In Sunday’s Trib, columnist Mary Umberger wrote that “sales are up for some of the most expensive real estate in Chicago” according to a few real-estate pros. One of those pros, Rubloff president Jim Kinney, explained that closings among $1 million-plus properties were up year-to-date over the same period in 2007.
That’s not to say that Kinney sees the light at the end of the tunnel for everyone. He doesn’t mince words when it comes to the state of the new-construction market.
Kinney said top-quality resale properties have held their own in the city, but new construction “is deathly.”
He said the city has 13,000 new units in the pipeline, yet just 200 purchase contracts were signed in the first quarter.
Though he sees the upper-bracket sales as encouraging, they don’t herald a turnaround, he said.
“There is no tsunami coming,” Kinney said. “It’s more like a tidal pool.”
“Deathly”? Oof. So much for “stunningly soft.”
New Homes has occasionally singled out areas as “Chicago’s hottest neighborhoods.” Let’s turn that on its ear for a second: In today’s market, what are Chicago’s deathliest neighborhoods (is that even a word?), and why?