The Q2 2008 Residential Benchmark Report from Appraisal Research Counselors (ARC) serves up a variety of generally downbeat news for the downtown Chicago new construction market.

Yesterday's bad news was increasing contract cancellation rates. Today's is growing inventory:

The inventory of new homes being delivered continues to grow each year. The total number of deliveries in the Downtown market has been growing each year since 2004 when 2,500 new units were delivered; in 2007, nearly 4,800 were delivered. 2008 will be a record year for deliveries, with over 4,900 units expected to deliver, and over 4,600 also expected to deliver in 2009. With this increased completed inventory comes increased unsold completed inventory, and there is the added risk that financially strapped developers will be under pressure to unload their completed units to pay off debt.

Our original projections for 2008 deliveries changed from our 1Q 2008 report, mostly due to typical project delays, with some buildings expected to deliver in 4Q 2008 and now more likely to deliver in 1Q 2009. In addition, one 300-unit building which was delivering in 4@ 2008 is now being sold to a rental operator and is no longer included in these totals.

When I spoke with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage agent Tom Hartmann about the Astoria Tower Residences & Spa (above) last week, I asked him which developments Astoria Tower is competing with in the neighborhood. "Library Tower," he said, without hesitating. It makes sense, given its proximity. At 520 S State St, Library Tower is just four blocks north of Astoria Tower, which is located at 8 E 9th St.

These are the two largest condo high-rises that are currently under construction east of Printers Row in the Loop, and they're somewhat comparably priced: Price points for Library Tower are from the $370s to the $880s, and Astoria Tower is priced from the $230s to more than $1 million.

The floor plan at left is for unit 2805 in Astoria Tower, a 1,406 square-foot two-bedroom / two-bath corner unit priced in the $680s. The floor plan at right is for unit 1722 in Library Tower, a 1,530 square-foot two-bedroom / two-bath unit priced in the $710s.

Both units have outdoor spaces that appear to be almost as large as their living and dining areas. The 15' x 13' master bedroom in the Library Tower unit is a bit larger than the 12-3" x 12-7" master bedroom in the Astoria Tower unit, but it's the 10' x 9' windowless den in the Library Tower unit that accounts for most of the difference in size between these two.

The buildings' estimated monthly assessments differ as well. Although Astoria Tower is a full-amenity building, Hartmann says its luxury amenities are offered on an a la carte basis, enabling residents that don't take advantage of them to keep their assessments low. Assessments start in the $280s for the tower's one-bedrooms, so I'd expect them to be a bit higher - probably in the $300s - for this two-bedroom. At Library Tower, which has a door keeper, roof deck and fitness center, assessments in the penthouse levels (everything above floor 15) start at $403 for two-bedroom / two-bath units.

Garage parking at both developments starts at $40,000.

- Rate and review Library Tower at NewHomeNotebook.com.
- Rate and review Astoria Tower at NewHomeNotebook.com.

In the final installment of my three-part list of Chicago's townhouse projects, I turn to the West, Southwest, and South sides of the city. There, most of the townhouses you'll find are part of large, mixed-income community projects that combine public housing with market-rate homes, although a few developments appear to be more of the smaller-scale infill variety.

Buyers who don't mind a long drive from downtown can find two-bedroom townhouses for as low as the $200s in Washington Heights or three-bedrooms starting in the $260s in West Elsdon. The most expensive homes on the South Side are found at Lake Park Crescent in North Kenwood-Oakland (above), where four-bedrooms start in the $690s, and in Bridgeport, where the biggest three-bedroom remaining at 33rd Street Square is priced in the $670s.

Unlike a lot of the homes on my prior townhouse lists, these developments have their share of question marks. A lot of these projects are stuck in their first phases, and although they have space to expand, they aren't exactly booming with activity. Others are still in the marketing phase could have a hard time seeing the light of day.

Are you familiar with any of the following projects? Click the "rate and review" link next to any of them to post your thoughts on NewHomeNotebook.com.

