Pricing right the first time

Pricing a property correctly has always been key when trying to sell you home. The right price can get it sold in two weeks, but the wrong price, well, it doesn't move at all. Especially in today's current "balancing" market, pricing the your home right from the start has become even more critical. It's certainly easy to make adjustments down the road, but unless you have the luxury of time, often times these adjustments come too little too late. You might have missed hundreds of potential buyers and don't be fooled by the fact that you are getting showings. If you're getting showings that's always a good sign, but even if you're getting 2nd and 3rd showings without an offer, something is not right. So how do you price your home to get it sold? Well, I can tell you right off the bat if the words that are coming out of your mouth are something along the lines of, "well, the condo/home down the street sold for X in June...." then you're heading down the wrong path. The more important questions are what is your competition asking, what if anything has closed in the past couple weeks, who are the potential buyers and how are those buyers going to view your home compared to the competition? Even if your house has more upgrades and you feel it is worth more then the competition that doesn't mean that a buyer will place the same importance on those upgrades. Pricing wisely from day one on the market can and must be done. If it feels like your three years old again running away from those peas that your mom is about to put on your plate, it's not so bad, remember, there was a day when you realized those peas really weren't as bad as you thought.

A Real Estate MUST Read

In today's Chicago Tribune, there was one of the best articles on the state of the real estate market that I have read in recent months. I like it so much that I'm going to be giving it to my buyer and seller clients and practically everyone I know. If you're thinking of entering the housing market as either a buyer or a seller this article is truly a must read. I think one line from the article sums it up. "Just what kind of housing bust is this anyway? With gloom-and-doom purveyors forecasting crashes in dozens of metropolitan areas, how could such key fundamentals as jobs, interest rates and pending sales be trending in the opposite direction?"

Market 'rebalancing' gets caught in the spin cycle

So what are your thoughts and concerns about what's happening in the market?

Latest Chicago News

Yes, if you missed it the first time the Motorola store on Michigan Avenue re-opened today to sell the latest Razr. It's red. Do we have a rainbow yet...silver, black, blue, pink, magenta, gold and now red. I'm waiting for the orange Razr. It's my signature color.





Haven't seen Chicago's logo for the 2012 Olympics yet? Well here it is. Want to know what the plans are? Check out the story in the Chicago Tribune.

And the CTA is at it again. They need more money, $110 million to be exact according to Crain's. Do you feel the need to comment on the 2007 budget recommendations?
The board's next meeting is scheduled for November 8th.

Bye, bye Starbucks?

Here's yet another great story on controlling the destiny of your neighborhood. Andersonville, a great neighborhood on the north side of the city, is considering adopting an ordinance that would effectively ban "formula business" like Starbucks and Einstein bagels. The City Council is currently drafting the ordinance which would allow qualifying neighborhoods to ban these businesses in their historic districts. While I understand that having Starbucks on every corner is a bit much an outright ban of these kinds of business was quite surprising. If you've ever driven through Andersonville, it has a quaint, eclectic feel, and proponents of this ordinance want to make sure it doesn't lose that feel. Who can blame them?

The face of Chicago neighborhoods seems to almost be changing daily. While this new ordinance will most likely not be before the City Council for a few months, it will be interesting to see the direction is ultimately takes. Will it be a full ban or will it allow for varying regulations? What are your thoughts? Should the City Council see this measure through?

Andersonville may put reins on retail chains

The Changing Face of Chicago neighborhoods

Since I talked yesterday about the Burling Street controversy I thought I continue down that same vein today. I can't say I don't like to fuel the fire, but even I sometimes have very mixed feelings about some of the changes many of the Chicago neighborhoods are undergoing. The Chicago Tribune recently had two side-by-side stories, one on the loss of single family homes to condos and the other on the new high-rise meca known as Lakeshore East. They really express the dichotomy that exists. Not everyone wants or needs a single family nor can they necessarily afford the single family, so condos are the alternative. In particular neighborhoods, like West Town and Bucktown, there are many workman cottages or bungalows. They're small and often well kept homes, but their biggest drawback is they are small and expansion is limited. Many long time residents also feel that with the loss of these structures that the sense of community is disappearing with them. Then on the other side of the spectrum you have Lakeshore East, a 28 acre parcel located between the Loop and the Lake. It is expected to house a staggering 15,000 residents when it's complete. There has been an effort to create an neighborhood among the pedways, triple deck streets, and the six acre park at it's center. For some it will certainly not fit their definition of a neighborhood, but for an area that was formally occupied by railroad tracks it's certainly an improvement. The common threads through both these stories are that whether it's the city or the aldermans, I think many feel that there is not enough foresight by either group into the long-term results of these changes. There are many residents out there that don't like the change, don't want to see their neighbors that they've know for half their life leaving, and who came blame them. Ultimately, I know that it's all about the lifestyle you desire and I believe that this is what fuels and will continue to fuel the controversy over Chicago's real estate.

The New Behemoths

You might have seen the article in the Chicago Tribune Magazine this weekend regarding the enormous new homes that some of Chicago's wealthiest families are building in Lincoln Park on Burling Street. And enormous is putting it lightly. They range in size to a relatively modest 3 lots to an expansive 7 lots. It's causing quite the controversy among the neighborhood and even several local architects. Critics of these behemonths say that they are not consistent with the look or scale of the neighborhood. And they don't stop there. Even many of the new single lot homes are criticized for the lack of style including massive columns above a sunken garage and fake flickering gaslights. Many of these houses are also built lot line to lot line, living little room for green space, which in it's own right is a tragedy. Not all that long ago in the East Village, Wicker Park, and Bucktown neighborhoods, developers are no longer permitted to build sunken patios in the front of their buildings because of concerns over the loss of green space.

Tearing down the old to build the new is not something that is new to Chicago, but in certain neighborhoods it certainly has taken on a new fervor. Bigger and bigger seems to be the trend, but is bigger always better? I don't think so, but I'm not building a 20,000 sq foot home either. Part of it is for me, what would I do with all that space? I would love a huge master suite with a closet of equal size, but the rest of the house would be just be a dust collector! This trend has been playing out in the suburbs for a few years now, but it seems some form of that same trend is starting to take hold in the city, for good or bad. I guess only time will tell.

What are your thoughts? Should architects and developers be required to consider the neighborhood? Should there be a limit on how many lots can be combined by one person or a green space requirement?

Photos from Bill Hogan, Chicago Tribune

The future of express trains to O'Hare and Midway

The CTA's vision for 20-25 minute express service from the Loop to either O'Hare or Midway airports has at least temporarily been placed on the back burner. It's a great idea, a whole lot quicker and cheaper then taking a cab. Capital seems to be the big obstacle, approximately $1.5 billion. Ouch. So instead it has been proposed that a $10 a ride "express" service could take it's place. The big difference is that the ride would last the normal 40-45 or 30 minutes respectively, and would managed by a private company. A copy of a report obtained by Crain's Chicago Business, projects by 2010 an estimated 1.7 million riders would take advantage of these dedicated trains with special luggage space. And won't that be a god send, to actually have some room to place the luggage out the the way. Chicago isn't the first city to try this. Singapore and other major cities have successful express link trains. If it takes a public/private partnership to get service improvements, like this then I say go for it. The issue is expected to come before the CTA board for approval as early as it's November meeting. Stay tuned for more information.