Chicago's landmark Willis Tower, until recently the tallest skyscraper in North America, sold over the weekend for a record-shattering $1.3 billion according to various media reports. The previous record of $850 million was set last year.
The tower, constructed by Sears and until recently known by the same name, is comprised entirely of office and retail space but its new owners, Blackstone, intend to increase a focus and investment on the tourist-centric component of the tower, its skydeck and famous (terrifying) "Ledge." Last year the tower brought in $25 million in tourism-related business, well below similar attractions in other cities.
For more, head over to Crain's here.
Image via Wikipedia.
Buyers love classic home designs like Tudors, Colonials, Four-squares and have grown to love more "modern" styles like Prairie, but one class of homes continue to be difficult to sell: midcentury modern.
The Tribune's Blair Kamen recently wrote a piece on two high profile midcentury properties on Chicago's North Shore; the Rose House in Highland Park (more famously the Ferris Bueller house), a glass-box masterpiece by a student of Mies Van de Rohe and the Blair House in Lake Bluff, designed by Keck & Keck.
The Rose House eventually sold after several years and a hefty price drop but the fate of the Blair House is still up in the air. Will home buyers begin to embrace these works of midcentury architecture or will they end up as design and historical footnotes?
Check out Kamen's story here.
In recent years there has been prognostication, worry and caution over the low participation of Millennials in the housing market but there's also some new data to show that overall levels of home ownership are definitely on a downward trend in the United States.
The homeownership rate has shifted dramatically in the last two decades, rising from 63.8 percent in 1994 to 69.2 percent in 2004 before beginning a decline to 64 percent last year, nearly returning to the 1994 level.
When broken out by age group segments from 35 to 85, all the groups have seen declines but the most dramatic has been for the age group from 35 to 44, decreasing from 70.1 percent to 58.8. The trend is similar for those younger than 35.
It's definitely something for those interested in housing to watch, but it may not be cause for outright alarm as it syncs up well with the delaying of major life decisions (home buying, marriage, family) that are well documented in the Millennial generation.
For more and fun with graphs, head over to Chicago Agent Magazine here.