Yo '07: Predictions from developer Michael Maier of MCL Companies

Chicago home prices will flatten out but not necessarily drop in 2007, according to MCL Companies president Michael Maier. The developer of Streeterville high-rise ParkView and Near West Side project Metro Place, predicts that owners of homes in lakefront neighborhoods will enjoy modest appreciation but not the galloping rates of appreciation we’ve seen over the last few years. Like other pundits we’ve spoken to this week, Maier notes that the market offers “condos galore” and says only the ones with the best views will enjoy fast sales given that buyers feel no sense of urgency at the moment and flippers have stopped buying, for the most part.

Maier notes that many of the contemporary glassy high-rises are starting to look the same and predicts that buyers will tire with that look for a while but return to it at some later stage. Design-wise, Maier notes that marble countertops are available in the upgrade packages of some new-construction projects, and he predicts that marble will even replace the ubiquitous granite at some developments in 2007 as granite starts to look passe. Snaidero and other fancy-schmancy European cabinets, once the province of ultra-luxury projects, are gradually becoming mainstream as buyers are drawn to their clean contemporary aethetics, Maier says.

Note to developers: Maier thinks there’s a real lack of one-bedroom-plus-den units, which he says are in strong demand among singles who want a home office / guest room.

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