Bridgeport:

• 33rd Street Square, 510 W 33rd St: Three three-bedroom townhouses priced from the $550s to the $670s (Rate and review)

Bronzeville:

• Park Boulevard, 47 W 35th St: Two- to four-bedroom townhouses priced from the $400s (Rate and review)

Calumet Heights:

• Arbor Park Townhomes, 2400 E 95th St: Two-bedroom townhouses priced from the $260s (Rate and review)

East Beverly:

• Beverly Place, 1824 W 103rd St: 28 two- to four-bedroom townhouses priced from the $410s to the $570s (Rate and review)

The Gap:

• Eastgate Village, 2800 S King Dr: Two- and three-bedroom townhouses priced from the $470s to the $620s (Rate and review)
• Landmark Square (Phase II), 245 E 33rd St: Five three-bedroom townhouses priced from the $460s to the $470s (Rate and review)

Kenwood:

• McGill Parc Townhomes, 4926 S Drexel Blvd: 10 four-bedroom townhouses priced from the $490s (Rate and review)
• Parc View Place, 836 S 48th St: Nine three- to five-bedroom townhouses priced from the $380s to the $590s (Rate and review)

Lawndale:

• Heritage Homes, 801 S Kedzie Ave: Two- and three-bedroom townhouses priced from the $310s (Rate and review)

McKinley Park:

• McKinley Gardens, 3238 S Western Ave: 69 three- and four-bedroom townhouses priced from the $270s to the $380s (Rate and review)
• McKinley Park Manor II, 3803 S Hermitage Ave: 16 three-bedroom townhouses priced from the $350s (Rate and review)
• McKinley Park Village, 3600 S Western Ave: 134 two- to four-bedroom townhouses priced from the $300s to the $420s (Rate and review)

North Kenwood-Oakland:

• Arches at Oakwood Shores, 3744 S Cottage Grove Ave: 32 two-bedroom townhouses priced from the $370s (Rate and review)
• Drexel Square Townhomes, 4450 S Drexel Blvd: Nine three- and four-bedroom townhouses priced from the $420s (Rate and review)
• Lake Park Crescent, 4022 S Oakenwald Ave: Four-bedroom townhouses priced from the $690s. (Rate and review)

Washington Heights:

• Renaissance at Beverly Ridge, 10500 S Vincennes Ave: 50 three-bedroom townhouses priced from the $200s (Rate and review)

West Elsdon:

• 53rd & Millard, 3601 W 53rd St: 34 three-bedroom townhouses priced from the $260s (Rate and review)
• Park Place Homes, 3630 W 51st St: Two- and three-bedroom townhouses priced from the $290s (Rate and review)

- See our list of Loop / downtown townhouses.
- See our list of North Side townhouses.

Construction on The Signature Residences, a 36-unit condo development at 207 E 31st St in Bronzeville, seems to be proceeding as planned. Back in March, Patrick reported that first deliveries would begin in the spring of 2009, and judging from the above photo, that seems feasible.

I have been trying for the past week, but haven't been able to reach anyone at the sales center to get updated sales information. However, the Web site says that one-, two- and three-bedroom condos are available in sizes ranging from 700 to 1,850 square feet.

As Patrick wrote in March, prices run from the $150s to the $380s, and a model is supposed to open at some point this fall.

- Rate and review The Signature Residences at NewHomeNotebook.com

It has been under construction for about four months now, and we finally have some construction photos of Museum Park Place South, the newest high-rise taking shape at The Enterprise Companies' Museum Park at Central Station in the South Loop.

Museum Park Place South will look like a near mirror image of the first Museum Park Place tower (see the rendering to the right), as it will have red beams placed vertically and horizontally its east and west faces, but it will be six stories taller than its neighbor to the north.

Ralph Oliva of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage expects first deliveries to begin in late summer or early fall 2009.

"Parking is totally above ground, so as long as we don’t have to excavate, the construction moves pretty fast," Oliva says.

The 29-story high-rise at 1901 S Calumet Ave will have 276 one- to three-bedroom condos and eight four-story townhouses at its base. The condos are priced from the $250s to the $600s, and the townhouses are priced from the $860s. Oliva says the most popular units are the east-facing, 1,250 square-foot two-bedrooms with dens, which start in the $450s, but units are still available in all floor plans.

West-facing units are typically about $75,000 to $100,000 less expensive than their east-facing counterparts, Oliva says, adding that most of the remaining west-facing units are one-bedrooms. A current incentive offers free stainless-steel appliances, marble finishes in the master bath, and a washer and dryer. Parking is an additional $35,000.

About 55 percent of the units in Museum Park Place South have been sold, Oliva says.

- Rate and review Museum Park Place South at NewHomeNotebook.com

When it comes to green building, it's the big new-construction high-rises that steal the headlines, but I'd wager that rehabbing and reusing an existing building would in most cases have less environmental impact than bringing in all new materials. One such project is Clybourn Green, an old 18-unit apartment building at 2401 - 2409 N Clybourn Ave in Lincoln Park that's being converted to condos.

