Market Conditions: Is Chicago’s Upper Bracket on the Road to Recovery?

Crain’s is reporting that William Wrigley Jr. has buyers for both his Lake Forest home and 2 out of the 3 multi-million dollar units he had listed as raw space in 65 E. Goethe in the Gold Coast.

He is taking a loss on the Lake Forest home.

The 11,000-square-foot Lake Forest home on Lake Road had been listed most recently at $6.9 million and had a sale pending as of Oct. 31. The seven-bedroom, nine-bathroom home, which Mr. Wrigley bought in 2003 for $9.9 million, was officially listed in 2009 for $14.5 million and had three subsequent price reductions. The listing agent, Edward Skae of Coldwell Banker Residential, did not return a phone call.

Designed by architect Howard Van Doren Shaw and built in 1908, the property has 16 rooms, a five-car attached garage, a pool and a private beach, according to the listing.

It looks like he might come out ahead on the Gold Coast properties as it has been easier for him to sell the space as 3 different units instead of one massive 13,000 square foot unit.

The Gold Coast condos are part of the penthouse at 65 E. Goethe St. that Mr. Wrigley bought in 2002 from the building’s developer, Chicago-based Fordham Co., for just under $9.13 million, according to county records. In 2009, Mr. Wrigley put the 13,200-square-foot raw space, which has never been finished, on the market for $14 million, but he later split the floor into three separate units.

He put two of the three units up for sale in June 2010, with the west unit listed at $6 million and the north unit for $5 million. Most recently, the west unit was listed at $4 million and the north unit at $4.5 million. The north unit has a sale pending as of this week, according to Midwest Real Estate Data LLC, and the unlisted unit also has a sale pending, sources say. The listing agent, Jim Kinney of Baird & Warner, declined to identify the buyer.

We don’t yet know the closing prices on the Gold Coast units, but they will join a list of several other high end condo sales in the Gold Coast this year.

The sale is indicative of how the Lake Forest high-end market has picked up in the past six months, said Mona Hellinga of Koenig & Strey Real Living, citing the $7.2-million sale of the Sara Wood Armour estate in September.

 “Our high end is really moving now,” said Ms. Hellinga, who was not involved in the sale of the Wrigley home. “We’re past the bottom and luxury buyers are jumping into the market.”

With sales starting to perk up, does this signal that the worst is over for the upper bracket properties?

William Wrigley Jr. finds buyers for Lake Forest mansion, Gold Coast penthouses [Crain’s Chicago Business, Mary E. Morrison, November 17, 2011]

122 Responses to “Market Conditions: Is Chicago’s Upper Bracket on the Road to Recovery?”

  1. At the end of October there were 21 homes listed over $5 MM in Chicago. They sell at a rate of 1 every 2 – 3 months. Lake Forest is even more sporadic. At this rate, with sales so sporadic, it would be impossible to claim that the “high end is really moving now.

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  2. However, above $2 MM in Lake Forest it does look like it’s picked up somewhat, but not in Chicago. In fact, in Chicago it appears to be slower this year.

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  3. What a second, wait a second. Do you mean to tell me that, in general, (1) people with money are buying their home, contrary to the “renting is winning” wisdom popular on here; and (2) unique and/or nice properties are, eventually, selling at decent prices, unlike the glut of crappy downtown apartment-grade units or places in fringe areas or over-converted areas?

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  4. Anonny, hate to fill in your naivety, but I mean to tell you the rules/guidelines/advice for multimillionaires are different from the rest of us.

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  5. “decent prices” anonny? At 1/3 off the 2003 price, they appear to be doing as badly as the South Loop.

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  6. once again, I have been telling you guys all along – the more expensive suburbs/houses are doing just fine. Sabrina constantly was arguing with me telling me prices are plummeting everywhere and painting this doomsday scenario where lakefront mansions would go for under a million. I invited her to come out to Oak Brook/Hinsdale and take a look – because what I am seeing is NOT what is being written on “cribchatter”. I invite ANY of you to come to Hinsdale/Oak Brook and take a look around – there is new construction EVERYWHERE (esp Hinsdale) – most of these houses are spec houses and most sell before construction is complete.

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  7. The 1% is doing great. This is not news.

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  8. once again, I have been telling you guys all along – clio never gets anything right.

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  9. “I invited her to come out to Oak Brook/Hinsdale and take a look – because what I am seeing is NOT what is being written on “cribchatter”. I invite ANY of you to come to Hinsdale/Oak Brook and take a look around – there is new construction EVERYWHERE (esp Hinsdale) – most of these houses are spec houses and most sell before construction is complete.”

