Anecdotally speaking, in the dozen or so North Side neighborhoods I work in such as Lincoln Square, Ravenswood, Lincoln Park, Lakeview and Near North… that “deal” is still elusive. The market has shifted down and sort of flattened out. We sort of know market pricing again. My clients will get nice condos in good locations in good buildings slightly off 2006-2007 prices… but that’s still real money. But the steals remain rare or come with some major trade-offs… such as less desirable locations further from the action, in buildings with deferred maintenance (or the unit needs a complete renovation) or come in associations with high investor sell-offs where the future association is in question.
Sorry, I’m just not willing to risk my future enjoyment and income to get a $50K discount now on a unit. I want a good, solid building and association. The way I see it, the pent up inventory of “good” units is starting to hit the market and selling at a much lower or manageable discount from the peak years causing a little up-tick in the market price overall.
So, unless you are willing to live in a no thrills unit to get your deal in a decent location, my buyer clients are finding the good stuff is still in demand and hard to get a bargain on. If it were that easy as sometimes perceived, I’d be out spending all my money I made rather than blogging right now.
– Rubloff Realtor Eric Rojas, from his Chicago Real Estate Local blog.