Real estate news & trends

News from around the Web - 5/17

Illinois third in foreclosures despite national improvement

States Diverting Mortgage Settlement Money to Other Uses

Single-Family Rentals Keep Pulling In Investors

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North suburbsGlenview

Tour a colorful designer townhome in The Glen

1819 Admiral Court, The Glen, Glenview, IL

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 ...

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Posted by sponsored post on May 16, 2012
Northwest suburbsSouth Barrington

Tour an impressive home in The Glen of South Barrington

The Glen of South Barrington

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 ...

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Posted by sponsored post on May 10, 2012
North ShoreWilmette

A rare rental on the beach in Wilmette

Langdon Park Beach video

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 ...

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Posted by Joe Zekas on May 10, 2012
North ShoreEvanston

A panoramic view of downtown Evanston

View of downtown Evanston

I spent several hours earlier today touring vintage and modern apartments and shooting video with the folks from BJB Evanston. The off-and-on sprinkles and constant cloud cover didn’t make for an optimal day for view shots, but I couldn’t resist pausing for this look at downtown Evanston from 1575 Oak ...

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Posted by Joe Zekas on May 7, 2012
North ShoreWilmette

A renovated and expanded East Wilmette classic

618 Central Wilmette video

618 Central Ave in Wilmette is the setting for a classic side-entrance center-entrance vintage charmer that’s been completely updated. The home has also been expanded to include a first- floor family room with French doors opening to a raised bluestone patio and professionally landscaped yard. The home has four bedrooms, ...

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Posted by sponsored post on April 24, 2012
North ShoreWilmette

Live two doors from the Wilmette Christmas house

2022 Wilmette Ave Wilmette

I’m a sucker for a front porch, and the home at 2022 Wilmette Ave in Wilmette has a great south-facing one that wraps around the sides of the home and leads to a pergola on the west. The 5-bedroom, 3 bath farm house has been on the market for a ...

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Posted by Joe Zekas on April 19, 2012
West suburbsWestern Springs

An Old Town North home in Western Springs

4068 Garden Western Springs

The Village of Western Springs is situated between La Grange and Hinsdale. The attractions of Western Springs, apart from its small-town atmosphere, include its easy access to downtown Chicago by Metra, good expressway access to O’Hare and Midway Airports, excellent schools and parks, a varied housing stock and a pedestrian-friendly ...

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Posted by sponsored post on April 18, 2012
West suburbsWestern Springs

A drive around Mayberry a/k/a Western Springs

Western Springs video

“It’s not the town for you if you want to be anonymous,” says Ann-Marie Hickey about the Village of Western Springs, which has been her home for the past 20 years. “It’s Mayberry.” Ann-Marie is a real estate agent with Realty Executives. After wrapping up a sponsored video shoot at ...

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Posted by Joe Zekas on April 13, 2012
South / Southwest suburbsLynwood

Ambry Estates in Lynwood offers $0 closing costs

Ambry Estates, Lynwood, IL

Chicago home builder J. Lawrence Homes, one of the area’s largest local and private builders is now offering $0 closing costs on their Ambry Estates community of new homes in Lynwood.  According to John Wozniak, president of J Lawrence Homes, the homes are already priced to move so there is ...

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Posted by sponsored post on April 12, 2012
West suburbsWestern Springs

Is this a Zook house or merely a Zook roof?

811 Oak St Western Springs

As I was leaving Western Springs yesterday I chanced upon the home at 811 Oak St that’s pictured above. I had to stop for a closer look. A few minutes of Googling surfaced a blog post with the following information: This house has a Zook Roof, named for prolific Chicago ...

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Posted by Joe Zekas on April 12, 2012
South / Southwest suburbsPlainfield

Tour a luxury model home in Plainfield

Plainfield custom home video

You’ll often get a more informed perspective on how a home lives when you see it through the eyes of the builder. The 4,300 square foot home at 26104 Stewart Ridge in Plainfield was built by Christyn as a showplace model for the Northern Illinois Homebuilders’ Cavalcade of Homes. A ...

