Market Conditions: Is Low Inventory to Blame for February’s Lackluster Sales Gains?
February sales data is out. Sales rose only 2.1% year over year, while the median price skyrocketed.
However, it was still the hottest February for sales since the boom year of 2007.
From the Illinois Association of Realtors:
The city of Chicago saw a 2.1 percent year-over-year home sales increase in February 2016 with 1,528 sales, up from 1,497 in February 2015. The median price of a home in the city of Chicago in February 2016 was $238,000, up 12.3 percent compared to February 2015 when it was $212,000.
Here is the sales data for February going back to 1997 (courtesy of G). It is slightly different from the IAR’s data:
- 1997: 881 sales
- 1998: 991
- 2000: 1383
- 2001: 1151
- 2002: 1677
- 2003: 1566
- 2004: 1814
- 2005: 2228
- 2006: 1855
- 2007: 1703
- 2008: 1454
- 2009: 870
- 2010: 1257
- 2011: 1092
- 2012: 1250
- 2013: 1411
- 2014: 1361
- 2015: 1497
- 2016: 1528
Here is the Median Price Data also going back to 1997 (thanks G!):
- 1997: $117,000
- 1998: $132,000
- 1999: $143,750
- 2000: $161,500
- 2001: $180,200
- 2002: $212,000
- 2003: $215,000
- 2004: $229,900
- 2005: $268,900
- 2006: $267,500
- 2007: $270,000
- 2008: $290,000
- 2009: $218,125 (with 31% being REO/Short Sales)
- 2010: $176,000 (with 46% being REO/Short Sales)
- 2011: $150,250 (with 50% being REO/Short Sales)
- 2012: $140,300 (with 52% being REO/Short Sales)
- 2013: $158,000
- 2014 $175,000
- 2015: $212,000
- 2016: $238,000
“Now is the time to sell your home if you’ve been thinking about doing that,” said Dan Wagner, president of the Chicago Association of REALTORS® and senior vice president for government relations for The Inland Real Estate Group. “Compared to last year, the median sales price for all closed sales is up about 12 percent and there is a faster turnaround time between when a home is listed and when it sells.”
“The housing market in Illinois continues to record comfortable increases in both sales and prices,” said Geoffrey J.D. Hewings, director of the Regional Economics Applications Laboratory (REAL) at the University of Illinois. “Particularly important has been the consistent decrease in the percentage of sales accounted for by foreclosed properties in Chicago. The influence of foreclosed properties on aggregate prices seems to be diminishing while the foreclosure inventory remains at levels above those during the pre-recession period.”
Statewide, the number of properties on the market decreased by 11.3% from February 2015. What’s striking about that is that last February the state was still in the midst of a polar vortex type winter. The statistic should be reversed. There should have been fewer properties listed in February last year- not this year with our mild winter.
The number of days on the market, statewide, also plunged to 81 days from 90 days a year ago.
The press release makes a big deal about the increase in median sales price, but, as we know, that number can really be skewed by the types of properties that are selling at any given time. It’s not an actual indicator about what price is doing.
There doesn’t seem to be any relief from the low inventory problem we also saw in January. It remains as tight as ever which is leading to multiple offers and higher prices for many properties.
What will slow this market down, if anything?
Strong Illinois home sales and prices continue into February[Illinois Association of Realtors, Press Release, March 21, 2015]
Don’t forget that this was a leap year also so that helps sales by about 3.6%. And in the last 20 years about 6 years were better.
Low inventory, high prices, lackluster economy and lack of buyers are great reasons for low sales!
Of note, I gotten a bunch ridiculous phone calls lately from friends/family/former clients telling me how they want to buy homes. Most of these people have no business owning anything of value, much less be purchasing real estate. To me that’s a sign that we’ve reached a top, or are close to it, when the worst possible buyers are desperately trying to qualify for FHA loans at a new high in the market.
“lack of buyers”
There is no shortage of buyers as evidenced by “I gotten a bunch ridiculous phone calls lately from friends/family/former clients telling me how they want to buy homes.”
