Category: Market conditions
Reports on the state of the housing market
New construction deals for real estate agents
A couple of days ago we called attention to the proliferation of financing and option incentives that home builders are offering buyers.
We're also s [...]
Trib says it's official: Chicago is a buyer's market
The Trib led its Sunday edition this week with the news that Chicagoland is officially experiencing a buyer's market. Unofficially, most people - buye [...]
Zillow does home values by ZIP code
If you want a quick and easy way to compare median home values in Chicagoland's various ZIP codes, just go to Zillow and punch in a ZIP code without a [...]
Fortune study: Chicago housing in "danger zone"
The latest bubble story comes from Fortune magazine, which ranks 19 major markets as "dead zones," "danger zones" and "safe havens." If you haven't al [...]
Chicago rent barometer: apartments for under $600
What exactly can $600 rent you these days? For those willing to put their bed and table in the same room and live in a studio, the choice of neighbo [...]
Wabash Club brings buyers to south South Loop
We thought Dubin Residential was pushing it when the developer referred to its Wabash Club project as in the "South Loop." The development includes [...]
There's no bubble; just a supply bubble
According to Thomas Horwich, co-owner of Rubloff Residential Properties, there is a "supply bubble" in Chicago's new-construction condominium market.
[...]
How to spin a drop in sales
Sales of existing homes will drop 6 percent this year and sales of new homes are likely to fall 10.9 percent, according to the latest forecast from th [...]
Des Plaines? You couldn't pay me to live there. Literally.
The Chicago Tribune reports that the Des Plaines City Council will reconsider a rule requiring department heads to live in the northern suburb. Appare [...]
Chicago is not very bubbly
When it comes to risk of a housing price collapse, Chicago barely manages to tie Atlanta for 28th place among the nation's 50 largest metro areas.
At [...]
Condo prices go crazy in Jefferson Park
Has anyone noticed that the Jefferson Park housing market is going berserk? We just noticed just how crazy it is out there when we caught sight of an [...]
Chicago houses under $90,000 (yes, houses)
It's easy to start thinking you have to be a millionaire to buy a home in Chicago, an idea we no doubt contributed to with recent posts on luxury cond [...]
New home sales up 5.2 percent
If you didn't read past today's headlines, all you know about February new home sales is that they plunged at the steepest rate in 9 years.
What you [...]
The many X factors in Chicago's hotel condo market
After spending the week researching hotel condo developments in downtown Chicago, we realize that it is a venture that is not for the faint-hearted. T [...]
Chicago hotel condos – a financial or lifestyle investment?
Hotel condos - are they good investment vehicles? Opinions vary. Some say that by the time you have paid assessment fees and Chicago's notoriously hig [...]
A mixologist on ice at The James hotel condos
Curious about what's on offer in a hotel condo, the newest trend in the Chicago real estate market, we took a quick look around a suite at The James, [...]
Livin' large on East Lake Shore Drive
Lake Shore Drive only runs north-south, you say? You could be forgiven for missing E Lake Shore (it's only about two blocks, or eight buildings wide), [...]
Paying real estate taxes on your plasma TV
An MSN article about the increase in closing perks — free plasma TVs, cars, upgrades and more — got me thinking about incompetent attorney [...]
"Properties of Distinction" and the afterthought of taxes
It's a tough row to hoe, but if you set your mind to it, you can indeed find local properties with taxes that exceed the 2004 Illinois average househo [...]
Real estate commissions under siege
Brad Inman points out that real estate commissions come under attack every few years, contends that it's happening now, offers 10 reasons why it might [...]