Chicagoland is seeing a boom in new construction spending according to the latest numbers available from Dodge Data.
February saw residential construction spending of $195 million, a 13 percent increase from the previous years, making the year-to-date spending $606 million, a 94 percent increase from the same period in 2015. That jump is among the strongest in the nation.
Those numbers should be even more encouraging in the months to come. The U.S. Census Bureau says that more than two thirds of the permits in the metro area were for multi-family buildings of five years or more, while the area's inventory of single family homes is down 14.1 percent this year alone, suggesting a tremendous amount of pent-up demand.
Read more and check out a chart comparing Chicago with the rest of the nation at Chicago Agent Magazine here.
A warehouse-style building could soon span an entire city block near Mary Bartelme Park in the West Loop.
The site at 845 W. Madison, headquarters of the relocating H20 Plus company, was purchased by the John Buck Company in 2014, who have since posted a single rendering of their proposed building for the site.
While there's not specifics on the building's construction as of yet, it appears to be about eight stories tall and would include 550 residences and 10,000 square feet of retail space.
Learn more about the project at Curbed Chicago here.
The New Eastside's super tall and most exciting new skyscraper, Wanda Vista, has opened its sales center and released new renderings that show, not only the planned interior amenities, but also offer a glimpse into how the building will change Chicago's skyline.
The tower is planned to be 93 stories in total height and a combintation of 405 luxury units, as well as a hotel. It's a joint venture from Magellan Development Group and the Dalian Wanda Group of China designed by local architect Jeanne Gang.
The Vista's sales center at 345 E. Upper Wacker Drive also features a state-of-the-art matrix of 52 flat screen displays that simulate the view from any of the planned units inside the building.
Check out more at Curbed Chicago here.
First-time home buyers are an important component of the market who face a variety of obstacles, often setting off a chain reaction of sales and purchases.
A new report notes that buyers have some advantages but are facing a shortage of available inventory. The median price for a starter home in the metro area is just under $100,000, lower than many other major metro areas.
Inventory of those homes has declined by nearly 50 percent in the past four years though, while that median price has risen just over 10 percent.
Read more at Chicago Agent Magazine here.
The numbers are in for February 2016 and the top-selling neighborhood in Chicago is the Near North Side with 156 total sales.
Rounding out the top three were West Town with 89 sales and Gold Coast with 74.
As we've observed in previous months, the high number of attached residential dwellings drives the high sales volume in many of the top markets. The Near North Side, for example, also led the city in sales of attached dwellings with 150 sales.
When adjusting for single family home sales, only the leaders tend to vary month-to-month and are further from the city center. This month the top seller in that category was Portage Park with 29 sales, followed by Norwood Park with 26 sales and Austin with 24 sales.
Read more at Chicago Agent Magazine here.