Yesterday afternoon, the day before Halloween, several real-estate agents and their children went on a special trick-or-treating route on the 4100 block of North Bell Avenue in Chicago’s North Center neighborhood. Stopping at five of the six houses that are for sale on the block, the kids picked up treats—but what their parents saw was pretty scary.

On this block alone, there are four new replacement houses in the $1.2-million to $1.4-million price range, all finished (or nearly finished) and unsold. Also listed for sale are...

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Yesterday afternoon, the day before Halloween, several real-estate agents and their children went on a special trick-or-treating route on the 4100 block of North Bell Avenue in Chicago’s North Center neighborhood. Stopping at five of the six houses that are for sale on the block, the kids picked up treats—but what their parents saw was pretty scary.

On this block alone, there are four new replacement houses in the $1.2-million to $1.4-million price range, all finished (or nearly finished) and unsold. Also listed for sale are...

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Yesterday afternoon, the day before Halloween, several real-estate agents and their children went on a special trick-or-treating route on the 4100 block of North Bell Avenue in Chicago’s North Center neighborhood. Stopping at five of the six houses that are for sale on the block, the kids picked up treats—but what their parents saw was pretty scary.

On this block alone, there are four new replacement houses in the $1.2-million to $1.4-million price range, all finished (or nearly finished) and unsold. Also listed for sale are...

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Housing Bulletin—On the Block — North Center, Chicago

Yesterday afternoon, the day before Halloween, several real-estate agents and their children went on a special trick-or-treating route on the 4100 block of North Bell Avenue in Chicago’s North Center neighborhood. Stopping at five of the six houses that are for sale on the block, the kids picked up treats—but what their parents saw was pretty scary.

On this block alone, there are four new replacement houses in the $1.2-million to $1.4-million price range, all finished (or nearly finished) and unsold. Also listed for sale are…

Sale of the Week—Libertyville’s Two-Time Market Beater

List Price: $1,149,000
Sale Price: $1,113,000

The Property: This shingle-sided house on a tree-shaded street has sold twice this year, and very quickly, flouting the slow market that has irked so many sellers. Built five years ago by the prolific Nick Lazzaretto, the house is far larger than it looks, extending way back into its lot; that allowed the façade to fit comfortably among the neighboring, mostly mid-size older homes. The house has five bedrooms and four-plus baths, a big third-floor family room, and lots of old-style millwork, including wainscoting, mantels, and cabinetry…

New on the Market—Breezy Hill-Hugger in St. Charles

List Price: $1.299 million

The Property: Perched on a hilltop in St. Charles, this 16-room house was built in the mid-1960s for a psychiatrist who didn’t care for air conditioning. That and the oak woods all around prompted the architect Robert Cantrell to create a series of rooms that jut out from one another, thus maximizing both the natural ventilation and the views. Energetic and angular, the all-white house appears to sprout from its hillside site…

Housing Bulletin—A New Owner for Pickell’s Lakefront Property in Highland Park

Wendy and Jim Abrams are the new owners of a coveted parcel of land on Lake Michigan in Highland Park. Last week, the developer Orren Pickell announced that he had sold the A. G. Becker estate (better known lately as the Mickey Segal estate) to a buyer who intends to keep intact the 17.5-acre parcel—with its Jens Jensen landscaping—rather than subdivide it as Pickell had planned. “[The estate] dodged a bullet and is now out of the hands of developers for at least another generation,” says Daniel Kahn, head of Highland Park’s historic preservation commission.

Pickell would not identify by name the buyer, who bought the property through a land trust. But a source told Deal Estate

Sale of the Week—Putting the Park(ing) in Lincoln Park

List Price: $3.25 million
Sale Price: $3.15 million

The Property: This lavish townhouse has splendid views across the street into Lincoln Park, a nice perk for a house that itself was built to block an unsightly view. In this case, it’s the view of a two-story parking structure on a block lined with handsome old co-ops and apartment buildings.

The association of owners in the vintage condo building immediately north of this house had a slim ground-level parking lot that they wanted to expand without fouling up the block. They enlisted the architect Lucien Lagrange to design the parking structure with two townhouses…

New on the Market—Reaching for a Record in Clarendon Hills

List Price: $3.199 million

The Property: This new 8,500-square-foot house with a deep lot is nearing completion on a curving street in Clarendon Hills. Built by Double Diamond Developers, the house has 16 rooms, including a 3,000-bottle wine room and, off the kitchen, a small “chef’s office” that the listing agent, Bryan Bomba, says “would be a good time-out room for one of the kids.”…