Getting Real

Oprah Winfrey To Lose At Least 50% On Her Chicago Condo

Not even Oprah Winfrey is immune from the aftermath of the burst housing bubble. Oprah just put her co-op at 199 E Lake Shore Drive, unit 6E on the market for $2.8 MM. That’s half the $5.6 MM she paid for it in August 2006, which was damn near the peak of the bubble, and... Read more »

By Gary Lucido,
Wednesday at 8:13 am

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Should The Government Be Bailing Out Underwater Homeowners?

For some time the Obama administration has been pushing a number of programs to help out homeowners whose mortgage balances are greater than the value of their homes. Recently the administration expanded a Fannie Mae/ Freddie Mac refinance program and in an effort to promote that program President Obama went to Reno, Nevada a little... Read more »

By Gary Lucido,
Monday at 8:34 am

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Chicago Foreclosure Activity Declining Again

RealtyTrac released their April Foreclosure Market Report yesterday and it shows a continued decline in activity for the nation as a whole. Foreclosure activity in Chicago continues in a general decline for the third month in a row after trending upwards for 6 months. Declines were experienced across the board in default notices, bank repossessions... Read more »

By Gary Lucido,
May 18, 2012 at 7:09 am

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Maybe Chicago Rents Really Are Skyrocketing

I don’t have a lot of first hand knowledge of the Chicago rental market because I pretty much focus on home sales and purchases. However, from what I do know about the rental market it sure looks like the Chicago market is hot – for landlords. First there’s the data. There have been many articles... Read more »

By Gary Lucido,
May 15, 2012 at 6:33 am

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Another Playboy Mansion Condo Sold In Only 5 Days

Not even 2 weeks ago I posted on the recent condo sales in the Playboy Mansion at 1340 N State Parkway in Chicago’s Near North Side. Unit 2 had just closed along with unit 1N going under contract on the same day. Now, just 10 days later, unit 1S has gone under contract after being... Read more »

By Gary Lucido,
May 13, 2012 at 10:45 pm

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Giannoulias (Broadway Bank) Home For Sale For $7.5 MM

You may have heard about the Giannoulias family’s Broadway Bank troubles. The bank was shut down in April of 2010 because of its portfolio of bad loans. Despite the writing on the wall the family took $70 MM in dividends from the bank in both 2007 and 2008. Alexi Giannoulias, the former Illinois treasurer and... Read more »

By Gary Lucido,
May 9, 2012 at 9:03 am

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Chicago Home Inventory Continues To Plunge To New Lows

If you’ve been trying to buy a home in Chicago lately you know it’s not easy. There’s not a lot to choose from and as soon as something hits the market with a reasonable price it’s gone. You’re not imagining it and I’m not making this up. I have the data to prove it. We... Read more »

By Gary Lucido,
May 8, 2012 at 4:38 pm

• 2 comments

Chicago Housing Market: Further Signs Of Strengthening In April

Here’s what the Illinois Association of Realtors is going to tell you in about 2 weeks: April sales were really strong compared to last year, with median prices up and distressed sales down as a percent of the total sales. Of course, I don’t pay much attention to median prices because it is NOT an... Read more »

By Gary Lucido,
May 7, 2012 at 6:37 am

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Rosie O'Donnell Loses $150,000 On Her House In 7 Months

With the demise of her Chicago based television show Rosie O’Donnell listed her home for sale after owning it for only 5 months. The single family home at 1517 W Grace in Chicago’s Lake View neighborhood went under contract in only one day and closed on April 4 for $2,102,750, which is roughly $150,000 below... Read more »

By Gary Lucido,
May 3, 2012 at 11:54 am

• 1 comment

Chicago Playboy Mansion (Real Estate) Action

It seems that there is some hot activity in the Chicago Playboy Mansion once again – except this time it’s the real estate that’s hot. The original home of Hugh Hefner at 1340 N State Parkway in Chicago’s Near North Side featured classic French architecture designed by architect James Gamble Rogers in 1899 and was... Read more »

By Gary Lucido,
May 3, 2012 at 6:11 am

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