Clybourn Green was first announced a little more than a year ago, but it seems to have stalled for most of the past year. Elizabeth Lothamer from Koenig & Stray GMAC Real Estate says she's beginning to market the project again, and they've just completed a model on site.

Lothamer says that two of the building's six one-bedroom condos have sold, and that 16 one- and two-bedrooms are still available. The two-bedrooms are between 1,050 and 1,100 square feet, Lothamer says, and I wasn't able to get an estimate on the size of the one-bedrooms, but they look quite a bit smaller. One-bedrooms start in the $190s, two-bedrooms start in the $280s, and there are also a few top-floor two-bedroom / two-baths with 13-foot ceilings that are priced in the $330s.

Lothamer expects monthly assessments for most units to stay around $200. For a complete list of Clybourn Green's eco-friendly features, check out this Yo post from last year, or visit Clybourn Green's Web site.

- Rate and review Clybourn Green at NewHomeNotebook.com

"We're always interested in talking with people who need to place money."

- Sean McMahon, project manager for Teng & Associates' Waterview Tower and Shangri-La Hotel, ready to greet lenders and investors with open arms and a big smile.

Waterview Tower has moved into the "off again" column again after failing to secure trade credit insurance, Crain's reports. The Export-Import Bank of China offered to finance the 90 story tower at 111 W Wacker Dr this spring but will not give Teng a $400-million construction loan until insurance is in place. Workers walked off the job this summer, leaving a "26-story concrete shell" to stand empty, and subcontractors have filed two liens on the project, according to the article.

Crain's says that 68 percent of Waterview Tower's 233 residential condos are under contract, the same number we've been hearing for at least eight months. Those homes have one to five bedrooms and range from the $770s to $8.8 million. I wrote in May about one of those units, a 2,217 square-foot two-bedroom priced at $1.71 million.

Forty percent of the 200 hotel condos are under contract, as well. Shangri-La Hotel's studios and one- to two-bedroom condos are priced from the $610s to $2 million, according to NewHomeNotebook.com.

- Rate and review Waterview Tower at NewHomeNotebook.com.

Every morning, we survey scores of local and national newspapers and magazines, amateur and professional blogs and other interesting Web sites in search of stories that are relevant to Chicago home buyers. We add those stories to own news feed, thereby creating a one-stop news source for anyone interested in Chicago's neighborhoods and new-home market.

Click here to read YoChicago's news feed.

The Q2 2008 Residential Benchmark Report from Appraisal Research Counselors (ARC) serves up a variety of generally downbeat news for the downtown Chicago new construction market.

We'll bring you the bad news, and the few bright spots, over the next week or two. One negative sign, according to ARC, is a sharp increase in contract cancellations:

Typically, contract cancellation has been caused by some life-change issues (death, divorce, etc.) although it is now increasingly due to financial reasons: job loss, financial problems, lack of price appreciation, and most recently due to the inability of the buyers to obtain financing. This is impacting all price points and is not just a first-time homebuyer issue…

Buildings which would typically have a less than 5% cancellation rate are now seeing an increase, with a 10% cancellation rate now considered to be modest. Some developers are reporting higher cancellations by investors who are no longer motivated by price appreciation. Overall, buildings with significant investor sales or buildings which are very generic tend to be at greater risk of contract fallout than buildings with special location or view amenities.

The risk of contract fallout will continue, as record numbers of units are delivered in a market at the same time as pricing is generally flat and the rental market is showing signs of softness.

I've never been quite sure what to make of Park Monroe, the shoe box-shaped office building in the Loop where developer Glenstar Properties is converting the top nine floors into luxury condos.

The old office building at 55 E Monroe St was never one of the more enchanting buildings in the Loop skyline (especially when viewed from the east, as it looms over the Michigan Avenue streetwall), so giving the top half a makeover could only improve the building's sex appeal, right? At least that's what I thought after looking at Glenstar's watercolor rendering, which, I'll admit, requires some suspension of disbelief.

Now, the inset balconies are nowhere to be seen, and I don't see any real changes to the building's exterior. Instead, I see a few blemishes where it looks like parts of the outer wall have fallen off, so I'm still having a tough time imagining what the finished product will be like.

As I wrote last month, deliveries at the Park Monroe are set to begin in November, and construction should be completed by next spring. The remaining two-bedroom units are priced from the $850s to $1.7 million.

- Rate and review The Park Monroe at NewHomeNotebook.com