09/29/08

Queen Anne Reigns in Lakewood-Balmoral

List Price: $1,187,000
Sale Price: $1,200,000
The Property: Those prices above are not transposed. This house really did accomplish something we don’t see much of anymore, selling for more than the asking price. Not only that, but the sellers’ real-estate agent, Kathy Murphy, says she had...

Posted at 09:28 AM in Sale of the Week | Permalink | Comments (2)

09/25/08

On The Market—France Invades Roscoe Village

List Price: $1.395 million
The Property: On a street in Roscoe Village where most houses are the characteristic Chicago types—frame or brick, farmhouse or Victorian—a family of suburban builders has imported something different: the rusticated feel of a...

Posted at 09:44 AM in On the Market | Permalink | Comments (0)

09/24/08

Housing Bulletin—Where the Sales Are

In its October 2008 issue, Chicago presents its annual residential real-estate chart, which, among other things, reveals how many homes were sold this past year in nearly 300 city neighborhoods and suburbs. There wasn’t space to show how those sale numbers compared to last year, but in the ongoing housing meltdown, the huge decline in...

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

09/22/08

Sale of the Week—Congenially Contemporary in Lincoln Park

List Price: $1,999,975
Sale Price: $1,400,000
The Property: This twenty-year-old house in west Lincoln Park fits congenially with its historic neighbors, thanks to its red brick exterior, arched windows, and slim cornice. Inside, it’s much more contemporary, with crisp expanses of...

Posted at 06:14 AM in Sale of the Week | Permalink | Comments (0)

09/18/08

On The Market—Open Season in the South Loop

List Price: $2.49 million
The Property: On the outside it’s a crisp and reserved brick and limestone structure from the 1920s. But inside, this former three-flat, now a 4,000-square-foot single-family home, is totally 21st century. That modern aesthetic begins in the foyer with the lighted acrylic...

Posted at 07:45 AM in On the Market | Permalink | Comments (0)

09/17/08

Housing Bulletin—Not-So-Sweet Times in Sugar Grove

Back in the summer of 2006, a subdivision called Settlers Ridge was the hottest thing in Sugar Grove, a small town west of Aurora in Kane County. The homebuilder Kimball Hill had begun work on what was intended to become a model of...

Posted at 09:23 AM in Housing Bulletin | Permalink | Comments (0)

09/15/08

Sale of the Week—Former Boeing CFO Sells Gold Coast Condo

List Price: $1.995 million
Sale Price: $1.91 million
The Property: Michael Sears, the former Boeing chief financial officer who was imprisoned for a conflict-of-interest violation with an Air Force official, has sold a Gold Coast condo he had bought after serving his time. The 3,737-square-foot condo on the second floor of the Regent (at 190 East Walton Place) has four bedrooms, each with its own private ...

Posted at 08:06 AM in Sale of the Week | Permalink | Comments (0)

09/11/08

On The Market—Vintage Modern in Lake View

List Price: $2.49 million
The Property: On the outside it’s a crisp and reserved brick and limestone structure from the 1920s. But inside, this former three-flat, now a 5,500-square-foot single-family home, is totally 21st century. That modern aesthetic begins in the foyer with the lighted acrylic partial wall...

Posted at 08:23 AM in On the Market | Permalink | Comments (0)

09/10/08

Housing Bulletin—More Auction Action, on Two Fronts

More Auction Action, on Two Fronts
The seller of an 80-year-old Winnetka mansion has no idea what her lakefront estate might be worth in today’s market, so she is putting it up for auction. And several builders who want to unload their new houses or vacant land have signed on with a new online real-estate auction service. Both auctions are sources of potential bargains for buyers—although in the case of the Winnetka auction...

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

09/08/08

Sale of the Week—What’s New in Wilmette?

List Price: $1.699 million
Sale Price: $1.625 million
The Property: In April 2003, Josh and Dawn Denberg paid $875,000 for a house with an extra-large lot on a charming brick street in Wilmette. (While the house, built in 1917, is clearly by a Prairie school designer, no one knows for sure the name of the architect.) The couple then...

Posted at 08:45 AM in Sale of the Week | Permalink | Comments (2)

09/04/08

On The Market—Contemporary Extravagance in Northbrook

List Price: $3.295 million
The Property: Set behind a 15-foot-tall privacy hedge, this house in western Northbrook has 18 rooms, a pool and a tennis court, and an outdoor kitchen big enough to cater a swim meet or a tennis match. The contemporary-styled home has a monumental entry flanked by two hefty...

Posted at 08:04 AM in On the Market | Permalink | Comments (3)

09/03/08

Housing Bulletin—Will Property Taxes Decline with House Prices?

Now that we have pretty much accepted that our homes are worth less than they used to be, a question comes up: If the value of my home is dropping, will my property tax bill do the same?

Short answer: Not now, not for a few years, and very likely not at all.

For the long answer, it’s important first to grasp...

Posted at 07:43 AM in Housing Bulletin | Permalink | Comments (2)

09/01/08

Sale of the Week—New Sears Recruit Shops in Winnetka

List Price: $2.99 million
Sale Price: $2.88 million
The Property: Gunther Trieb, the new president of the Sears brands Kenmore, Craftsman, and DieHard, has bought this 17-room mansion in the heart of Winnetka. The sale closed August 25th, four days...

Posted at 11:55 AM in Sale of the Week | Permalink | Comments (0)