Crib Chatter

Crib Chatter was going to go on hiatus as of November 1 but with the market so slow there’s no time like the present. I have major projects going on in November so this is a good time to take a break. I will still be posting periodically, mostly on market conditions, including monthly sales, until […]

This 2-bedroom at 235 W. Van Buren in the Loop has been on the market since September 2013. This building gained some infamy during the real estate bust because it was completed just as the bust was picking up steam and it has still yet to sell out all of its units. With little other […]

This 2-bedroom in 628 W. Wrightwood in Lincoln Park came on the market in September 2013. This is an elevator 5-story building so you don’t have to worry about carrying groceries or kids up a bunch of stairs. At 1400 square feet, it has hardwood floors and crown molding. The kitchen has granite counter tops […]

This 2-bedroom at 2754 N. Hampden Court in Lincoln Park just came on the market. It’s a complete rehab and has most of the features buyers look for. The kitchen has dark cabinets, stainless steel appliances and a tile backsplash. There’s crown molding and dark wood floors in the main living area. It’s a split […]

The Illinois Association of Realtors is out with the September 2013 home sales. Both sales and prices continued to rise. The city of Chicago saw a 23.4 percent year-over-year home sales increase in September 2013 with 2,352 sales, up from 1,906 in September 2012.  The median price of a home in the city of Chicago […]

This 2-bedroom loft at 540 N. Lake Shore Drive in Streeterville has been on and off the market since 2009. At 2520 square feet, it has the features loft buyers love including nearly every wall done in exposed brick and tall timber ceilings. The loft has a loft of its own on the second floor […]

This 4-bedroom top floor unit at 507 W. Roscoe in East Lakeview came on the market in September 2013. At 3500 square feet, it is the entire top floor of this 3-unit building. It’s key feature is the 600 square foot private rooftop deck with a “covered pergola lounge” with a tv and heater. The […]

One thing that’s different about this housing market versus the 2005-2006 frenzy is that we never used to mention “private equity” and “home buying” in the same sentence before. But now that is common place. The Chicago Tribune reports that the number of flips in the Chicago area doubled in the first nine months of […]

This 1-bedroom at 21 W. Chestnut in the  Gold Coast just came on the market. It has extensive built-ins in both the living room/kitchen and the bedroom which creates a ton of extra storage space. This unit has been completely remodeled. It has 6-inch hand-scrapped white oak floors. There is Lagamorph custom white cabinetry. The […]

This 2-bedroom authentic loft in 1000 W. Washington in the West Loop came on the market in September 2013. It has a triplex layout with 18 foot timber ceilings and exposed brick. The kitchen is described as “gourmet”  with stainless steel appliances, granite counter tops and yellow cabinets. The bathrooms are listed as “over the […]