    Oak Brook is getting KILLED in this housing market. But it should. Many of the bigger homes there in the gated communities are old now and haven’t been updated. Buyers want “new” and updated.

    Clio- maybe you didn’t read this article closely. Wrigley is taking at least a $3 million loss. What is that? A 25% decline in price? We don’t know exactly yet- as it hasn’t closed. Someone may be buying it for $5 million for all we know.

    I guess it goes to the old adage- if you price it right- it finally sells.

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  10. “once again, I have been telling you guys all along – clio never gets anything right.”

    In Clio’s defense, it is just as hard to go 0-for-10 in football picks as it is to go 10-for-10.

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  11. Something weird is going on on Cribchatter right now. My first comment does not appear. Instead someone else’s comment appears under my name.

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  12. Good stuff chuk. CH is kicking himself.

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  13. Clio, my partner and I are in Oak Brook all the time and it’s not a pretty picture there. Sabrina is correct, no one wants those outdated homes and they are taking forever to sell. Most of the older homes in Midwest Club have sold for around $225/SF unless they’ve been substantially updated.

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  14. That’s not the only thing weird on cc Gary.

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  15. At least some things are selling at this price point. That didn’t seem to be the case a year or two ago. The rich aren’t quite as fearful, apparently.

    Lake Forest had the largest inventory of million dollar homes recently, didn’t it? Something like 6 years worth of inventory?

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  16. “Something weird is going on on Cribchatter right now.”

    Sorry Gary. That was my fault. I was trying to reply to you but accidentally put my reply into your message. I tried to fix it- but I think I cut off some of your original comment.

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  17. Scumbag 1%ers.

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  18. I can’t really comment on the prices, but I do love 65 E. Goethe. I have been in one of the units and it is beautiful. The building is elegant and truly luxurious.

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  19. formerroscoevillager on November 18th, 2011 at 8:19 am

    I would not live in the midwest club if you paid me to. I much prefer the street and alley way set up of the towns clustered along the train tracks with good schools/services and some approximation of an urban fantasy.

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  20. I’m seeing suburban luxury houses that I have kept on eye on selling in the last few months. These homes have been on the market for over two years and selling prices seem to be about 50% less than the original prices. I think the luxury home market has also suffered, and recent increased activity is more due to decreased prices, not because the market is doing fine. Oakbrook prices will continue to move downward. The demand for outdated luxury homes is much much less than for new McMansions.

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  21. I can’t imagine paying a lot of money for a crappy new construction faux manse.

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  22. “Lake Forest had the largest inventory of million dollar homes recently, didn’t it? Something like 6 years worth of inventory?”

    Above $2MM and based upon the last 3 months of activity they currently have a tad over a 2 year supply.

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  23. The cost to update those outdated luxury homes is astronomical. It’s almost more efficient to just tear it down and build anew, but the owners of those outdated luxury homes would never stand for that. I mean, they can’t just GIVE their outdated 50 year old homes away now, right?

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  24. “The 1% is doing great. This is not news.”

    darn it HD you beat me to it. 99% represent!

    i will be down there next week, maybe one day or two. my son already made his sign.

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  25. I wanted to add bill wrigley jr is a sellout asshole whose greed and lack of business savvy and ambition is why 100 more americans are out of jobs today. I hope he gets cancer.

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  26. Oh and great article on yahoo finance showing its really the top .1%, such as asshole bill wrigley jr and not the top 1%. Top 1% in income does not mran you are sitting pretty necessarily.

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  27. groove I expect to see you with the “repeal citizens united vs. FEC” or “reinstate Glass-Steagall” signs since you went to a good university 8)

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  28. “At least some things are selling at this price point. That didn’t seem to be the case a year or two ago. The rich aren’t quite as fearful, apparently.”

    I don’t know about that. Here’s the $4M+ closed sfh/condo/th totals for Chicagoland, 2011 thru today:

    1994 1
    1995 1
    1996 2
    1997 2
    1998 4
    1999 7
    2000 8
    2001 16
    2002 15
    2003 21
    2004 31
    2005 30
    2006 47
    2007 56
    2008 44
    2009 22
    2010 29
    2011 21

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  29. Why is Wrigley a sell-out? Are they making gum in China?

