A Lap Pool in Noble Square

List Price: $1.65 million
The Property: Situated west of the Kennedy and centered around Grand Avenue, Noble Square is one of those semi-secret Chicago neighborhoods some people whiz right past without realizing it’s there. Well, there’s a secret within the secret...

Widow of the Director John Hughes Buys Lake Forest Mansion

Sale Price: $5.2 million
List Price: $5.795 million
Nancy L. Hughes, the widow of the director John Hughes, has paid $5.2 million for the Lake Forest mansion owned by the developer Robert Shaw. John Hughes, who died of a heart attack on August 6th, was the director of a number of films...

River Forest’s Priciest 2009 Sale

List Price: $2.695 million
Sale Price: $2.1 million
The Property: This elegant Mediterranean house in River Forest was the town’s first home this year to sell for over $2 million. In 2008, five homes in River Forest sold for over $2 million. In 2007, there were three sales in that price range.

Scott Turow’s Glencoe House Under Contract

List Price: $5.9 million
Sale Price: Not yet known

The novelist Scott Turow’s Glencoe lakefront home, which has been on the market for $5.9 million, is under contract with a buyer, Turow’s real estate agent confirmed for Deal Estate on Wednesday.

Terrace Views of Lake View

List Price: $649,999
The Property: This three-bedroom condo, with large terraces on its north and south sides, occupies the 16th-floor of a 17-story Lake View building that offers unimpeded panoramic views in most directions. As you will see in the video, the south terrace, with views of Wrigley Field and the Chicago skyline, is nicely finished. The much larger north terrace...

Renting Unsold Condos

At the height of the condo boom, many investors snapped up under-construction condos, planning to turn around and sell them upon or shortly after completion. In the crash years, reselling has proved difficult, leaving some investors bleeding money as their condos sit unsold. Justin Elliott, the founder and CEO of Chicago Apartment Finders (which leases about 6,000 apartments each year), suggests that investors consider renting those condo until the market becomes more stable...