Deal Estate - October 2009

10/29/09

River View in River North

List Price: $1.499 million
The Property: It’s a view property, but what you see from this two-story townhouse at the base of a River North condo tower isn’t the usual grand sweep of skyline or lake. Instead, you get a human-scale view of a quieter stretch of the Chicago River and tranquil Erie Park, with the handsome old

Posted at 08:38 AM in On the Market | Permalink | Comments (0)

10/28/09

The Housing Decline’s Green Lining

Among the many losses resulting from the recent real-estate downturn, John Wasik’s may be unique: he lost the premise of his latest book. Near the tail end of the housing boom, Wasik—a personal finance columnist for Bloomberg News and the author of a dozen books—was working on a book arguing that...

Posted at 09:08 AM in Housing Bulletin | Permalink | Comments (1)

10/26/09

Foreclosed, Fixed, and Sold — Roscoe Village

List Price: $919,000
Sale Price: $916,000
The Property: At a time when Chicago appears to have the nation’s biggest logjam of unsold homes—enough to supply 19 months worth of sales, according to a recent Wall Street Journal survey of 28 major metro areas—a savvy investor has done his part to advance the...

Posted at 08:13 AM in Sale of the Week | Permalink | Comments (2)

10/22/09

Eyeing a Bucktown Penthouse

List Price: $1,175,000
The Property: This two-level penthouse unit is at Aspen 6, a Bucktown building. Its distinguishing feature (not visible from the street) is an enclosed second-story courtyard, shaped approximately like an eye, that all the condos look into.

Posted at 09:27 AM in On the Market | Permalink | Comments (0)

10/21/09

Auctions Bid for Attention

The auctions of a couple of big-ticket properties—the old main post office and a Burr Ridge mansion—have been getting lots of press lately, but there are many other, less pricey properties up for auction in Chicago and the suburbs. By my count, auction houses will...

Posted at 07:55 AM in Housing Bulletin | Permalink | Comments (1)

10/18/09

Jim McMahon Sells His Northbrook Home

List Price: N/A
Sale Price: $2.85 million
The Property: Jim McMahon, the quarterback who led the Chicago Bears to victory in Super Bowl XX, has quietly sold his Northbrook home of more than 20 years to a neighbor. McMahon and his wife, Nancy, raised their four kids in the house; the youngest, Zach, was a senior at Glenbrook North High School last year.

Posted at 03:46 PM in Sale of the Week | Permalink | Comments (0)

10/15/09

Former CBS2 Reporter Faces Lincoln Park Foreclosure

List Price: $1.2 million
The Property: This foreclosed house is different from most—and not just because of the distinctly 1980s look of the geometrical stucco panels on the exterior or the pipe handrails and cutout fireplace inside. The other difference is...

Posted at 09:53 AM in On the Market | Permalink | Comments (2)

10/14/09

Brown’s Line on House-Hunting—Plus Bungalow News

Maybe it’s not auspicious to launch a website that lets house-hunters find real estate listings near their preferred transit stops in the same week that the Chicago Transit Authority threatens a new round of service cuts and fare increases. Fortunately, Tom Brown is taking the long-term view...

Posted at 07:16 AM in Housing Bulletin | Permalink | Comments (1)

10/12/09

Troubled House Back On the Market — Hinsdale

List Price: $2.699 million
Sale Price: $1.400 million
The Property: This 27-room house, once priced by its builder at about $4.5 million but sold unfinished and with various contractors’ liens against it, was bought on October 2nd by an investor—who put it right back on the market, priced at...

Posted at 08:20 AM in Sale of the Week | Permalink | Comments (0)

10/08/09

The Sculptor Ruth Duckworth’s Home & Studio — Lake View

List Price: $1.4 million
The Property: In the early 1980s, the modernist sculptor Ruth Duckworth converted this former pickle factory into her home and studio, with work space on the first floor and living space above. Now 91 years old, Duckworth is retiring and moving to England, where she has family. She listed the building for sale last week.

Posted at 09:49 AM in On the Market | Permalink | Comments (5)

10/07/09

Olympic Fallout

Last Friday I was part of a panel on WBEZ discussing Chicago’s failed Olympic bid. Asked to anticipate the impact of the decision on the local housing scene, I responded essentially as I would have had Chicago emerged a winner: Not much.

Posted at 07:15 AM in Housing Bulletin | Permalink | Comments (1)

10/05/09

The Bulls’ John Salmons Rents in Glencoe

List Price: $3,295,000
Monthly Rent: $7,000
The Property: John Salmons, whose late-season acquisition by the Chicago Bulls is credited with boosting the team’s playoff push last season, is renting a French Provincial–style house in Glencoe.

Posted at 09:05 AM in Sale of the Week | Permalink | Comments (2)

10/01/09

Artfully Crafted in Lake Bluff

List Price: $2.85 million
The Property: Although it’s only six years old, this ravine-side Lake Bluff mansion evokes the century-old country homes by McKim, Mead & White on the East Coast and Howard Van Doren Shaw on the North Shore. That’s entirely intentional...