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  30. Some of you might enjoy the 1% animation:
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/video/2011/nov/16/99-v-1-occupy-data-animation

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  31. He sold the company to mars, which of course just announced more layoffs at wrigley.

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  32. “Top 1% in income does not mean you are sitting pretty necessarily”

    Assets trump income every time.

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  33. “Is Chicago’s Upper Bracket on the Road to Recovery?”

    Just like the junkie in the ER after yet another OD is “on the road” to recovery.

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  34. Even if we include more of the poors we can see, once again, that clio is never right.

    2011 is thru 11/15/11

    Chicago $1M+ closed detached SFH

    2005 399
    2006 432
    2007 435
    2008 358
    2009 246
    2010 277
    2011 248

    Chicago $1M+ closed attached SFH

    2005 393
    2006 375
    2007 432
    2008 476
    2009 234
    2010 353
    2011 223

    Chicago $1M+ closed attached & detached SFH

    1998 107
    1999 150
    2000 271
    2001 278
    2002 291
    2003 404
    2004 676
    2005 792
    2006 807
    2007 867
    2008 834
    2009 480
    2010 630
    2011 471

    Cook County $1M+ closed detached SFH

    2005 1,167
    2006 1,171
    2007 1,190
    2008 863
    2009 594
    2010 693
    2011 629

    Cook County $1M+ closed attached SFH

    2005 396
    2006 379
    2007 447
    2008 481
    2009 238
    2010 359
    2011 224

    Cook County $1M+ closed attached & detached SFH

    2005 1,563
    2006 1,550
    2007 1,637
    2008 1,344
    2009 832
    2010 1,052
    2011 853

    Dupage County $1M+ closed attached & detached SFH

    2005 335
    2006 318
    2007 298
    2008 220
    2009 185
    2010 193
    2011 147

    Oak Brook $1M+ closed attached & detached SFH

    2005 36
    2006 34
    2007 31
    2008 15
    2009 20
    2010 21
    2011 20

    Hinsdale $1M+ closed attached & detached SFH

    2005 149
    2006 111
    2007 111
    2008 86
    2009 81
    2010 89
    2011 78

    Lake County $1M+ closed attached & detached SFH

    2005 421
    2006 430
    2007 426
    2008 253
    2009 150
    2010 176
    2011 164

    Lake Forest $1M+ closed attached & detached SFH

    2005 151
    2006 136
    2007 157
    2008 84
    2009 60
    2010 82
    2011 79

    Highland Park $1M+ closed attached & detached SFH

    2005 86
    2006 91
    2007 74
    2008 53
    2009 30
    2010 38
    2011 21

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  35. Makes me glad I’m not one of those who paid $1 million plus for a home four years ago. I guess that goes without saying.

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  36. “The listing agent, Edward Skae of Coldwell Banker Residential, did not return a phone call.”

    well no wonder its not selling, he has a bad, lazy agent who doesn’t return phone calls. Probably missed lots of offers . 😀

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  37. While those stats are definitely interesting – I don’t think anyone in their right mind would ever expect us to hit 2007 figures anytime in the foreseeable future. The question is really about where and when the market will begin to achieve stability. That to me is what recovery is all about. Are we there yet? My gut tells me know, I think even high end real estate still has a ways to fall.

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  38. “I don’t think anyone in their right mind would ever expect us to hit 2007 figures anytime in the foreseeable future”

    I beg to differ with you. There are plenty of sellers and want-to-sell but cannot owners out there who are waiting until prices come back to what they overpaid for their places in 2007.

    Oh you said “right mind”

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  39. Andy the three government entities of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration are either standing behind the debt of or outright buying 9 out of 10 mortgages being underwritten these days.

    The fact that the private market participation is so low is a red herring of things to come.

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  40. “The fact that the private market participation is so low is a red herring of things to come.”

    Yes. 10 out of 10 mortgages going to the GSE’s….

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  41. red herring? or harbinger?

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  42. For the record, Coldwell Banker’s Ned (Edward) Skae has sold more than $650M in real estate in a 35-year career that’s brought him national recognition as one of the best in the business. He’s the manager of the CB Lake Forest office.

    Coldwell Banker is one of our clients.

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  43. cha-ching

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  44. chuk I read recently it is 9 out of 10 so there is some activity being picked up in the private market–think non-conforming jumbos.

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  45. What do you suppose a paid endorsement by Joe Zekas is worth on CC?

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  46. “red herring? or harbinger?”

    Harvester. Of sorrow.

