Crib Chatter

The developer at 550 St. Clair issued a press release a few days ago stating that “sales buck trend in Streeterville”. The press release states that they recently sold four units in the building, even as the housing market has stalled.  From the press release: “Sales have rebounded now that buyers have had a chance […]

Maybe you’re like me and you’ve been on one of the river or lake boat tours that glide by all of the townhouses along the north side of the river in Streeterville and thought, “who lives there?” Now’s your chance.  One of the townhouses directly on the Chicago River is on the market. 437 E. North Water: […]

I’ve chattered about staging before but someone also recently commented how it was common to do in San Francisco but not so common here in Chicago. Does staging matter? Here is the same unit in 600 N. Fairbanks.  Both are 1746 square foot 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath southwest corner units. Unit #1501 is minimally staged.  Unit […]

The number of flippers keeps growing larger at Avenue East at 160 E. Illinois in Streeterville. The building has not completed closings yet. There are only 133 units.  So far: 43 units are for sale At least 18 units are for rent 53 units are either for sale or for rent That means 40% of the […]

By now,  I’m sure many of you have seen yesterday’s Chicago Tribune article talking about the opening of The Spire’s sales center.  The Spire was also featured on some of the local tv stations. There were some interesting stats in the article, though, which I thought I’d post here. It seems that interest in The Spire is pretty […]

It’s time for an update on 600 N. Fairbanks the Helmut Jahn modern skyscraper in Streeterville that started closings the first week of November 2007. Out of 227 units in the building, the current building statistics are: 25 units for sale 8 units for rent This is the highest number so far for the building.  Two […]

  Every day I walk north down Michigan Avenue,  I am reminded that the Ritz-Carlton project at 664 N. Michigan is struggling. Over a year ago, they put a big sign up on the sign of the old Farwell Building that said 30% sold.  Then, they replaced that last summer with 40% sold. It’s been at […]

With 550 St. Clair in Streeterville nearly completed, the developer is getting more aggressive in trying to sell the remaining units. There was a half page ad in the Sunday Chicago Tribune in the Perspectives Section (interesting that it was not in the real estate section) promoting: “Special Prices on Remaining Units.” The ad didn’t say […]

  As we  head into 2008, I thought I would post about what the “big” real estate stories will be in Chicago in 2008. THE story, in my opinion, will be the opening of the sales center for the Chicago Spire.  Slated to open next month with a full unit model- we will finally be […]

550 N. St. Clair, the new high rise a block east of Michigan Avenue in Streeterville, is set to begin closings in January/February (according to the developer’s ad in the weekend Tribune.) Yet, there are already several flips on the market including one trying to sell a one bedroom for $469,900, which includes the parking, […]