Chicago-based Urban Real Estate (Urban) senior partner Michael Emery recently contributed to a Chicago Tribune article showcasing the attraction Chicago has to fellow British expatriates looking to invest in the Windy City. Recognizing Chicago has attributes many international buyers are highly attracted to, Urban has developed officially created a niche international relocation program, geared toward the investor abroad, looking to make a piece of the Midwest, theirs...
Check out Urban senior partner Michael Emery's in-depth interview with the Chicago Tribune on helping British expatriates make Chicago, home. Read the full interview in the Chicago Tribune.
Urban Real Estate partner Matt Silver lends his voice as the 2017 president of the Chicago Association of REALTORS in the July housing report, presented by the Illinois REALTORS. According to the trade group, Illinois home prices show solid gains, along with a decline of days on market.
Read more from Matt Silver, and the full report here .
As information and idea sharing goes, few real estate trade conferences compare quite to the convergence of more than 4,000 top producers, CEO's, technology and marketing executive talent brought together at the annual Inman Connect in San Francisco...
Urban partner Matt Silver is featured in this issue of "Who's Who in Chicagoland Real Estate", presented by Chicago Agent Magazine, a real estate trade publication. Matt, who is wrapping up his one-year term as president of the Chicago Association of REALTORS, talks about balancing giving back and his real estate business.
Read more about one of Urban's own here.
Urban Real Estate is proud to again be included in the annual "Who's Who 2017" presented by real estate trade publication, Chicago Agent Magazine. Check out some of our team in this year's two-page spread .
Have you seen? Urban Real Estate partner Matt Silver is profiled in Men’s Book Chicago for his active role in Chicago real estate, and most recently, his service as this year’s president of the Chicago Association of REALTORS, representing the more than 13,500 members of the trade association...
A new apartment development in Bucktown will soon be opening and it will bring a neighborhood amenity with it.
Aldi will be re-opening in their location at 1753 N. Milwaukee Avenue on June 15. It was previously located in a single story strip-mall style building but will now be part of a development adjacent to the popular 606 trail with 100 rental apartments and 18,000 square feet of grocery store.
Read more at DNAinfo Chicago here ...
Like cool grays for decorating your home? You're not alone.
A new study from Zillow indicates that picking the right paint color can have a noticeable impact on the sale price of your home. In order to make the determination, they compared over 32,000 photographs of homes sold in the country over a seven-year period and compared them to homes sold with white walls...
More good news for home owners and sellers: March saw a 5.8 percent annual gain year-over-year on national home prices, according to the latest report from the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index.
That's up from the 5.7 percent increase reported in February.
“Home prices continue rising with the S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller National Index up 5.8% in the year ended March, the fastest pace in almost three years,” David M...
Demand is picking up among first time buyers which means that new home sizes are also on the decline, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).
The median square footage of new construction homes decreased in the first quarter of this year to 2,389 , from 2,440 in the fourth quarter of 2016. Average square footage also declined from 2,628 to 2652 in the same periods...
The average U.S. house is now worth more than it was at the peak in 2007, a high mark on the real estate recovery.
According to the latest market information, the median home value in the U.S. is $198,000, 1 percent more than the year before and an increase over the peak price of $196,600 set in April 2007.
“We aren’t in a bubble and won’t be entering one anytime soon,” Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Svenja Gudell said in the report...
A shortage of for sale housing has driven down home sales in April, according to the latest numbers from the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
Total existing home sales fell 2.3 percent from March, though sales are still up over last April by 1.6 percent.
Housing inventory is growing, it was up 7.2 percent to 1.93 million existing homes for sale, but it continues to fall short of demand. Median days on the market hit a new low at 29 days...
Six new skyscrapers are set to change the face of Chicago forever.
Rising over 800 feet, these building will be new and defining edifices in the skyline. Three of them are already under construction, the Vista Tower, One Bennett Park and One Grant Park. Three more, Wolf Point South, 1000M and 110 N. Wacker are already approved by the city.
Read more at Curbed Chicago here ...
The newest skyscraper that will change the city's skyline has officially obtained all its permits.
The Vista Tower, a Studio Gang-designed super-tall that will eventually rise 95 stories to become the city's third largest building received their final construction permit and is moving along now at full speed.
The 1,186-foot tower will eventually feature 406 luxury condos, a 192-room hotel and retail space. It is expected to cost more than $1 billion to build...
Nationwide home prices in metro areas increased for the third consecutive quarter, according to the National Association of Realtors.
The median price for existing single family homes rose 6.9 percent, an increase from $217,200 to $232,100 since the first quarter of last year. It's also the fastest pace of growth since the fourth quarter of 2015.
Total existing home sales were 5.72 million in the first quarter, also an increase from the previous year, up 1.4 percent...
For the last several years home buyers have enjoyed historically low interest rates thanks to Federal Reserve policy that has kept them low as a form of economic stimulus, but that could be about to change.
According to the Congressional Budget Office's 2017 Budget and Economic Outlook, the interest rate the Fed charges to banks could be increased nine times by 2020 with the first rate hike set for this June...
Investment property can be very appealing - besides diversifying a portfolio it can also serve as a durable stream of income and a savings vehicle over a lifetime. But there's a lot involved and it's definitely not a passive investment...
Buyers, sellers, everyone is feeling good about the real estate market.
The Home Purchase Sentiment Index rose by 2.2 percent in April to 86.7 percent, a three point increase from the previous year.
Four of the six measures of the index saw improvement; consumers believe it's a good time to buy, sellers believe it's a good time to sell, home prices are up and incomes are up.
Read more at Chicago Agent Magazine here .
While certain city neighborhoods, particularly those along the Blue Line, have seen a lot of media attention for home price appreciation, some suburbs are posting big gains this year.
Oak Park and Cicero saw prices climb 9.2 percent year over year while Evanston and Skokie grew 6.9. Park Ridge, Des Plaines and Chicago Heights/Park Forest saw the highest volume, with sales passing more than 2,200.
Read more and check out a nifty chart at Chicago Agent Magazine here .