I feel bad for people looking now. Selection sucks shite and prices are super high. The time to buy was 2012-14
“There is no shortage of buyers as evidenced by…”
a murderer’s row of unqualified buyers??
That’s not even anecdata.
“The time to buy was 2012-14”
You mean the time period Sabrina said not to buy? And now she is saying to buy in 2016? Hmm, I wonder how that will go…
I had been considering upgrading, but the property selection sucks (at least in Oak Park). Usually only one property on the market at any given time that is the condition that I would consider acceptable (typically a gut rehab of a single family). Huge price premium as well.
Decided it is easier and cheaper to stay put and rehab current home.
A lot of my clients though have been able to sell their homes within days. The clients buying either 1) don’t need to sell and 2) have time to find the right home.
I am getting frustrated with my building and contemplating moving.
What I see is that the market is being driven by motivation; either buyer motivation or seller motivation. Those with less motivation are sitting on the sidelines. In 2009-2013, there was a higher number of motivated sellers. Right now, there seems to be a higher number of motivated buyers.
That’s not an ideal market. A market with many more buyers and many more sellers creates a better marketplace.
Literally the first people that saw my place bought it
I was just happy to get out!
And Jenny if you’re considering it, just do it, no better time to sell than now it seems
Don’t worry spring and summer will equal all of it out.
I still like my neighborhood, but it’s frustrating to live near Pilsen and I am irritated with the board of my building.
I’m not sure where to move though. I’ll probably end up selling when my parents move. They are in the same neighborhood as me and they help out with my dogs a lot.
I’m thinking of moving somewhere that is so built up already that there is no room to add low income housing. Pilsen residents want to make the entire neighborhood low income and it’s making me angry enough to want to move.
“Literally the first people that saw my place bought it”
You moved out of that CMK building?
Jenny, the Pilsen neighbors will lose that battle. Market forces are more powerful than poverty pimps.
18th Street in Pilsen now is like Milwaukee Avenue in Wicker Park was in the 90s. It’s all flipping over.
yep
“I’m thinking of moving somewhere that is so built up already that there is no room to add low income housing. Pilsen residents want to make the entire neighborhood low income and it’s making me angry enough to want to move.”
I agree with others here. The laws of economics are immutable. The wheels are already in motion in Pilsen. However, this is where median or average sales prices are relevant. If you want to know the direction a neighborhood is heading that is one thing you can look at.
It seems to me anyone who had the means/need/ability to buy in the last few years has already bought. At least among the people I know, even the few holdouts I know closed on their homes at the end of last year. Which brings me back to the point of the unqualified buyers calling me up (because I’m a real estate expert, right? hahha) asking what they need to do to buy. Again, this is just my limited experience here in the trenches, i’m not some macroeconomist looking at and pouring over data all day long, I’m just a beat cop reporting what I see on the street, and it ain’t pretty.
I hope you are right. There are a couple of empty lots near Halsted and 16th. The Pilsen residents want a 21% set aside for poor people. I would rather see ugly empty lots than have all of those poor people move into the area. The people in my neighborhood want townhouses or condos priced at market rate to be built.
Also, as far as the wheels of economics, all I have to say is “UPTOWN”. No, not Uptown in Park Ridge, Uptown at Wilson/Broadway. The laws of economics where supposed to gentrify there too – and it did, to a limited degree, but it remains economically depressed. Blame the alderman, slum lords, CHAC or whatever you want, but despite being on the lake, near public trans, and dense, it’s arguably the least desirable neighborhood to live in along the lake.
“yep”
to the burbs?
Related to Pilsen development is the new Paseo Trail:
http://chicago.curbed.com/2016/3/21/11276594/pilsen-paseo-trail-announced
Jenny, what do you have against poor people? I mean, you can still hunt them down on the day of The Purge, right?
Poor people bring gangs and violence into neighborhoods.
Jenny,
Surat Al-Baqarah 2:215
“They ask you, [O Muhammad], what they should spend. Say, ‘Whatever you spend of good is [to be] for parents and relatives and orphans and the needy and the traveler. And whatever you do of good – indeed, Allah is Knowing of it.'”
