An inside look at Chicago real estate
By Dream Town
The latest report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) revealed that February home sales for existing properties rose from the previous month by 2.9% countrywide. It is the first time we’ve seen a sales boost since July of 2007 and it’s the biggest increase in a year. The slight…
By Dream Town
A new construction condominium development in United Center Park is offering Chicago home buyers a rare rent-to-own option that gives purchasers time to save up for a down payment while living in their new home. The rent-to-own deal is offered through Dream Town Realty (details are available by contacting Ken…
By Dream Town
The real estate market is best evaluated on a local basis if you want to get a true picture of what’s going on in the area. Most reports of housing market downturns are founded on nationwide statistics, so it is hard to gage whether they represent your region accurately. Even…
By Dream Town
How much would you pay to live in the tallest residential building on the planet? Factor in that it was designed by a world-famous architect, that it offers the best views in the city, and that it will likely become the most recognized structure in the skyline Is it worth,…
By Dream Town
Here we are, with the New Year upon us, and I can’t help but look back on 2007. Quite an eventful time for the real estate business (the effects of the sub-prime mortgage fallout and resonant foreclosures continue to impact the country). But while the “national downturn” took top billing…
By Dream Town
Now let’s be real about what is going on. Gone are the days of buying a property pre-construction and selling it upon possession in 15 days with a 25% profit. Gone are the days where sellers are receiving three or four offers on a house that has seen 30% appreciation…
By Dream Town
I know it’s hard to look past all the media hype about the downswing of the national real estate market. Foreclosures in California are painting a pretty ugly picture for the entire country. But here’s the thing, the housing industry is really reliant on local circumstances. What is happening in…
By Dream Town
We’ve all read the newspapers and heard the reports on television that shower the national housing market with doom and gloom. Market analysts make their forecasts and continue to predict, and re-predict, when the bottom will hit, but when you talk to people who are out in the field everyday…
By Dream Town
Luxury living in downtown Chicago is getting even pricier. There was a time when $500 per square foot was considered the upper end of luxury properties in Chicago well, these days it’s more like $700 per square foot, a category which makes up about a quarter of the new construction (or…
By Dream Town
As homeowners across the nation succumb to foreclosure, struggle to pay their mortgages and worry about the imminent increase on their adjustable-rate loans, traditional approaches to the situation are being challenged and modified. We’ve already recommended anyone in danger of defaulting or loosing their home to speak with their lender…
By Dream Town
The latest data show the housing supply nationwide has slowed its pace and is not going up as rapidly as it has in the past. Home inventory levels are still considerably higher than they were at this time last year, but the recent slow down is good news. Inventory in…
By Dream Town
Unlike any other real estate market measure before it, the Residential Property Index (RPX) is a brand new gauge of the national housing market that will be calculated on a price per square foot basis. It will still focus on the large metropolitan areas, as do other indexes, but the…