrush Companies is offering buyers grand opening incentives that range from $15,000 off the price of a one-bedroom condo up to $30,000 off of two-bedrooms with dens at its 740 Fulton project, in the West Loop. (more…)

Bargains abound as developers court buyers in competitive market
What will it take to put you in a new home today?

Whatever your answer, the odds have never been greater that there's a developer out there willing to meet you more than half way. Facing a crowded, highly competitive market for new homes in Chicago, builders have taken a page from used car dealers, rolling out splashy sales incentives and bargaining with buyers on perks and prices. (more…)

Metropolitan Development Enterprises is offering buyers at the Royalle, a new condo building underway in River North, free parking or $5,000 worth of free upgrades on select homes this summer. (more…)

Metropolitan Development Enterprises is offering buyers at the Royalle, a new condo building underway in River North, free parking or $5,000 worth of free upgrades on select homes this summer. (more…)

Responding to rising interest rates, Conversion Marketing and Management, Inc. is offering buyers an 18-month interest rate lock program at the Edge Lofts and Tower that allows them to secure today's low mortgage rates while their homes are completed. (more…)