An inside look at Chicago real estate
The National Association of Realtors says pending home sales dipped slightly in February due to a lack of inventory. Nationally, the Pending Home Sales Index declined 0.4 percent to 104.8 from 105.2 in January, the association says. January’s reading had been the highest since April 2010; that month the index…
The National Association of Realtors says a “healthy recovery” is underway as year-over-year U.S. existing-home sales and prices edged higher in February. There were 4.98 million sales of completed single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops last month, a 10.2 percent increase from the 4.52 million units sold in February 2012,…
First, some good news. For the third straight month, month-over-month foreclosure filings declined in Illinois in February, according to RealtyTrac Inc. Filings fell 10 percent to 12,671 filings last month, and 5 percent from February 2012. But the total number of filings still ranked among the highest in the U.S….
In 2006 and 2007, before the economy crashed, all but a small handful of Chicago area homebuyers took out mortgages when buying properties. And why not? Credit was cheap and easy to obtain. But that changed after the recession took hold. Mortgages were still cheap but financing was difficult to…
Year-over-year sales of distressed homes in Illinois spiked in 2012, a sign that the foreclosure crisis is far from over. A total of 44,337 distressed homes were sold throughout the state last year. More than a third, or 16,449 were short sales, which increased by 53 percent in 2012 from…
Pending U.S. home sales rose last month, another sign of the residential real estate market’s slow but steady comeback. The National Assn. of Realtors’ Pending Home Sales Index jumped 9.5 percent to 105.9 last month, from 96.7 in the same period in 2012. The index increased 4.5 percent, from 101.3…
Nationally, the number of year-over-year foreclosure filings declined in January but the misery continues across Illinois. There were 150,864 filings, or one in every 869 units in the U.S. last month, a 28 percent decline compared to January 2012, and a 7 percent drop compared to Dec. 2012, according to…
A Hollywood producer of movies such as “Rambo” and “Broken City” is asking $7 million for a massive, top-floor penthouse in the Fordham, a condominium high-rise in River North’s cathedral district. It couldn’t be determined how much George Furla paid for the 6,500-square-foot, full-floor residence at 25 E. Superior St….
Ask any residential real estate veteran, they’ll tell you. Short sales are a good option for some home buyers in part because the properties typically sell for less than non-distressed homes. But buyers who bid on a short sale better buckle in and steel themselves for a bumpy ride. Yes,…
More than 9,600 homes in Chicago were sold last year in a foreclosure auction, a 53 percent increase from 2011. Communities on the city’s South and West sides were among the most affected, though no area was immune. The Near North Side, for example, saw 226 completed auctions last year,…
By Dream Town
In the mid-19th century, James B. Waller built a 60-acre estate and on it constructed a brick Italianate mansion, which he called “Buena.” From these grounds, Buena Park grew to become 326-acre district that was officially annexed as part of Chicago in 1889. Today, the Buena Park State Historic District…
A massive Lincoln Park mansion owned by hedge fund executive Joseph G. Nicholas has come on the market for $10 million. It is the most expensive single family home listing in Chicago. The six-bedroom residence at 1866 N. Howe St. has a 50-foot sports court above a four-car garage, in-home…