HD, first, most of Uptown is actually quite nice. There is the pocket around Wilson and Broadway that is bad. Second, Uptown for years had an aldermen that encouraged all sorts of bizarre social programs to house poor people in the ward. Pilsen on the other hand doesn’t have tons of deed restricted affordable/public housing, it has just been market rate affordable. Much easier for the market to work when there are no deed restrictions.
“to the burbs?”
hell naw!
Near north Side still
I knew it! sonies is in ELP now.
“Uptown for years had an aldermen that encouraged all sorts of bizarre social programs to house poor people in the ward.”
That’s basically what I suspected. Whenever the laws of economics fail it’s usually because the government is throwing sand into the gears.
“no better time to sell than now it seems”
but in most situations, wouldn’t you need to be a buyer as well? wouldn’t this move neutralize your potential gain? if you are anticipating that now is a high, what is the correct move? Rents super high, pay premium to buy… I bought in 12 and have been weighing options.
” I bought in 12 and have been weighing options.”
I too bought in ’12 and I haven’t seen many properties that I’d be interested in purchasing, and none of them are priced anywhere near as well as my ’12 purchase price.
I’m thinking the same thing Luis. Do I really want to buy a place that could easily decrease in value if another bust happens? My current place is worth about 50% more than I paid in 2011. I would be selling for a great price. Would it be so bad if I overpaid a little for a new place considering I would probably have a 30-40% down payment on my next place?
“I too bought in ’12 and I haven’t seen many properties that I’d be interested in purchasing, and none of them are priced anywhere near as well as my ’12 purchase price.”
And you aren’t likely to see them anytime soon (if ever). That’s the problem that move-up buyers are going to have now. Even if you timed it perfectly in 2012, your place may have gone from 200k to 350k. But the place you want to buy went from 400k to 600k. So you are a net 50k “loser” in the move-up.
Inventory truly is awful, I am a potential buyer who is still sitting on the sidelines reluctant to list because it’s all so overpriced these days, and so many of the properties on the market are undesirables trying to take advantage of the market. Where I am looking the majority of places are priced well past peak and those that are not clearly have had no money put into them recently.
“That’s the problem that move-up buyers are going to have now. ”
I’d much rather have THAT problem than buying in 2007 for $350,000 now worth $200,000! It’s all relative!
“I’d much rather have THAT problem than buying in 2007 for $350,000 now worth $200,000!”
Sabrina has told us repeatedly that this is un-possible, unless you bought in a suburban geh-toe.
Jenny, if you plan on staying in your next place for at least 10 years, I don’t think it matters if there’s a temporary dip in the market. A friend bought a co-op in the West Village in Manhattan for 100K in the early 90s. He was stressing because values fell and his unit was only worth 50K a few years later. Now it’s worth well over a million.
What type of property do you want to buy? If you’re going into a SFH you would also save the $$$ you currently spend on condo fees.
I lost a little money on a sale recently, but it was a different situation. It was a fixer-upper which needed a lot of work and then ended up being a rental with difficult tenants. I bought and then sold within 2.5 years, so the transaction costs were high. If I could have held it longer I’m sure it would have been fine.
I would like a townhouse, but I would have to get a new job in the for-profit sector. I’m in the non-profit sector and while the benefits are great, the pay is a little lower than market rate.
And let’s not forget that what you paid for your current place and what it’s worth today is totally irrelevant in the decision as to whether or not to move – unless you lost your only down payment money.
Jenny, what about when you land that guy/gal. You will probably will need a bigger pad for both of your dogs (and baggage). As much as the CC’ers think they are the real magic 8-balls, nobody times the market. Some get lucky and hindsight brag like it was intentional. the others work hard to time it, will miss. they will miss closer than others, and will still brag/justify they intentionally missed for what ever reason they concoct.
Its a Home first, not an investment tool. Make your home, home, even if that means moving or staying.
