The Vetro, at 611 S. Wells, in the South Loop near Printers Row, has started closings. The 233 unit building is only 50% sold. Last week, the developer began advertising “free parking” to new buyers. The free parking is a huge price reduction on the units. For instance, the developer currently has a $250,000 1 bedroom, 1 […]
The October pending home sales were released this morning and showed a slight increase in October from September. But, compared with October 2006, sales were down nationwide 18.4%. In the Midwest, sales were down from September by 1.4%. They were down year over year by 11.7%. From the Wall Street Journal: NAR chief economist Lawrence […]
The Columbian, at 1160 S. Michigan, which started closings several months ago, has seen dozens of attempted flips. I’ve talked about a few in prior posts. “Attempted” is the key word here because from what I can tell, nothing has re-sold in the building. I don’t think they’ve finished closings in the building so more […]
The Helmut Jahn modern skyscraper at 600 N. Fairbanks in Streeterville is still not fully occupied. They are probably about a third of the way through closings on the building. There are 227 units. The flippers, however, have been out in full force. An updated count of the units for sale and rent: 20 for […]
Foreclosures are now hitting the heart of downtown. A foreclosure auction is scheduled on a one bedroom unit today at The Heritage, at 130 N. Garland Court near Millennium Park in the Loop. The Heritage is the building that started the Millennium Park craze and revitalized the loop as a residential destination for “luxury” buildings. It’s a large building with 356 […]
The “plan” the President outlined today is non-binding on the mortgage industry. Here’s more from Newsday: Bush said that 1.2 million people could be eligible for help under the plan, developed in negotiations with the mortgage industry led by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. But only a small fraction of that number will be subject to […]
It used to be, before the boom, that living in funky units in far out locations meant it was dirt cheap. Ten years ago, you could buy a condo in Printers Row for $80,000. The first wave of gentrifiers was rewarded with price appreciation. Not anymore. Described in the listing as “3000 square feet of supurb luxury” this […]
All real estate is about location, location, location. But you’d think owning a large vintage duplex for nearly 7 years in a nice Lakeview location would mean something. The listing says this unit was a gut rehab in 2000. The kitchen still has the, gasp, white appliances. (Yes, some buyers will refuse to buy a condo […]
Village Pointe at 845 N. Kingsbury across from Domain in River North has been closing on units for the past six months. The building has 102 units. Surprise! There are flippers trying to make money in the building. Currently, there are 12 units either for sale or rent (or both). But there is an interesting twist […]