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  47. “What do you suppose a paid endorsement by Joe Zekas is worth on CC?”

    Given the assortment of idiot, morons, tehpoorz and stoners collected here, can’t be worth much.

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  48. nobody cares, he’d sell a lot more if he would answer his phone and return calls

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  49. Why doesn’t Joe just get banned the same way a comment bot pushing Viagra would?

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  50. “can’t be worth much”

    Then there must be another reason. Something like: “It’s either pay me, or I will praise you on CC”. It makes sense that he’s gotta break a kneecap every once in a while to keep the rest in line.

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  51. “chuk I read recently it is 9 out of 10 so there is some activity being picked up in the private market–think non-conforming jumbos.”

    Right. I just meant that 10 out of 10 is what is coming next.

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  52. “red herring? or harbinger?”

    Harvester. Of sorrow.”

    oooh oooh, i want to play….Asian Carp

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  53. Give me some credit guys. I fully realize that my comments are worthless, or worse, to CC regulars. If I were ever to lose sight of that they’d quickly ground me in reality.

    My comments here are equally worthless, from a time-value standpoint, for traffic. A comment at Curbed generates 10 times as much traffic, and one at Crain’s 20 to 50 times as much.

    My assumption is that CC has some readers who need to be aware that CC regulars will slime anyone with no basis for doing so, and that their comments are worthless with regard to the facts.

    There are many reasons why a real estate agent doesn’t get back to a reporter before deadline.

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  54. Is it just me or this article is written poorly? I mean both from logical and readability point of view.
    If I understand correctly (if not I blame it on the writing style…lol), this dude lost 3mil dollars selling the property. How is that a sign of luxury market recovering? I mean if you price anything low enough it should sell and it should be even more so for a luxe item.

    “The 11,000-square-foot Lake Forest home on Lake Road had been listed most recently at $6.9 million and had a sale pending as of Oct. 31. The seven-bedroom, nine-bathroom home, which Mr. Wrigley bought in 2003 for $9.9 million”

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  55. Andy: “Why doesn’t Joe just get banned the same way a comment bot pushing Viagra would?”

    What fun would that be? We have the opportunity to see a paid shill, who actually admits to being a paid shill, at work.

    My question about his shilling is whether it makes his clients look better or worse. I mean, I wouldn’t pay someone to come here and defend my reputation to CCers. Who gives a f***? In my mind, it makes his clients look much, much worse and much more petty.

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  56. My assumption is that CC has some readers who need to be aware that Joe Zekas will slime anyone when paid to do so, and that his comments are worthless here.

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  57. “My assumption is that CC has some readers who need to be aware that Joe Zekas will slime anyone when paid to do so, and that his comments are worthless here.”

    AND WHY THE HELL SHOULD WE TRUST YOU, AN ANONYMOUS POSTER WHO WON’T GIVE UP HIS NAME OVER SOMEONE WHO ACTUALLY HAS THE GUTS TO PUT HIS NAME TO HIS COMMENTS?!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!!!!

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  58. “Something weird is going on on Cribchatter right now. My first comment does not appear. Instead someone else’s comment appears under my name.”

    I had a similar issue take place when Joe Zekas read my comment and repackaged it on his blog without attribution.

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  59. What DB gave Joe’s comment a thumbs up? CLIO?!!!!1111

    “Joe Zekas (November 18, 2011, 11:27 am)

    Give me some credit guys. I fully realize that my comments are worthless, or worse, to CC regulars. If I were ever to lose sight of that they’d quickly ground me in reality.

    My comments here are equally worthless, from a time-value standpoint, for traffic. A comment at Curbed generates 10 times as much traffic, and one at Crain’s 20 to 50 times as much.

    My assumption is that CC has some readers who need to be aware that CC regulars will slime anyone with no basis for doing so, and that their comments are worthless with regard to the facts.

    There are many reasons why a real estate agent doesn’t get back to a reporter before deadline.
    Rating: -2 (from 4 votes)”

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  60. “My assumption is that CC has some readers who need to be aware that CC regulars will slime anyone with no basis for doing so, and that their comments are worthless with regard to the facts.”

    SO TRUE – THANK YOU JOE – and to all the CCers and readers here – just because you WANT something to be true (ie HD and Sabrina and G wanting prices to plummet bc they are loser renters) doesnt mean it is going to happen…….The truth is that NOBODY knows the future.