With sales prices as high as they are, and inventory as low as it is, why not sell and then rent on the sidelines for a little while? Moving twice sucks, and you might need to put some things in storage, but it’s an option if you want to cash out and wait a year or two for things to calm down and maybe look for a deal in the meantime.
“I’d much rather have THAT problem than buying in 2007 for $350,000 now worth $200,000! It’s all relative!”
Well, I would rather have paid $250k in 2008 and then sold for 150k in 2012. Then bought a place for $400k that is now $600k. Problem is, you would need the capital to support those transactions.
Jenny, did not see you as a non-profit type. Wow!
“I’m thinking of moving somewhere that is so built up already that there is no room to add low income housing.”
See these:
Section 8 voucher, $1,800 per month. 12x arrested, guy kills a white person at K Station: http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/watchdogs-cha-moves-to-strip-aid-from-suspect-in-gym-murder/
and this: http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/public-housings-gap-of-luxury-a-watchdogs-special-report/
It’s a non-profit, but not a charity. It’s still corporate, but I know I could be earning more.
I can’t live my life with “what ifs.” I might meet someone one day, but I don’t want to put my life on hold until then. I would have a significant down payment, so I wouldn’t have to bring money to the table in any case.
I’m not serious about selling yet, but it has been on my mind. I would be more serious if I was making a little more or was willing to venture outside of my comfort zone.
This place looks amazing, but the neighborhood worries me: http://www.estately.com/listings/info/2453-west-jackson-boulevard–1
you would not like it over there jenny, I have a female friend that lives over there and she talks about all the crazy homeless wandering the sidewalks at all hours of the day
“I knew it! sonies is in ELP now.”
no, I wish I could afford what I’m in now in ELP!
“Well, I would rather have paid $250k in 2008 and then sold for 150k in 2012. Then bought a place for $400k that is now $600k”
Shoot i wish i sold in 2006 and bought in 2011.
Well that didn’t happen. What did was i didn’t sell and rent it out and also bought a few years back. compared to the 2006/2011 scenario it would seem i am the worst financial person ever to live.
Reality was in 2006 wasn’t planning on moving and in 2011 we were looking in a different area than we ended up moving to.
but hey, if “if” was a spliff we’d all be blunted.
“Well, I would rather have paid $250k in 2008 and then sold for 150k in 2012. Then bought a place for $400k that is now $600k. Problem is, you would need the capital to support those transactions.”
Oh really, I would rather have bought a place in 2006 for $600k, HELOC’d the crap out of it to $1,000,000, then let it go into foreclosure, wait until 2012, use the HELOC money to buy a $400k fixer upper in 2011 and use sweat equity to fix it up really nice.
I think you mean used the heloc money to pay off your student loans?
“Oh really, I would rather have bought a place in 2006 for $600k….”
I’m just saying that if you were a move up buyer, you were better off selling at the bottom. Are you in your “final” home?
I’m contemplating selling now, but the timeless conundrum exists when selling your primary residence: sell high, buy high.
“Oh really, I would rather have bought a place in 2006 for $600k, HELOC’d the crap out of it to $1,000,000, then let it go into foreclosure, wait until 2012, use the HELOC money to buy a $400k fixer upper in 2011 and use sweat equity to fix it up really nice.”
Just want to point out your time line. you will wait until 2012 then marty mcfly back a year to buy the fixer upper?
I beat anon(ufo)!
““Oh really, I would rather have bought a place in 2006 for $600k, HELOC’d the crap out of it to $1,000,000”
Actually you would rather by the place in 2003 for $600k and then in 2006 HELOC the crap out of it to get the 1.1mil.
but again time is beneath you as you know Rufus and his phone booth.
What works best is to find a significant other, but not get married. Buy a house in one of your names only. Don’t make any mortgage payments. Wait years and years for the bank to finally foreclose. Then, the other person buys a house in her name and do the same thing. There might be short periods of time where you have to rent, but other than that, you’re in the clear.
I had supreme luck, I locked in my purchase price a year and a half before I had to sell my condo
“I’m just saying that if you were a move up buyer, you were better off selling at the bottom. Are you in your “final” home?”
