As the year comes to a close many publications begin rounding up the biggest stories of the year. Crain's took a stab this week at naming 2015's biggest real estate deals. Their list includes: 1. The Willis Tower, purchased by the Blackstone Group in June for $1.3 billion, the highest price ever paid for a U.S. office building outside of New York. 2...
According to the latest numbers, market activity in the city declined in November while median prices rose. As winter sets in, seasonal declines in market activity continue but last month saw a 1.4 percent decline year-over-year while median prices rose 2.2 percent to $235,000. The suburbs were a surprise and saw a 9.6 percent increase in sales activity with a median price increase of 5.6 percent. For more, head over to Chicago Agent Magazine here ...
Warmest holiday wishes from the Urban Real Estate family! Thanks to all for making our 2015 hugely rewarding for our clients and associates, alike. We're so very excited for the New Year, lots of new things to come! CHEERS!
While the real estate market has achieved the highs of 2006, many Americans are feeling more comfortable as 2015 comes to a close with home prices recovering and improving their equity positions. By the end of the third quarter of 2015, American's home equity grew by a collective $1.3 trillion to a total of $12.4 trillion. That's high, but not as high as the dizzying $13.3 trillion it hit in 2006...
The face of Chicago has been changing a great deal as the market has steadily rebounded in recent years. Perhaps that fact has never been more evident than it was at the last Chicago Plan Commission meeting, when four large redevelopment projects were approved...
With another year closing out, buyers and sellers should be thinking about what's ahead for 2016 with mortgage rates, especially given the Fed's recent move to increase a key interest rate. The answer is, rates shouldn't budge very much. This year the average fixed-rate 30-year mortgage was 4.4 percent, marking the sixth year running where those rates have been below 5 percent, historically low...
River North will likely soon be seeing the construction of yet another condo high-rise following last week's Chicago Plan Commission meeting. The building, from developer Smithfield Properties, will be located at 800-820 N. Wells and will feature 55 units in a total of 23 stories. Antunovich Associates is the architect on the project. For more renderings on the project, head over to Curbed Chicago here . Rendering via Curbed...
A new 35-story luxury apartment tower in the Gold Coast has officially broken ground. The tower, by developer Fifield Companies and known as "The Sinclair" was previously known by the informal moniker "Tower of Jewel" because of the supermarket that currently occupies the site at 1210 N. Clark St. The project is estimated to cost $200 million and will include 390 residential units anchored by a new 55,000 square foot Jewel right on top of the Clark/Division Red Line stop.
The Fed today announced that it was raising a key interest rate for the first time in nearly a decade. Short-term interest rates have been held by the Fed at near-zero since the financial crisis and while the interest rate increase may, at first, seem like bad news for borrowers, it shouldn't have a big effect on the housing market, as long-term interest rates will continue to remain at historic lows for quite some time...
As the end of the year approaches it's the right time to find ways to lower your tax bill. Here are some of the most popular tips from advisors and the Internal Revenue Service. 1. Defer income: if you're owed money in 2015 and you expect to make less the following year, see if you can delay that payment a couple of weeks and not owe the tax until 2017. 2...
It's a building known for its height, its architecture and its great location on the Chicago River. It's also known for its name: Trump Tower. Residents of the building love the views, but Donald Trump's presidential campaign has left many of them shaking their heads. In a recent story, the Chicago Tribune residents sounded off on living in the tower during the presidential campaign...
A new tower will soon be replacing the iconic Ed Debevic's restaurant in River North. Demolition of the restaurant is underway and a new tower will soon begin to rise in its place. The 22-story building will feature 251 rentals, 117 parking spaces and 12,000 square feet of retail. For more, head over to Curbed Chicago here . A new report out from Freddie Mac suggests that an unlikely culprit is keeping supply of real estate for sale at the current low: baby boomers.
A new report out from Freddie Mac suggests that an unlikely culprit is keeping supply of real estate for sale at the current low: baby boomers. The generation has been breaking all sorts of rules since they were young and the newest rule they're breaking seems to be that they aren't interested in downsizing as they reach retirement...
According to the latest report from CoreLogic, home prices in Chicago are holding steady and have seen healthy grow, especially as compared with several other metropolitan markets. The report specifically singles out Houston and Miami, where overvaluation is becoming a problem. Chicago, by contrast, saw prices rise 3.4 percent in October from the previous year, consistent with the growth pattern of the last several years. Read more at Chicago Agent Magazine here .
The latest exciting development for River North was unveiled last night - a 24-story tower could soon rise at 300 W. Huron St. The tower would take the place of a surface parking lot and would include a mere 71 apartments with one parking space for each. The tower's plans are from Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture. It will also include 16,000 square feet of commercial space. Read more at Curbed Chicago here .
This year has been a good one for new construction throughout the Chicagoland area. Residential construction spending in October totaled $735 million, a 36 percent increase from the previous year according to the latest reports. Meanwhile new construction for the year exceeded $4 billion, a similar, 32 percent increase from 2014. For more, head over to Chicago Agent Magazine here .
Property taxes are always an important consideration when it comes to a decision to buy a home and with the recent tax hike in Chicago, owners and buyers still don't know what the full result will be. But Crain's recently put together a feature detailing which three neighborhoods will see their tax bills rise the highest. Not surprisingly, they're neighborhoods that have seen the most dramatic price increases in the last few years...
From our family to yours, we want to wish everyone a healthy and happy Thanksgiving holiday! Thanks to all for making 2015 a very special year for us! Cheers!
While the news out this week was the housing sales for the Chicagoland area were down, that simple fact glosses over the bigger picture: the market is returning to normal after years of irregular patterns. Sales in October dropped 2.0 percent year-over-year from 9,344 to 9,155 but the market was still positive by year-to-date measure, 7.4 percent above 2014. Distressed housing sales as a portion of the market also continue to decline: they're now back to 2009 levels...
Would you move to River South? Or Riverline? Developers behind a massive riverfront project south of the Loop are hoping you will as their proposal moves through the city planning process. The project would be built on a little over six and a half acres of riverfront property that has functioned as a de facto park since the demolition of Grand Central Station in 1969...