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Posted by sponsored post on April 10, 2012
North ShoreWinnetka

Are Winnetka condos a screaming deal for a small family?

Hubbard Woods video Winnetka

A 1,730 square foot 3-bedroom, 3-bath condo at 660 Winnetka Mews just came on the market for $329,000. It had previously sold for $485,500 in October of 2001. The unit has an updated kitchen with white cabinets and granite countertops. All three bedrooms are generously sized. There’s a fireplace in ...

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Posted by Joe Zekas on April 6, 2012
North ShoreWinnetka

Library Place in Winnetka to enter the North Shore rental market

Library Place rental townhomes, Winnetka IL

Just south of the Winnetka Public Library is Library Place seven townhomes built in the 1960s that are being renovated by Chicago home builder and renovator, J. Lawrence Homes, a builder with projects all around the metro area. The project was formerly known as Library Plaza, but sales had stalled ...

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Posted by sponsored post on March 31, 2012
West suburbsElmhurst

A 4-bedroom classic under $400K in Elmhurst’s Elm Estates

964 Kent Elmhurst video

The 4-bedroom, 2 ½ bath 2-story home at 964 Kent Ave in the Elm Estates neighborhood of Elmhurst will be instantly recognizable to tens of millions of people who grew up in homes very similar to it. It’s a classic layout from the 60s that’s stood the test of time ...

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Posted by Joe Zekas on March 30, 2012
North ShoreWilmette

North Shore rental pick – Wilmette’s Kenilworth Gardens

Kenilworth Gardens video

It’s been a while since I spotlighted a North Shore rental pick. This week’s focus falls on 2240 Kenilworth Ave, a 3-bedroom, 2 ½ bath home in Wilmette‘s Kenilworth Gardens offered at $3,300 a month. There isn’t enough information online to determine whether the home qualifies as special in any ...

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Posted by Joe Zekas on March 29, 2012
North ShoreKenilworth

A tight North Shore rental market

View from Kenilworth Metra station

We’ve been following the market for rental homes and condos on the North Shore for several years and the market appears to be as tight as I’ve seen it. There are more properties available than there were in the late spring and early summer of last year but, and this ...

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Posted by Joe Zekas on March 22, 2012
North ShoreHighland Park

Highland Park luxury at $600K below 2006 asking price

Highland Park single-family home

The 7,500 square foot 5-bedroom home with 5 full and 2 half baths on an acre at 3434 Old Mill Rd in Highland Park recently came on the market at an asking price of $1,592,000. The home was offered for sale for $2,200,000 back in July of 2006 when we ...

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Posted by Joe Zekas on March 21, 2012
North ShoreKenilworth

Is Kenilworth the 5-year home value champ?

Kenilworth video

Chicago Magazine’s April issue hits the stands this week, and one of its features is a series of charts on how home values have performed between 2006 and 2011 in Chicago’s neighborhoods and suburbs. Only one suburb, according to data supplied to Chicago Magazine by the local MLS, saw an ...

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Posted by Joe Zekas on March 15, 2012
North suburbsSkokie

Is buying a foreclosed Skokie condo a good gamble?

8828 Niles Center Rd Skokie IL

Crain’s Chicago Real Estate Daily recently reported on a developer who’s in foreclosure – for the second time – on the 70-unit Skokie Gardens Condominiums, 8828 Niles Center Rd in Skokie. The developer’s not alone in Chancery Court – a number of the original buyers in the development have also ...

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Posted by Joe Zekas on March 13, 2012
North ShoreWinnetka

Can a not-great Winnetka neighborhood fetch $16.7 million?

319 Sheridan Rd Winnetka

If the notion of a second-rate neighborhood in Winnetka seems strange to you, you probably don’t live in Winnetka. “That’s not a great neighborhood. It’s just north of Elder Lane [park]. I think he’s smoking something,” was the off-the-cuff reaction from a knowledgeable Winnetka agent I called for a quick ...

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Posted by Joe Zekas on March 12, 2012