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  61. JZ is a whore but still posts smarter stuff than clambo.. probably not the first time he’s been outsmarted by one

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  62. “just because you WANT something to be true (ie Joe and Clio wanting prices to rise bc they are real estate shills) doesnt mean it is going to happen…….The truth is that NOBODY knows the future.”

    Fixed it for you.

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  63. clio: “AND WHY THE HELL SHOULD WE TRUST YOU, AN ANONYMOUS POSTER WHO WON’T GIVE UP HIS NAME OVER SOMEONE WHO ACTUALLY HAS THE GUTS TO PUT HIS NAME TO HIS COMMENTS?!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!!!!”

    Look in the mirror, man. You have constantly asserted that you should be listened to over other posters because of your success in life. Seems like it’d be an easy thing to prove. Just need a name…

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  64. Man, could we have a discussion about actually the market condition? I have no problem with digressions from the topic but we have had the same fight like 100 times already.
    As for calling people paid shills and so on, in fairness to JZ he does not conceal his identity and states clearly someone is his client so readers can draw their own conclusions.
    I just think with the eurozone disaster and all there is a lot of room for interesting discussions. For instance, what do you all think about possibility of inflation? It seems the second quarter was better than the first in that regard, but will the trend be sustainable? Many of us are saving money for down payments and it is not clear what we should do with the money while the RE market takes its sweet time to settle : )

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  65. “The truth is that NOBODY knows the future.”

    One thing’s for sure, clio can’t tell the truth or the future, as the following example illustrates:

    clio (February 23, 2011, 10:26 am): I would bet anything that the numbers are going to be much higher (YOY) at that time.

    G (February 24, 2011, 11:38 am): I bet that the Chicago single-family and condominium sales discussed in this thread will be lower YOY for June 2011 compared to June 2010. The IAR total for June 2010 was 2,526 sales per the IAR.

    clio (February 24th, 2011 at 5:54 pm): G – I accept your bet…If I lose, then Sabrina can ban me.

    June 2011 sales = 1,841 (27.1 percent decline from June 2010)

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  66. TftInChi: two minutes of research into clio’s farm next to the sewage plant easily produced a name. The question you have to ask however is whether the former owner of the farm is the same person posting as clio. That we’ll never know without court ordered subpoenas.

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  67. Clio has a farm? where? I’ve been missing out.

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  68. Oh crap thanks Riz now we get to hear how awesome st charles is and of the RE opportunity of a lifetime.

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  69. “My question about his shilling is whether it makes his clients look better or worse. I mean, I wouldn’t pay someone to come here and defend my reputation to CCers. Who gives a f***? In my mind, it makes his clients look much, much worse and much more petty.”

    and it also makes his clients look like they have a lot more to hide…

    What is that old saying… Ignorance is bliss?

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  70. i’m surprised nobody has ‘outed’ clio or used his farm address to confirm who he is, given all the heat he gets on here, haha…

    On that note, I just got back from UCSF, i’m contemplating doing a fellowship out there but after seeing the home prices i’ll have to say no thanks. san francisco is ridic.

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  71. I would say many of the ‘average’ home prices in a nice neighborhood out there would fall into chicago’s ‘upper bracket’

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  72. Wrong HD. He can take a photo with today’s printout of CC’s homepage while wearing his coat standing in his office where he practices and upload it : )

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  73. Well Riz you’re in luck. Due to congress California can keep dreamin’ with the FHA loan limits restored. You can get a 756k house with only 26k down again.

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  74. Nice. 750k in san fran should fetch a nice 1200 sq foot ranch home. no thanks, haha.

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  75. “Well Riz you’re in luck. Due to congress California can keep dreamin’ with the FHA loan limits restored. You can get a 756k house with only 26k down again.”

    Bob – did you honestly think that the new lower limits would persist/hold?!! God, you must be very young……

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  76. Do you honestly think a doctor with multiple properties has the time/energy/interest in engaging in a ridiculous site such as this?!! Come on guys – use your brains….oh yeah, I forgot……..

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  77. “Oh crap thanks Riz now we get to hear how awesome st charles is and of the RE opportunity of a lifetime”

    St. Charles is really a WONDERFUL place to live. People who are starting families want to be in a suburb close to chicago because they think they are going to visit chicago often (zoos, concerts, restaurants, festivals, bars, etc.) – however, they don’t realize that when you have kids ALL of that changes. It doesn’t matter if you live in the middle of nowhere – your social life revolves around your kids and your work for about 18 years – so why not move further out to get more for your money? No sense in having the worst of both worlds.