In your example, yes it’s better to buy a cheaper property and sell at the bottom. However your hypothetical assumes disparate appreciation between two different properties at two different price points. The best example would be a 2006 Logan/UV purchase that today is worth 2x as much, and the roll that into a north shore property that even today is still 40% off the 2006 listing price.
“a 2006 Logan/UV purchase that today is worth 2x as much”
A lot of Logan is pretty flat from 06 to now. Logan was appraising waaaay too high in ’06.
“A lot of Logan is pretty flat from 06 to now. Logan was appraising waaaay too high in ’06.”
Exactly, find that unicorn of a property that doubled since 2006, roll that into a cheap house in 2012.
“Of note, I gotten a bunch ridiculous phone calls lately from friends/family/former clients telling me how they want to buy homes.”
who the hell *talks* on the phone anymore
“18th Street in Pilsen now is like Milwaukee Avenue in Wicker Park was in the 90s. It’s all flipping over.”
How’s that going to happen with the Podmajerskys basically owning nearly every building in the neighborhood?
“You mean the time period Sabrina said not to buy? And now she is saying to buy in 2016? Hmm, I wonder how that will go…”
I never, ever said not to buy. Never. Ever. Never. Ever.
During the bust, I said buy if you have a 10 year time horizon to ride it out. Housing isn’t short term.
I also never said to buy this year. Never. Ever. Never. Ever.
I also never said to buy in 2015. Never. Ever. Never. Ever.
In 2015, I DID say that I was bullish and that it was one of the hottest markets Chicago has ever seen. In 2016, I have again said that we will see record prices and it is hot beyond belief. And we have started Bubble 2.0 and now I get to document this second bubble as it actually inflates.
If there was more inventory, we would see more sales. Maybe record sales- surpassing even 2005-2007 levels. But that will only happen if they start converting some of the big apartment buildings into condos so there is more inventory.
I don’t have time to search ALL the comments over the last 9 years, but here’s one I made in 2009 (didn’t make it all the way to 2012 because we discussed whether or not people should buy a LOT on this blog during the bust years)- after the bust had clearly started and the Great Recession was going full throttle.
You see Chuk, as I said, I have NEVER told people not to buy. Not in 2009 and not in 2012. Every person is different with different needs, goals etc. No one else can make that decision for them.
http://cribchatter.com/?p=6612
Sabrina on April 20th, 2009 at 7:22 am e
Don’t be fooled. There are plenty of buyers out there who do have the downpayment and want to buy.
They still believe that the last 10 years is what is going to happen in the next 10. The housing obsession is alive and well.
Not enough people in Chicago have friends or family who have lost thousands on their home purchases (yet) so they feel no fear. These buyers keep telling me, “the market will recover in a few years” and they’ll be fine to sell their condos for a profit when they want to.
I actually don’t think that if you’re buying a property to live in for 10 to 15 years (at least) that it’s a bad time to be buying- given low interest rates. But how many people are really going to stay in the property that long? (especially condos?)
We’re back to 2004-2005 prices in most of the city now. That’s a five year holding period. But I’m now seeing some properties that are back to 2001-2002 prices. So those owners owned for 8 years and are still going to probably take a loss.
Brutal.
Sabrina, the Pods only own east of Sangamon, although they do own giant tracts of land there. Once the brother and sister/mother get the lawsuit resolved, I wouldn’t be surprised if the prevailing party started to sell off big parcels en masse. After all, they could offer developers entire contiguous city blocks or half-blocks: I’d see high-density, University Village-style development there.
The notable thing about Pilsen recently is all of the hipster gringo stuff happening west of Sangamon/Morgan. Lots of young folks and partiers doing their thing, many new contemporary restaurants, Thalia Hall, etc. etc. etc. It’s still predominantly Latino, but changing fast.
You could always sell, rent, and hope the bottom falls out of the housing market in the next year or two. That’s what we’re doing.
“You see Chuk, as I said, I have NEVER told people not to buy. Not in 2009 and not in 2012.”
Wanna bet?
