Deal Estate - May 2011

05/31/11

Making the “Unlivable” Livable in Lincoln Park

List Price: $2.2 million
Sale Price: $2.25 million
The Property: This foreclosed six-bedroom, four-story house had been priced at over $4 million when under construction by its developer, SMH Homes...

Posted at 10:55 AM in Sale of the Week | Permalink | Comments (0)

05/26/11

A Storied Gold Coast Townhouse

List Price: $2.34 million The Property: This four-story limestone townhouse built in the late 19th century is part of a block of nine known as the Fairbank Row Houses. They are named after Kellogg and Janet Ayer Fairbank, a high-society couple who lived in one of the homes and may have owned several of the others...

Posted at 9:42 AM in On the Market | Permalink | Comments (1)

05/25/11

Chicago Association of Realtors Hands Out Good Neighbors Awards

At its 19th annual Good Neighbor Awards event last week, the Chicago Association of Realtors (CAR) recognized several real-estate agents and developers who have turned around distressed properties in neighborhoods from Lake View to West Pullman. “These are private individuals and enterprises taking it on themselves to rehabilitate these homes,” said Mabel Guzman, CAR’s president and an executive at Envision Real Estate...

Posted at 10:51 AM in Housing Bulletin | Permalink | Comments (0)

05/23/11

Hyde Park’s Restoration Drama

List Price: $2.7 million
Sale Price: $2.35 million
The Property: Last spring, the couple who were in the midst of restoring this Hyde Park house moved into it after they unexpectedly sold their own home two blocks away...

Posted at 9:15 AM in Sale of the Week | Permalink | Comments (0)

05/19/11

Orland Park’s Home on the Range

List Price: $2.5 million
The Property: Now this is a ranch house. The Orland Park residence is infused with the character and materials of the American West, from its log-framed entry to the forest of timber beams and the huge stone chimney in the great room...

Posted at 9:39 AM in On the Market | Permalink | Comments (0)

05/18/11

Top-Floor Views from Available Aqua Condos

Since Jeanne Gang’s Aqua was completed in 2009, views of the tower have landed in countless tourists’ scrapbooks and Facebook posts. But views from Aqua can be pretty sweet, too, as you will see in the video and pictures I shot recently from two condos for sale on the tower’s top residential floors...

Posted at 12:48 PM in Housing Bulletin | Permalink | Comments (0)

05/16/11

Nearby Foreclosures Affect Glenview Sale

List Price: $909,000
Sale Price: $818,000
The Property: In June 2008, when this Glenview house was on the market with an asking price of $1.399 million, I used it as an instance of the downward price pressure then percolating for home sellers with foreclosed neighbors...

Posted at 8:00 AM in Sale of the Week | Permalink | Comments (0)

05/12/11

A Window on Old Glencoe

List Price: $2.195 million
The Property: The many windows that line the front of this 1920s Glencoe house evoke a summer day before air conditioning, when all those windows could be thrown open to lure in a cool breeze off Lake Michigan, just three blocks away...

Posted at 11:26 AM in On the Market | Permalink | Comments (1)

05/11/11

Congressman Quigley to Some Boat Owners: Shove Off

This week, U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (D-5th) is releasing a list of 60 ideas to reduce the federal debt and deficit spending—and already, one of the smallest proposals in the pack has stirred up angry opposition. Quigley advocates ending the home mortgage interest deduction for boats that owners have claimed as second homes...

Posted at 10:07 AM in Housing Bulletin | Permalink | Comments (2)

05/09/11

A New Home Takes Flight in Libertyville

List Price: N/A for this custom-built home
Sale Price: $3.2 million
The Property: Lots of houses come with a little workshop, but this Libertyville residence has a hangar-sized second garage, where the man of the house is building an airplane...

Posted at 10:47 AM in Sale of the Week | Permalink | Comments (1)

05/05/11

An In-House Resort in Downers Grove

List Price: $3.85 million
The Property: A cobblestone drive leads over a bridge and past a waterfall to the front door of this 15-room country manor in Downers Grove. “This is our resort that we don’t have to travel to,” says Joel Anderson, the Downers Grove homebuilder who created the place for himself, his wife, Maggie, and their children in 2008...

Posted at 10:00 AM in On the Market | Permalink | Comments (0)

05/04/11

Housing for Teenage Parents—and a Judge Resolves a Condo Buyback Standoff

On Chicago’s West Side, work has begun on a project that will help stabilize young families. New Moms, Inc., a Chicago not-for-profit that provides counsel and other services to teenage mothers and their children, broke ground last week on an $11.7 million facility that, when completed in mid-2012, will contain 40 apartments with room for 40 adults and 60 children...

Posted at 9:15 AM in Housing Bulletin | Permalink | Comments (0)

05/03/11

Frank Galati Sells His Lakeshore East Condo

On Monday, Frank Galati, the Tony Award–winning Chicago director and actor, and his partner, Peter Amster, who is also a theatre director, sold their condo at 340 on the Park, which overlooks Millennium Park...

Posted at 10:25 AM in Housing Bulletin | Permalink | Comments (0)

05/02/11

$7.2 Million Sale Atop the Four Seasons—and Another Downstairs for $2.25 Million

List Price: $9.95 million
Sale Price: $7.2 million
The Property: The 4,300-square-foot penthouse atop the Bloomingdale’s building—at Michigan Avenue and Delaware Place—was sold on April 28th for $7.2 million...

