A new 36-story mixed-use tower has been proposed for River North and could bring more retail, a luxury hotel and apartments to the bustling area. The tower, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill is from New York-based Symmetry Property Developments. They told Crain's the plan on submitting the proposal to the city soon. That proposal includes a Tryp Hotel (part of the Wyndham chain) and a Gibson's Restaurant Group offering...
Housing is perhaps the largest part of any household budget, so its affordability impacts every other part of an individual or family's life. How do you compute affordability anyway? The standard formula that's often used simply compares the median price of a house with the metropolitan area's median income and voila, affordability as a percentage. It's handy because it allows metro areas across the country to be ranked for would-be relocators...
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...
One of Chicago's most famous real estate people weighed in this week on the real meaning of the American dream. Once defined as home ownership (though the soft definition could be expanded greatly), Real Estate Mogul Sam Zell defines the dream very broadly as "freedom." "The American Dream is freedom, not a house," he told a crowd at the Peninsula Chicago Hotel on Wednesday night...
Vacation rentals, like the website/service AirBNB, have landlords, condo owners and tenants seeing green in their extra bedroom or sofa - but a recent article from the Chicago Tribune cautions that the practice may be illegal or a violation of association bylaws or leases. With a Grateful Dead reunion concert set for this summer and hotels across the city booked, all sorts of local residents are probably taking a hard look to see if they can bring in a little extra cash...
There's a fascinating peak into a future that never was for Chicago's popular New East Side over on the Chicago Architecture Blog today. As a part of their "Chicago Neverbuilt" series, the blog, which profiles architectural past, present and future in the city, published an extensive report on a plan for the area that became the New East Side. The original plan, by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM), was put together in the dim mists of the past in the 1960s...
Chicago's top-selling neighborhoods in January 2015 are out and some familiar names top the charts yet again. The Near North Side crushed the competition with 139 total sales, West Town followed with 74 sales and Lincoln Park was third with 69 sales. When selected for only single family homes the numbers are different, with Ashburn at 29, Portage park at 27 and Dunning at 25. For more and a nifty graphic, head over to Chicago Agent Magazine ...
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Elegant 3 Bed/3 Bath with nearly 3,000 sq ft on one floor! Floor-to-ceiling views of Grant Park Lake Michigan, city skyline, and museum campus. Hardwood floors, Chef's kitchen, 1.25" granite counter tops. Stainless Steel GE Mono appliances, gas cooktop, dual ovens, wine fridge, rich cherry cabinets, separate dining/living areas, 10 ft ceilings. Separate laundry room. Master bedroom includes his & her walk-in closets. Two side-by-side parking spaces included...
Home prices in the Chicago Metro area continued to rise in January, 4.9 percent, continuing a climb that is fueled in part by ever-declining inventory levels. But at the same time the good news for buyers is that affordability is up due to falling mortgage rates. Locally, the prevailing mortgage rate is 4.09 percent, down .12 percent. So, monthly payments and salary requirements are going down even as prices rise...
A new report pegs the price of a median one-bedroom rental in Chicago at $1670 a month, making the city the ninth most expensive place for renters in the country. According to the report, from the website byzumper...
A small tower will soon be gracing River North and even though it's only eight units, it's attracted the attention of at least one local real estate site after it received its zoning approval. Curbed Chicago calls the tower, to be built at 61 W. Erie, striking, and praises its high-end finishes and street level interest. The building also features generous terraces that are sure to draw the buyers in with access to an outside living space...
Remember all those condos that were purchased as rentals? Well one investor is going to test the market soon in a case that could have far-reaching influence on owners of downtown condos. It might be the right time to sell. Crain's has a fascinating and in-depth profile on the decision by Aventura, FL-based Gamla Cedron Group to sell 24 of the 34 condo units it owns and is currently renting out in the 198-unit tower at 757 N. Orleans St...
The median sale price for a condo in the city of Chicago rose to $285,000 in January , 13 percent higher than the year before. The median sale price for a single family home also rose to $163,275, an increase of 8.9 percent over the previous year. Part of that increase, of course, is being driven by the ever-decreasing inventory level in the area. For more, head over to DNAinfo here...
There's a new report out that puts a number on what a typical buyer must make to afford a home in Chicago: $54,346. The study, from HSH.com, assumes a 20 percent down payment and puts the median sale price of a home in the city at about $195,000 - that translates into a monthly payment of $1,286. That's principal and interest only, there's still taxes of course...
After the Illinois Association of Realtors released its latest report detailing a 5.2 percent drop in January market activity in the Chicago area, Chicago Agent Magazine drilled into the data and identified three factors that continue to affect the market. First, distressed inventory is declining. That's good news and a sign of a healthy market but it's also exacerbating a shortage on local inventory generally. Second, inventory remains limited...
Tucked away into a corner of Old Irving Park is a Landmark District marked by its distinctive stone pylons and diverse housing stock. It's called the Villa. Originally developed as a then-suburban style area, the district features a variety of amazing buildings ranging from bungalows to four square and proto-Prairie School architecture. The Villa Improvement League, a neighborhood group, keeps its landscaped medians and planters beautiful with spring and summer flowers...
Inventory continues to decline across the city and suburbs of Chicago and predictably the result is rising price and dropping market time. The Illinois Association of Realtors released it's numbers for January and existing home sales in the metro fell 5.2 percent from the previous year to a 5,619. The median price rose 8 percent, from $163,000 to $176,000. In the city, sales fell even more dramatically, by 8...
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