The Jibarito Stop @ 1646 W. 18th is the best jibarito in town… seriously make a stop there sometime, get the pork with pepper jack cheese, and the white rice & beans… yummiest 8 bucks you can spend in town
and if you don’t know what a jibarito is and have lived in the city a while… SHAME ON YOU
Thanks, Sonies! Shame on me.
Have you been to Dia De Los Tamales? 939 W 18th. Gourmet tamales. Love that place. Gotta try their apple desert tamale.
I’m just happy to see Italian restaurants popping up in Pilsen. I greatly dislike Mexican food. God damned corn and refried beans.
“I greatly dislike Mexican food”
“jibarito”
the jibarito is not mexican, its puerto rican. well technically its chicago puerto rican not imported from there. Just like kolacki (polish cookies) are chicago polish not imported from poland.
either way, jenny if you dont like jibaritos then i am sorry you cannot be my future ex-wife. (or would that be the reason for the “ex” moniker?)
Well, I don’t like fried food and I would rather just have bread than plantains. I also don’t like mayo and am not a huge fan of garlic because of the after taste.
I would like jibaritos if they had bread instead of plantains, balsamic instead of mayo, no lettuce, and no meat. I would prefer that the cheese be traditional mozzarella.
“God damned corn and refried beans.”
That is a valid criticism of mexican food. Rick Bayless has made some headway to expand the definition of Mexican food, but the peasants still eat primarily the same 10 items on the menu in every mexican restaurant in chicago. Taco Bell takes it a step further and reduces the ‘mexican’ menu down to about 5 ingredients mixed and matched in every which way. Crazily enough, when Mexicans go out to eat at a sit down restaurant, they usually choose Mexican food. And if they feel like something different, I swear to god, they order Chinese food. Mexican-American peasant culture unfortunately doesn’t have a varied palette. Not that my family is any better, they eat the same five items too: cheese, beef, chicken, bread and sugar, but they’ve been known to eat the food of other cultures every now and again after winning $50 on a scratch and win lottery ticket.
“I would like jibaritos if they had bread instead of plantains, balsamic instead of mayo, no lettuce, and no meat. I would prefer that the cheese be traditional mozzarella.”
Might I suggest the caprese sandwich from Pastoral or the fat shallot food truck when they have them… lol
“I would like jibaritos if they had bread instead of plantains, balsamic instead of mayo, no lettuce, and no meat. I would prefer that the cheese be traditional mozzarella.”
So basically turn mexican food into italian. I feel bad for your palette, I really do. Not that my diet of mountain dew, taco bell and hot sauce is much better, but mayo is awesome. Let me guess, you hate bleu cheese too, right?
“Have you been to Dia De Los Tamales? ”
I have not, but I do enjoy tamales, so I will have to check it out if Im in the area!
I can’t criticize cultures/people for eating only certain foods. I basically only like Italian food and fruit. I could eat pasta every single day for the rest of my life and be perfectly happy. I’ve eaten two honey crisp apples in the morning and a Clif bar for lunch nearly every day for the past few months. I used to eat salads for lunch, but one day I took out my salad and just couldn’t stand the idea of eating it.
“I’ve eaten two honey crisp apples in the morning and a Clif bar for lunch nearly every day for the past few months. I used to eat salads for lunch, but one day I took out my salad and just couldn’t stand the idea of eating it.”
“A woman can never be too rich or too thin.” – Wallis, Duchess of Windsor
Can’t decide if Jenny is a entitled millennial like myself or a 70 year old man trolling as a millennial..
PS – stay far, far away from Jackson and Western.
“I would like jibaritos if they had bread instead of plantains, balsamic instead of mayo, no lettuce, and no meat”
What????????
Sarcasm does not translate into written word if there is no pretext. But if not sarcasm, you want to take something that is a thing leave only one thing of all its pieces and still call it the same thing?
that would be a bread, garlic, onion and tomato sandwich with balsamic and seasonings?
My brain hurts now, i shall nap.
“I’ve eaten two honey crisp apples in the morning and a Clif bar for lunch nearly every day for the past few months.”
no offense if OCD is in play. But dang, vary it up a bit please!!! I don’t know how you can look at the same food each day for the same meal and not just throw it at the wall in protest after the 5th day?????????????