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  78. “Do you honestly think a doctor with multiple properties has the time/energy/interest in engaging in a ridiculous site such as this?!! Come on guys – use your brains….oh yeah, I forgot……..”

    More like multiple “personalities”!!!!

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  79. are there two clio’s now? this place is like a psych ward.

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  80. “cliO (November 18, 2011, 1:41 pm)
    Do you honestly think a doctor with multiple properties has the time/energy/interest in engaging in a ridiculous site such as this?!! Come on guys – use your brains….oh yeah, I forgot……..”

    Not to hate, but that’s kind of what you do when you call everyone losers and renters without brains, etc.

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  81. “are there two clio’s now? this place is like a psych ward.”

    lol…quote of the day 🙂

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  82. I literally just saw a Rosso Vic Gallardo in River North. Wondering if it is Clio. There can’t be that many Rosso Vic lambos in Chicago.

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  83. “I literally just saw a Rosso Vic Gallardo in River North.”

    Soft or hard top?

    And, Vik, not Vic. Vic Rosso is the dealership’s mechanic, so it’s easy to get it confused.

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  84. Hard top.

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  85. Anon(tfo)… it is simply red in my book. Then again, it is close enough without explaining the nuance. 🙂

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  86. “Hard top.”

    The Clambo is a rag top, no? Maybe I need to re-check the dossier–someone interoffice it to me.

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  87. “it is simply red in my book. Then again, it is close enough without explaining the nuance.”

    Definitely.

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  88. “The Clambo is a rag top, no?”

    Yes.

    “Maybe I need to re-check the dossier–someone interoffice it to me.”

    We need a google doc or a wiki page or something. It would save me a LOT of time.

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  89. “We need a google doc or a wiki page or something. It would save me a LOT of time.”

    WikiChatter. I like it.

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  90. What’s a rag top?

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  91. “What’s a rag top?”

    convertible.

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  92. Thanks!

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  93. i think most lambo convertables are removeable hard tops though… Just sayin

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  94. “i think most lambo convertables are removeable hard tops though”

    I find no evidence of that for Gallardos. Cite, please. Even just one pic of a Gallardo Spyder with a hard top in place, or the hard top sitting on the ground.

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  95. the clambo is a red (rosso vik) convertible – unfortunately, it hasn’t been out for a month. too cold and too uncomfortable to drive with a coat!!!

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  96. danny (lower case D) on November 19th, 2011 at 9:15 am

    “Do you honestly think a doctor with multiple properties has the time/energy/interest in engaging in a ridiculous site such as this?!! Come on guys – use your brains….oh yeah, I forgot……..”

    The answer is no. Your “story” is such obvious bullshit, I can only conclude you are a troll. I’m all good with fictional characters, as long as that character is interesting and provides a good read. (i.e. GringoZe’s tales of the good life in Brazil). However, your character is so far from plausible and such an annoying DB, I can only conclude that you get off on the group hatred from everyone else. Whatever floats your boat dude.

    But no, I don’t believe that a Physician/RE mogul would have the time or interest to post to this site.

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  97. Si la persona que los mensajes como clio es realmente la persona propietaria de la finca, entonces es un radiólogo que habla español, asistió a universitad ivy league, y, curiosamente, sí Hable español. que sabía clio era un personaje interesante. Se puede publicar como su personaje de varias diferentes durante todo el día debido a sus gráficos de lectura y trabajo de la película lo pone frente a una computadora todo el día de todos modos.

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  98. Getting back to Wrigley – thanks to his family’s short-sightedness and lack of sports savvy, the Cubs were allowed to languish for decades as nothing more than a cash-cow for the Wrigley family and their hangers-on.

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  99. gringozecarioca on November 19th, 2011 at 7:26 pm

    “I’m all good with fictional characters, as long as that character is interesting and provides a good read. ‘

    Today at lunch, Ze was convinced by his wife to at least outline a book, describing his experience in trying to be a farmer in Brazil. We were rolling on the floor laughing about the ridiculousness of the shit that has occurred down here. Being as lazy as Ze is, I am sure it will never get written. If it does, I’ll send you a link to it on Amazon.

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  100. gringozecarioca on November 20th, 2011 at 4:23 am

    “In Clio’s defense, it is just as hard to go 0-for-10 in football picks as it is to go 10-for-10.”

    That’s one of those weird things that mathematically should be true, but in reality is not the case. I would say for every time someone goes +10, 5 people go negative 10. The world is seemingly filled with Eddie Mush (Bronx Tale) and very few ‘Ace’ Rothsteins (Casino).

