Chicago Real Estate Blog

Exclusive Dream Town Listing – West Rogers Park Townhomes

This beautiful new construction townhome development, located at 7223 North Hamilton, only has a few units still available. It’s a must-see property for anyone interested in a bright, contemporary living space with high ceilings, decked-out kitchen, and rooftop deck ready for entertaining. The units are brand new (built in 2007) and are what you’d expect of a single-family house – for the price of a condo.

Posted at 09:31AM Oct 06, 2008 by Spencer Mason in General  |  Comments[0]

Savvy Home Builders Push for Energy Efficiency

No one knows better than home designers what people want in a dwelling. Their clients are the voice of residential real estate consumers and what they are asking for these days is not surprising considering the rising cost of utility bills and other everyday commodities. People want to save money wherever they can – at the grocery market, at the gas pump, and especially at home.

Posted at 09:16AM Oct 03, 2008 by Spencer Mason in General  |  Comments[0]

Joliet Surpasses Naperville as 4th Largest City in the State

The suburb of Joliet is one of the top 25 fastest growing communities in the country and this summer, it slipped past Naperville in population size to become the fourth largest city in Illinois. Joliet currently has about 144,300 inhabitants while Naperville has just over 142,400. The number of residents isn’t the only thing expanding in this southwestern Chicago suburb, though. This former manufacturing town has developed a bona fide entertainment and tourist industry that is attracting even more people to the area for outdoor recreation, dining, shopping, live theater, sightseeing, gaming and much more. 

Posted at 11:58AM Sep 25, 2008 by Spencer Mason in General  |  Comments[0]

Chicago’s Best Neighborhoods Guide

DreamTown.com’s comprehensive neighborhoods section offers first-of-its-kind interactive features and detailed info that you won’t find in one location anywhere else. No other website tops the innovative technology and user-friendly tools of Dream Town’s all-in-one guide. It goes in-depth and personal with all of Chicago’s 183 neighborhoods.

Posted at 10:27AM Sep 23, 2008 by Spencer Mason in General  |  Comments[0]

Condos a Possibility for Old MCA Building

A commercial property with significant historical value is up for sale in Chicago’s affluent Streeterville neighborhood. It is the former location of the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) and the attention garnered from residential and hotel developers has already proven this piece of real estate is a hot commodity.

Posted at 10:18AM Sep 11, 2008 by Spencer Mason in General  |  Comments[0]

New Grant Offers Home Buyers $10,000

This week, Mayor Daley revealed a new incentive that will award a limited number of home buyers with $10,000 grants to put towards purchasing homes in several Plan for Transformation developments around the city. The developments are a project of the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) that will replace old high-rises with mixed-income residential complexes.

Posted at 09:18AM Sep 08, 2008 by Spencer Mason in General  |  Comments[0]

Chicagoans Opted to Spend Summer at Home

With the last hoorah of summer behind us (otherwise known as Labor Day Weekend), some analysts are already looking back at the three-month stint of warm weather and noticing a few telltale signs that Chicago area residents chose to stick around town this year, as opposed to traveling afar.

Posted at 09:10AM Sep 03, 2008 by Spencer Mason in General  |  Comments[0]

New Housing Bill Tax Credit Rounds Up Interest

A new website was created by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) to provide information and address questions about the new federal tax credit available to first-time home buyers through June, 2009. Within the first couple days of its launch, www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com received an estimated 36,000+ visitors. The outpouring of interest is a good sign for the national real estate market, although it is not certain that the heightened curiosity will inspire action among house hunters.

Posted at 01:31PM Aug 29, 2008 by Spencer Mason in General  |  Comments[0]

Who needs to Budge – Buyers or Sellers?

The Chicago real estate market hasn’t experienced the huge price drops that many parts of the country are enduring – places like Miami, Las Vegas and Phoenix where the building boom of a few years ago is now resulting in pricing busts. But in Chicago, median home prices have actually remained very stable, falling only 2.4% from July of last year. Even with steady prices, home sales volume has not increased in the city because there is a standoff between buyers and sellers about what fair market price should be in Chicago.

Posted at 09:12AM Aug 28, 2008 by Spencer Mason in General  |  Comments[0]

What are REO Properties?

You may have heard the term floating around in news reports and articles and wondered, what is REO? REO or Real Estate Owned properties are properties owned by the lender – usually a result of foreclosure. When a foreclosed home goes to auction and is not bid upon, the property title is returned to the mortgage lender. It is now considered an REO property. This situation can create a beneficial position for buyers interested in the home because financial lenders typically want to unload the property and free up that capital, giving buyers great leverage for negotiating a good deal.

Posted at 10:58AM Aug 22, 2008 by Spencer Mason in General  |  Comments[0]

Tribune Tower Converted to Condominiums?

You’re most likely familiar with the Tribune Tower – the distinctive Gothic-style building on Michigan Avenue that houses the Tribune newspaper offices and printing facility. Built in the early 1920s, the structure has long been an iconic symbol of great Chicago architecture (its design actually won out over 260 blueprints competing for the chance to be the Tribune’s new headquarters). The tower has had a good run serving its original purpose, but now the company CEO, billionaire real estate tycoon Sam Zell, is putting the famed building up for sale and talk of going condo is in the air.

Posted at 01:56PM Aug 21, 2008 by Spencer Mason in General  |  Comments[0]

How are Rising Gas Prices Affecting Today’s Home Buyers?

With the increased cost of gas, some real estate agencies are seeing a shift in what house hunters are looking for in a home. It used to be people didn’t mind living away from where they worked in order to get the home they wanted… Now, home buyers are expressing interest in properties near their jobs – just to save money on the commute.

Posted at 02:14PM Aug 15, 2008 by Spencer Mason in General  |  Comments[0]

Dorms vs Condo- Moms and Dads Decide

Parents are considering condos as another option when their kids go away to school.

Posted at 01:42PM Aug 14, 2008 by Terri Boyce in General  |  Comments[0]

New Condo Complex in Chicago’s Historic St. Ben’s Neighborhood

Cityscape Condominiums is a contemporary addition to the traditional setting of St. Ben’s community. The six-building development is still under construction, but four of the four-story condominiums are ready for occupancy and are already being bought up.

Posted at 10:32AM Aug 14, 2008 by Spencer Mason in General  |  Comments[0]

Home Sales Noticeably Up in Chicagoland in June

June proved to be a good selling month for Chicago area real estate – sales for existing detached single-family residences and attached properties (condos, townhouses, loft, etc.) were up over 10 percent from May. The number of homes sold in Chicago and nearby suburbs in May was 6,929. June saw an increase in total residential property sales to 7,656, according to the Illinois Association of Realtors.

Posted at 04:37PM Aug 06, 2008 by Spencer Mason in General  |  Comments[0]