Posted at 10:50 AM in Sale of the Week | Permalink | Comments (0)

	05/31/11 Making the “Unlivable” Livable in Lincoln Park List Price: $2.2 million Sale Price: $2.25 million The Property: This foreclosed six-bedroom, four-story house had been priced at over $4 million when under construction by its developer, SMH Homes... Posted at 10:55 AM in Sale of the Week \| Permalink \| Comments (0)
	05/26/11 A Storied Gold Coast Townhouse List Price: $2.34 million The Property: This four-story limestone townhouse built in the late 19th century is part of a block of nine known as the Fairbank Row Houses. They are named after Kellogg and Janet Ayer Fairbank, a high-society couple who lived in one of the homes and may have owned several of the others... Posted at 9:42 AM in On the Market \| Permalink \| Comments (1)
	05/25/11 Chicago Association of Realtors Hands Out Good Neighbors Awards At its 19th annual Good Neighbor Awards event last week, the Chicago Association of Realtors (CAR) recognized several real-estate agents and developers who have turned around distressed properties in neighborhoods from Lake View to West Pullman. “These are private individuals and enterprises taking it on themselves to rehabilitate these homes,” said Mabel Guzman, CAR’s president and an executive at Envision Real Estate... Posted at 10:51 AM in Housing Bulletin \| Permalink \| Comments (0)
	05/23/11 Hyde Park’s Restoration Drama List Price: $2.7 million Sale Price: $2.35 million The Property: Last spring, the couple who were in the midst of restoring this Hyde Park house moved into it after they unexpectedly sold their own home two blocks away... Posted at 9:15 AM in Sale of the Week \| Permalink \| Comments (0)
	05/19/11 Orland Park’s Home on the Range List Price: $2.5 million The Property: Now this is a ranch house. The Orland Park residence is infused with the character and materials of the American West, from its log-framed entry to the forest of timber beams and the huge stone chimney in the great room... Posted at 9:39 AM in On the Market \| Permalink \| Comments (0)
	05/18/11 Top-Floor Views from Available Aqua Condos Since Jeanne Gang’s Aqua was completed in 2009, views of the tower have landed in countless tourists’ scrapbooks and Facebook posts. But views from Aqua can be pretty sweet, too, as you will see in the video and pictures I shot recently from two condos for sale on the tower’s top residential floors... Posted at 12:48 PM in Housing Bulletin \| Permalink \| Comments (0)
	05/16/11 Nearby Foreclosures Affect Glenview Sale List Price: $909,000 Sale Price: $818,000 The Property: In June 2008, when this Glenview house was on the market with an asking price of $1.399 million, I used it as an instance of the downward price pressure then percolating for home sellers with foreclosed neighbors... Posted at 8:00 AM in Sale of the Week \| Permalink \| Comments (0)
	05/12/11 A Window on Old Glencoe List Price: $2.195 million The Property: The many windows that line the front of this 1920s Glencoe house evoke a summer day before air conditioning, when all those windows could be thrown open to lure in a cool breeze off Lake Michigan, just three blocks away... Posted at 11:26 AM in On the Market \| Permalink \| Comments (1)
	05/11/11 Congressman Quigley to Some Boat Owners: Shove Off This week, U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (D-5th) is releasing a list of 60 ideas to reduce the federal debt and deficit spending—and already, one of the smallest proposals in the pack has stirred up angry opposition. Quigley advocates ending the home mortgage interest deduction for boats that owners have claimed as second homes... Posted at 10:07 AM in Housing Bulletin \| Permalink \| Comments (2)
	05/09/11 A New Home Takes Flight in Libertyville List Price: N/A for this custom-built home Sale Price: $3.2 million The Property: Lots of houses come with a little workshop, but this Libertyville residence has a hangar-sized second garage, where the man of the house is building an airplane... Posted at 10:47 AM in Sale of the Week \| Permalink \| Comments (1)
	05/05/11 An In-House Resort in Downers Grove List Price: $3.85 million The Property: A cobblestone drive leads over a bridge and past a waterfall to the front door of this 15-room country manor in Downers Grove. “This is our resort that we don’t have to travel to,” says Joel Anderson, the Downers Grove homebuilder who created the place for himself, his wife, Maggie, and their children in 2008... Posted at 10:00 AM in On the Market \| Permalink \| Comments (0)
	05/04/11 Housing for Teenage Parents—and a Judge Resolves a Condo Buyback Standoff On Chicago’s West Side, work has begun on a project that will help stabilize young families. New Moms, Inc., a Chicago not-for-profit that provides counsel and other services to teenage mothers and their children, broke ground last week on an $11.7 million facility that, when completed in mid-2012, will contain 40 apartments with room for 40 adults and 60 children... Posted at 9:15 AM in Housing Bulletin \| Permalink \| Comments (0)
	05/03/11 Frank Galati Sells His Lakeshore East Condo On Monday, Frank Galati, the Tony Award–winning Chicago director and actor, and his partner, Peter Amster, who is also a theatre director, sold their condo at 340 on the Park, which overlooks Millennium Park... Posted at 10:25 AM in Housing Bulletin \| Permalink \| Comments (0)
	05/02/11 $7.2 Million Sale Atop the Four Seasons—and Another Downstairs for $2.25 Million List Price: $9.95 million Sale Price: $7.2 million The Property: The 4,300-square-foot penthouse atop the Bloomingdale’s building—at Michigan Avenue and Delaware Place—was sold on April 28th for $7.2 million... Posted at 10:50 AM in Sale of the Week \| Permalink \| Comments (0)

May 2011