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  101. “But no, I don’t believe that a Physician/RE mogul would have the time or interest to post to this site”

    I’ve been thinking this for a LONG time. There is no way that a practicing doctor could post as frequently as this guy does. On the other hand he once made a comment that he’s seen a lot of death so maybe there’s a connection – i.e. his patients are dying while he posts on Cribchatter.

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  102. Plus who has the money for, and an abundance of gauche taste to buy a Gallardo?

    Seriously if I had the money and wanted a nice car I’d pick something like the LS600h/Jaguar XK/Aston Martin V12 Vantage.

    A Gallardo just basically screams “I’m a douchebag and can’t get laid without this car”.

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  103. Clio is a doctor who spends a lot of the day in front of multiple computer screens and not so much of his time meeting with patients. When is the last time you met with your radiologist? The radiologist reads the films, interprets them, dictates his medical opinions and delivers them to the treating physician or surgeon. Then he opens the next file. Do you really think clio would be the type of doctor to meet with patients?

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  104. “Plus who has the money for, and an abundance of gauche taste to buy a Gallardo?”

    Someone in his 40’s, single, fit, hip, who makes in excess of $400,000 or $500,000 a year for a major health system in an extremely wealthy area of the country. That’s who. If clio is who he says he is, then yes, all the pieces of the puzzle make perfect sense, I don’t know why this seems like such a mystery to you all.

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  105. it’s complicated, because clio seems kinda dumb.

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  106. Clio isn’t a radiologist, he is a geratrics doctor, he has clarified that in older posts. Geriatrics physicians make nowhere near 400k or 500k , not even half that. If he’s wealthy, it’s from outside means , he has said he made his money in real estate, not from family money or from medicine…so idk, take that as you will.

    Bob, a ls600h? that screams that you are 78 year old asian woman…no thanks…even my mom said that car was too boring.
    A jaguar XK? nice car, but nowhere in the same league as a gallardo. a aston martin vanage is nice too; but again, not really in the same league as a gallardo.

    it’s dumb to hate on cars like lambos or ferraris by saying that people who drive them ‘need them to get laid’, lets face it, one way or another they are getting laid a lot more than the average dude and their haters are doing just that, hating.

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  107. That said, some of the immature comments posted on this blog , ie, ‘you are all loser renters’, and the elitist attitude displayed by clio is very very unbecoming of a rich physician, or a physician, period. People who have money don’t often make it a task to consistently remind others around them of it all the time…it’s like the ugly fat girl who is always talking about how she gets hit on all the time. Doesn’t fit.

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  108. “and their haters are doing just that, hating.”

    Unless the driver is seriously into cars, which isn’t frequently the case, they’re grown up attention whores. There are better cars than a Gallardo–personally I’d go for the Challenger 392.

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  109. Riz: I’ve done my research if clio is the same person he claims to be he is not a geriatrics doctor. He may work with a lot of elderly patient, especially in the area in which he practices, but the health system’s website does not label him as a geriatrics doctor. He makes in excess of $400,000, easily, probably a lot more.

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  110. “He makes in excess of $400,000, easily, probably a lot more.”

    well, if he is radiologist, then easily so .

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  111. “Unless the driver is seriously into cars, which isn’t frequently the case, they’re grown up attention whores. There are better cars than a Gallardo–personally I’d go for the Challenger 392.”

    it’s all about taste. lamborghinis and ferraris are impeccably engineered and built cars , you can not compare their craftsmanship and drive quality to a challenger, vantage, jag, porsche, etc. just not the same. On the same note, the hefty price tag and ‘flash factor’ attracts a lot of d-bags. ( just like expensive fashion brands, neighborhoods, nightclubs often do )..but saying any of the above mentioned cars is ‘better’ than a gallardo is inaccurate…taste and personal preference are an entirely different matter.

    i love challengers, old school camaros, chevelles, shelbys, etc..but i probably wouldn’t drive one. i traded in my car for a carrera 4S recently and though its not a super ‘flashy’ car its a lot of fun to drive and has great performance without the ‘look at me’ factor of many exotics. ( or price tag )

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  112. I’m gonna drive my 1300cc compact car until 2020 then upgrade to a 2yr old E300 Bluetec if it’s stateside by then. It appears the dream of good performance with great fuel economy becomes a reality with that car.

