Crib Chatter

You occasionally see for sale by owner (FSBO) listings on Craigslist.  Sometimes the listing sounds ominous by saying things like if you don’t buy the unit by such and such date, it will be listed for “higher” with an agent by the end of the month. Does this type of threat work in this market? I […]

If you’ve driven or walked down South Michigan Avenue along Grant Park you have gone past 1142 S. Michigan and probably didn’t even notice the building. It is a vintage mid-rise condo building with only 8 units- one per floor.    The elevator opens directly into each unit. One of the units has just appeared […]

Some bank-owned units seem to sell like hotcakes and others sit on the market for months.  Why? Unit #406, the 2/2 in The Sterling at 345 N. LaSalle that is bank-owned has been on the market for several months at $285,000.  See the pictures below: The two bedroom foreclosure at 212 W. Washington that I chattered about in March 2008, […]

I don’t know where I saw the stat, but a few years ago in one of the local publications, it said that the average length of time a buyer lives in a loft condo is two years. If you look around- you find that to be pretty much the case.  (On average- of course.) Take, […]

Crain’s has an update on sales of new construction downtown condos. (“Downtown” is usually defined as Cermak Road on the South to North Avenue on the North.) It isn’t pretty. But it also shouldn’t be surprising, given what we’re seeing with the lack of sales of the flips. Downtown condominium developers suffered their worst first […]

How long do you have to live in a property to cover your costs? Many sellers are finding out it’s more than just a year, or two, or in some cases, even three. 2545 N. Clark is a 2006 and 2007 conversion of a small courtyard building in the heart of Lincoln Park. A one […]

I haven’t chattered about 340 On the Park, at 340 E. Randolph, in Lakeshore East for awhile. Current stats on the building (out of 344 units): 18 for sale 10 for rent Thanks to the tipster who sent me the sales information about this building.  It’s massive and hard to track. Stats on flips and […]

How much appreciation has there been in the Chicago condo and townhouse market over the last ten years?  As everyone knows- quite a bit. Was it a “bubble”? This is a list of price growth over the last three, five and 10 years for condos/townhouses.  Data provided by the Chicago Association of Realtors. Rogers Park: […]

The sales numbers are out on the first quarter (Jan-March). From Crain’s: In the city of Chicago, sales of homes and condos fell 19.9% in the quarter to 4,618. The median sale price, meanwhile, rose 5.4% to $295,000. In the nine-county Chicagoland area, sales were down 29.9% and median price fell 0.6% to $243,500. The […]

2123 N. Kenmore sits only a few blocks north of the Armitage brown  line stop in the DePaul area. It is a 3 bedroom, 2 bath vintage unit with laundry. BUT: it doesn’t include parking. Does parking really matter in re-sale? Unit #2: 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, wood burning fireplace Sold in June 2006 for […]