Getting Real

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,
Tuesday at 6:33 am

• Leave a comment

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

• Leave a comment

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

• Leave a comment

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

• Leave a comment

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

• Leave a comment

Should You Hire A Hot Real Estate Agent?

There is one particular Chicago real estate brokerage that sure seems to have a preponderance of attractive real estate agents (and, no, I’m not going to tell you which one it is – well, maybe if I know you). I’ve often speculated that this is not coincidence. I think they either have a deliberate recruiting... Read more »

By Gary Lucido,
April 25, 2012 at 6:14 am

• 9 comments

Another New Low In Chicago Housing Prices

Oh, the humanity! The Case Shiller home price index just came out for Chicago for the month of February and it’s more bad news for sellers (but good news for buyers). Single family home prices dropped by another 2.6% while condo prices fell by another 2.4%. Chicago was one of 9 cities where home prices... Read more »

By Gary Lucido,
April 24, 2012 at 8:41 am

• Leave a comment

21 Books That Don't Know What Caused The Financial Crisis

If someone tells you they know what caused the financial crisis – especially if they are from Hollywood and/or wear a baseball cap – don’t believe them. Andrew Lo, a finance professor at the MIT Sloan business school, wrote a review of 21 books on the financial crisis and concluded that we can’t even agree... Read more »

By Gary Lucido,
April 18, 2012 at 8:55 am

• Leave a comment