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  113. I was thinking about retiring from cribchatter but after reading all the interest in me on this one single thread, I may have to think about it some more. I feel like a celebrity. Thank you guys – without the small people (ie ordinary, ugly, stupid morons), the big people would never be big – so thank you (see, I can be nice)….

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  114. ” Thank you guys – without the small people (ie ordinary, ugly, stupid morons), the big people would never be big – so thank you (see, I can be nice)….”

    clio, stuff like that makes me doubt you as a physician. i haven’t met a doc who talks like that. ‘ugly stupid morons’ really.

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  115. lol…Clio has a point though. You guys post way too much about him and his car. I guess it is a guy thing. Most women know that nothing like ignoring someone drives them mad : )

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  116. “it’s like the ugly fat girl who is always talking about how she gets hit on all the time.”

    I don’t know about that. I know some beautiful insecure people who constantly claim everyone is hitting on them and is in love with them. You’d be surprised how many attractive women don’t understand that just because someone wants to get into your pants does not mean they are in love with you.

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  117. I really don’t understand the car obsession, personally. But that’s the difference between men and women.

    Now onto more important topics: Did anyone else see Breaking Dawn this weekend? 🙂

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  118. lol..Sabrina. Since the baby has been born I have only been to HP’s finale as it was a must. I think I might just rent the movies to see the eye candy Edward. I actually didn’t mind the first one but the second one was too cheesy IMHO. Have not seen the others since. If only they were marketed as comedy instead of drama…hehe

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  119. Anyone else see the article in the NYT about what’s going on at today’s law schools?

    http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/20/business/after-law-school-associates-learn-to-be-lawyers.html?pagewanted=4&_r=1&ref=business

    Yikes. Good luck all lawyers.

    “While most of law schools’ professoriate still happily dwell in the uppermost floors of the ivory tower, the view from the ground for new graduates is growing uglier. It’s not just that the market is now awash with castoffs from Big Law, and that clients can now retain graduates from elite schools and pay them $25 or $50 an hour, on contract. The nature of legal work itself is evolving, and the days when corporations buy billable hours, instead of results, are numbered.

    To succeed in this environment, graduates will need entrepreneurial skills, management ability and some expertise in landing clients. They will need to know less about Contracts and more about contracts.

    “Where do these students go?” says Michael Roster, a former chairman of the Association of Corporate Counsel and a lecturer at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law. “There are virtually no openings. They can’t hang a shingle and start on their own. Many of them are now asking their schools, ‘Why didn’t you teach me how to practice law?’ ”

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  120. We probably need to start making student loans dischargable in bankruptcy. The problem with government intervention in lending markets is that the government has an interest to do it stupidly. They want more loans, which immediately makes more people happy, and then when it comes time to pay for what we’ve borrowed we have a deflationary disaster on our hands, with either option economic disaster. Making student loans non-dischargable and in large part guaranteed by the government has been proven to be a complete disaster, just as FHA loans have helped create a huge disaster in the housing market.

    If lenders would actually have to eat their losses they would not be lending $150,000 +++ to subpar students to go to third tier toilet law schools. Sure, many law schools would go out of business–but they deserve to go out of business because they are not creating any value for this country.

    If Obama did not have his head all the way up his ass he would have let the banks go under, made housing debt non-recourse, let students discharge at least a portion of their debts in bankruptcy, and then had the economy re-set at a sensible and sustainable level. This is what Greece needs to do–start over and start living within your means.

    Instead, the student loan bubble keeps getting bigger as more and more people who cannot find jobs go to law school for three years so they can ultimately still not find a job.

    I’m so grateful I graduated when I did and was able to get my job. It sucks I can’t advance but at least I can pay my bills.

    Honestly, my only hope for this country is if Ron Paul gets elected. He probably still couldn’t accomplish anything but at least someone would be trying to do the right thing.

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  121. EB: you are 100% right. Ron Paul is the only candidate out there. What will happen is some GOP Neocon will win in 2012 but keep deficit funding (i.e. the war & military), then the next Democrat in 2016 election will promise (but give) the masses the debt jubilee they are seeking. Who wouldn’t vote for someone who would forgive their debts?!!!!!! Boom, most of America will vote for jubilee. One trillion dollars of student debt will not, and cannot, be repaid. If some candidate said there’d be a mortgage-cram down for the lenders, they’d get tons of votes too. The next 10 years are screwed in America as all this takes forever to finally sort out.

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  122. meant: “will promise (but give?)”

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