Just thinking back, i can say nothing was repeated in 5 days for the same meal. Yes i might rock monday dinner left overs for lunch on wednesday, but it wont be the next day and it wont be the same meal time.
variety and choice is what makes all of this world so awesome.
I think I’m a super taster, although I have never been diagnosed as such. I never cared much for food or eating. Even as a baby my mom said that I never wanted to eat. She took me to the doctor and he said I would eat when I was hungry and not to worry.
Hate cilantro? I can’t stand the stuff. I don’t know where it came from. Tex Mex food in the 70s did not have it in it. Now that crap is everywhere.
“Hate cilantro? I can’t stand the stuff.”
maybe genetic:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/14/dining/14curious.html?_r=0
Cilantro is awesome!!!! Heretic!
Anyone that hates Cilantro is automatically suspect
“The Jibarito Stop @ 1646 W. 18th is the best jibarito in town… seriously make a stop there sometime, get the pork with pepper jack cheese, and the white rice & beans… yummiest 8 bucks you can spend in town”
No Arroz Con Gandules? GTFO
JohnnyU,
dude they are non-native chicago transplants, the mix of mexican a puerto rican food will not be recognized by them.
Just like if you gave them a colombian tamale the would look at it confused as why it doesnt look like the one from taco burrito king.
Also like when i cook my famous sopa de bacalao for my burban transplant friends. they are scared by the smell.
“Tex Mex food in the 70s did not have it in it. Now that crap is everywhere.”
I feel the same about sriracha and its new found fame.
I vote for Indio at 6037 W Cermak in Cicero. Try the chorizo tacos.
Btw, I couldn’t find the recent thread with the comments on Cicero. I respectfully disagree with the person who said Cicero had cheap, poor housing stock. I love Cicero and Berwyn on all the little side streets off of Cermak. It’s blocks and blocks of gorgeous Chicago brick bungalows with intricate details. If that neighborhood was in NYC the hipsters would have gentrified the F out of it.
“No Arroz Con Gandules? GTFO”
They have it, I prefer their white rice and red beans thing… man its effing good don’t knock it till you’ve tried it!
Sonnies – I’m sure it is and guessing there’s a big ol hock in the beans, that being said you can always tell the quality of a PR place by their Arroz Con Gandules
Its on my death row meal selections
Groove throw in some Mufongo and some plantains and I’m a happy man. Love PR/Non indian Caribbean food
“The Jibarito Stop @ 1646 W. 18th is the best jibarito in town… seriously make a stop there sometime, get the pork with pepper jack cheese, and the white rice & beans… yummiest 8 bucks you can spend in town”
I literally went there today and ordered this since I had an appt. on Archer Ave. The beans come on the side and they were excellent. It was a great sandwich all around. Yucateco habanero sauce in the bottle is needed though.
Anyone tried the Wed special, beef Pot Roast sandwich, at Nottoli on Belmont, west of Harlem?
http://chicago.curbed.com/2016/3/24/11298800/chicago-wells-condo-tower-sales-center More new condos…. starting at $1,000,000….
“More new condos…. starting at $1,000,000….”
They are only building new for the rich. This has been going on for several years now. It will continue until those sales dry up. I’m surprised they haven’t already as I don’t see how there are THAT many rich people who already don’t have a place to live.
“I love Cicero and Berwyn on all the little side streets off of Cermak. It’s blocks and blocks of gorgeous Chicago brick bungalows with intricate details.”
I’m a big Berwyn fan. VERY close to downtown via the Metra. Great housing stock. They have a historic bungalow tour every year. People should check it out.
Berwyn fucking sucks
Just posted my March update. Another sluggish month and inventories remain low, with the exception of Lake View SFHs. http://www.chicagonow.com/getting-real/2016/04/chicago-real-estate-market-update-home-sales-struggling-to-keep-up-with-last-year/
I forgot that March sales were coming out. We’ll discuss it tomorrow.