Posted at 01:09 PM in On the Market | Permalink | Comments (1)

	10/29/09 River View in River North List Price: $1.499 million The Property: It’s a view property, but what you see from this two-story townhouse at the base of a River North condo tower isn’t the usual grand sweep of skyline or lake. Instead, you get a human-scale view of a quieter stretch of the Chicago River and tranquil Erie Park, with the handsome old Posted at 08:38 AM in On the Market \| Permalink \| Comments (0)
	10/28/09 The Housing Decline’s Green Lining Among the many losses resulting from the recent real-estate downturn, John Wasik’s may be unique: he lost the premise of his latest book. Near the tail end of the housing boom, Wasik—a personal finance columnist for Bloomberg News and the author of a dozen books—was working on a book arguing that... Posted at 09:08 AM in Housing Bulletin \| Permalink \| Comments (1)
	10/26/09 Foreclosed, Fixed, and Sold — Roscoe Village List Price: $919,000 Sale Price: $916,000 The Property: At a time when Chicago appears to have the nation’s biggest logjam of unsold homes—enough to supply 19 months worth of sales, according to a recent Wall Street Journal survey of 28 major metro areas—a savvy investor has done his part to advance the... Posted at 08:13 AM in Sale of the Week \| Permalink \| Comments (2)
	10/22/09 Eyeing a Bucktown Penthouse List Price: $1,175,000 The Property: This two-level penthouse unit is at Aspen 6, a Bucktown building. Its distinguishing feature (not visible from the street) is an enclosed second-story courtyard, shaped approximately like an eye, that all the condos look into. Posted at 09:27 AM in On the Market \| Permalink \| Comments (0)
	10/21/09 Auctions Bid for Attention The auctions of a couple of big-ticket properties—the old main post office and a Burr Ridge mansion—have been getting lots of press lately, but there are many other, less pricey properties up for auction in Chicago and the suburbs. By my count, auction houses will... Posted at 07:55 AM in Housing Bulletin \| Permalink \| Comments (1)
	10/18/09 Jim McMahon Sells His Northbrook Home List Price: N/A Sale Price: $2.85 million The Property: Jim McMahon, the quarterback who led the Chicago Bears to victory in Super Bowl XX, has quietly sold his Northbrook home of more than 20 years to a neighbor. McMahon and his wife, Nancy, raised their four kids in the house; the youngest, Zach, was a senior at Glenbrook North High School last year. Posted at 03:46 PM in Sale of the Week \| Permalink \| Comments (0)
	10/15/09 Former CBS2 Reporter Faces Lincoln Park Foreclosure List Price: $1.2 million The Property: This foreclosed house is different from most—and not just because of the distinctly 1980s look of the geometrical stucco panels on the exterior or the pipe handrails and cutout fireplace inside. The other difference is... Posted at 09:53 AM in On the Market \| Permalink \| Comments (2)
	10/14/09 Brown’s Line on House-Hunting—Plus Bungalow News Maybe it’s not auspicious to launch a website that lets house-hunters find real estate listings near their preferred transit stops in the same week that the Chicago Transit Authority threatens a new round of service cuts and fare increases. Fortunately, Tom Brown is taking the long-term view... Posted at 07:16 AM in Housing Bulletin \| Permalink \| Comments (1)
	10/12/09 Troubled House Back On the Market — Hinsdale List Price: $2.699 million Sale Price: $1.400 million The Property: This 27-room house, once priced by its builder at about $4.5 million but sold unfinished and with various contractors’ liens against it, was bought on October 2nd by an investor—who put it right back on the market, priced at... Posted at 08:20 AM in Sale of the Week \| Permalink \| Comments (0)
	10/08/09 The Sculptor Ruth Duckworth’s Home & Studio — Lake View List Price: $1.4 million The Property: In the early 1980s, the modernist sculptor Ruth Duckworth converted this former pickle factory into her home and studio, with work space on the first floor and living space above. Now 91 years old, Duckworth is retiring and moving to England, where she has family. She listed the building for sale last week. Posted at 09:49 AM in On the Market \| Permalink \| Comments (5)
	10/07/09 Olympic Fallout Last Friday I was part of a panel on WBEZ discussing Chicago’s failed Olympic bid. Asked to anticipate the impact of the decision on the local housing scene, I responded essentially as I would have had Chicago emerged a winner: Not much. Posted at 07:15 AM in Housing Bulletin \| Permalink \| Comments (1)
	10/05/09 The Bulls’ John Salmons Rents in Glencoe List Price: $3,295,000 Monthly Rent: $7,000 The Property: John Salmons, whose late-season acquisition by the Chicago Bulls is credited with boosting the team’s playoff push last season, is renting a French Provincial–style house in Glencoe. Posted at 09:05 AM in Sale of the Week \| Permalink \| Comments (2)
	10/01/09 Artfully Crafted in Lake Bluff List Price: $2.85 million The Property: Although it’s only six years old, this ravine-side Lake Bluff mansion evokes the century-old country homes by McKim, Mead & White on the East Coast and Howard Van Doren Shaw on the North Shore. That’s entirely intentional... Posted at 01:09 PM in On the Market \| Permalink \| Comments (1)

October 2009