Chicago Condo Directory

March 10, 2010 - It looks as though a new mixed-use Chicago real estate project is going to be a future development for Oak Park. The Oak Park Village Board unanimously voted in favor of the proposed $85 million, 20 story glass high-rise to be constructed on teh corner of Forest Avenue and Lake Street, according to a recent Tribune article.

Sertus Capital Partners is the developer for this tower. Currently the spot is occupied by an aging parking garage and a building that once held a grocery and the first Original Pancake House. The village will put $9.8 million towards building a new garage and retain ownership of it. The high-rise would then be built over the new garage.

The tower would contain the parking garage, which would hold 510 spaces, two levels of retail, a 140 room hotel and 85 Chicago condos. The project should add around $2.5 million per year to the city property tax revenues, according to the article. The village will also allow as much as $500,000 in tax breaks over the first two years of hotel operation.

Not everyone is confident the project is a good idea, however. The modern design is certainly different from the surrounding traditional buildings, and the economy is another factor. The article quoted Tad Wefel of a local real estate firm as saying that, “This is an exceedingly risky development. No one, nowhere is developing hotels right now.”

But one village trustee, Jon Hale, said that, “I’m convinced the economy is working with us, not against us.”

The village doesn’t stand to lose if the project hits a snag. The agreement between the village and developer states that no funds will be transfered until the tower is finished. Also, if no financing can be found for any portion of the project, the village can back out of the deal.

By the time this project is completed, buyers may once again be in the market for new construction condos in Chicago.

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March 9, 2010 - The developer closeout sales and price reductions just keep coming for lots of Chicago real estate projects, and once they start they seem to stick around for a while. In the case of Catalpa Gardens in Edgewater, the recent price cuts have resulted in only 10 unsold units of the 126 there in the eleven story mid-rise. Catalpa Gardens is located on 1122 West Catalpa Avenue, and according to a recent profile in Chicago Magazine you may want to get motivated soon if you’re interested in purchasing a condo there.

The condos at Catalpa Gardens are all ready for occupancy and each unit purchased comes with a free parking space in the garage. Last spring units at the development had been priced for $50,000 to $100,000 more than they are being listed for right now. In May of 2009 the condos were lowered from over $300 pre square foot to their current price of below $200 per square foot. That price point must have appealed to buyers because over 50 sales contracts were signed after the cuts, according to the article.

Right now the 1,100 square foot two bedroom condos are being marketed from $210,000. The old base price started at $250,000. For a larger two bedroom condo with 1,408 square feet the new base price is $290,000 which is down from the old base price in the $400,000s.

Be sure to check back with us often for all the latest updates and price reductions on Chicago condos for sale .

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March 8, 2010 - Everyone has been talking about the effect that the shadow market, which refers to the high number of Chicago condos that are currently being offered for rent, has had on both condo sales and apartment leasing. Now we have some statistics from Appraisal Research Counselors to mull over and digest.

Appraisal Research Counselors has stated that for 2009, there was an all-time high number of condos and townhomes leased in the Chicago real estate market since the firm has been keeping track of statistics. In 2005 and 2006 between 300 and 600 units were listed for rent during each quarter. By the year 2007 there was an increase to over 700 condos and townhomes listed for rent each quarter.

When 2008 rolled around, the decline in condo sales and increase in investors feeling the pinch of fewer buyers pushed up the number of units available for rent by the middle of the year to around 1,000. The second quarter of 2009 showed 1,375 downtown units listed for rent, but the third quarter topped that with 1,507 units leased. The amount decreased to around 900 by the last quarter of 2009. In all, around 3,449 downtown units were rented during 2008 and about 4,483 during 2009.

Now, the total amount of units up for lease is over 1,700, and that is a 43% increase from the fourth quarter of 2008. ARC puts the number of occupied downtown rental units during the fourth quarter of 2009 at 1,739 more than there were in the last quarter of 2008. Ron DeVries of ARC was quoted in the Chicago Journal as saying that the increase was, “The highest year over year gain since we began formally tracking the downtown rental market.” He also reminded us that 2,234 new units in six new rental towers downtown will hit the market this year.

Be sure to check back with us here at the Chicago real estate blog for all the latest information on leasing trends for Chicago apartments and Chicago condos.

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