June 30, 2010 – It isn’t a downtown Chicago real estate development, but it just may interest some condo buyers. Lexington Square is locted in Bridgeport, and right now Lexington Homes has dropped the prices on their townhomes over $25,000. There are 39 townhomes at this development, all with traditional brick exteriors. The homes are situated on South Sangamon Street, as is the sales center, and you can check them out yourself from 10am to 6pm on Monday through Friday and 11am to 6pm on Sundays, according to a recent ad in the Tribune.

Prices on the townhomes start at $357,888 which is down from the original pricing in the $380,000s. The townhomes have 9′ ceilings, a balcony, three bedrooms, 2.5 baths, hardwoof flooring, two car garage, family room, master suite on the top floor, kitchen island, breakfast room and storage space.

Other perks at Lexington Square include either marble or granite vanity tops, Moen faucets and fixtures, soaker tub, walk-in shower, GE stainless steel kitchen appliances, granite counter tops and 42 inch cabinets.

If you’re more interested in new downtown Chicago condos, be sure to look through the Chicago real estate listings to see what developments may be offering price reductions right now.

[tags]Lexington Square, Chicago Condos, Chicago Real Estate[/tags]

June 29, 2010 – After all the debating and downsizing, it looks as though the proposed Addison Park on Clark, otherwise known as the Wrigleyville project, has finally gotten approval from the City of Chicago Plan Commission. According to a recent article in the Sun Times, this Chicago real estate development will have a 137 room hotel, 140,000 square feet of retail space and 135 residential units, including Chicago condos and apartments.

Most of the development’s opposition has voiced concern that the project was too large for the neighborhood and would drive out local businesses. Other concerns cited increased traffic and parking issues. But with the green light from the Plan Commission, the proposal will move on to the City Council for approval.

Because one of the primary concerns was that the development’s height would overshadow Wrigley Field. But M&R Development LLC has changed the design several times and lowered the height until now it will only be 91 feet at its highest point. The size of the hotel and number of rooms has also been downsized as much as the developer claims it can be and still be economically feasible.

It will be some time yet before actual construction on Addison Park on Clark would begin if it does get complete city approval. In the meantime, there are plenty of other Chicago homes for sale if you are shopping for a new condo right now.

[tags]Addison Park on Clark, Chicago Condos, Chicago Real Estate[/tags]

June 28, 2010 – Parkside of Old Town still has a good selection of both Chicago condos and townhomes available. Buyers can also take advantage of the lower prices that are currently in effect at this Chicago real estate development. Right now you can find units marked down up to 30% and 40%, so you may want to take a closer look if you’ve thought about buying a condo or townhome in this project.

The first phase of Parkside of Old Town has 72 townhomes and 207 condos. The next phase will bring another 20 apartments, 39 Chicago Housing Authority homes and 53 affordable units. Parkside was one of the top 15 developments that made sales in the first quarter of this year, according to data from Appraisal Research Counselors.

The one bedroom condos at Parkside are now starting from the $170,000s. Two bedroom condos are priced from the $240,000s. For a three bedroom unit you can expect to pay from the $320,000s. The townhomes come with two to three bedrooms and are starting in the $330,000s. Indoor parking is available for the condos and the townhomes have attached garages for one to two autos.

Since Parkside is FHA approved, you may be able to score a 3.5% down payment. You also may be able to qualify for a $10,000 grant from the City of Chicago and the Partnership for New Communities.

There are other affordable Chicago condos, so check back with us for development updates.

[tags]Parkside of Old Town, Chicago Condos, Chicago Real Estate[/tags]

June 25, 2010 – You may want to check out the new models open at Astoria Tower. This Chicago real estate development has been making deliveries for a while now and all of the Chicago condos are ready for immediate occupancy. The 30 story tower is located on 8 East 9th Street and has a total of 241 units.

Studios (junior one bedrooms) are now priced from $164,800 and the one bedroom condos at Astoria start from $199,800. The one bedroom plus den are priced from $245,800 and the two bedroom condos start from $328,800. Parking will add another $34,800.

Condo finishes include hardwood flooring, carpeted bedrooms, 9′ ceilings, granite baths with soaker tubs, 42″ kitchen cabinets, granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances. The condos size up from about 527 to 1,406 square feet.

Building amenities include a spa floor with a whirlpool, sauna, massage area, pool and exercise area. There is also a 24 hour doorman, rooftop deck, movie room, billiards and recreaction room plus golf simulator.

If Astoria Tower isn’t quite what you’re looking for, you should check out the Chicago real estate listings and see what else is out there.

[tags]Astoria Tower, Chicago Real Estate Listings, Chicago Real Estate[/tags]

June 24, 2010 – Since Emerald, located on 123 South Green Street, made it into the list of top-selling Chicago real estate projects for the first quarter of this year, we thought we’d revisit pricing on the remaining unsold developer units.

According to the price sheet from Senco, there are four one bedroom, one bath condos left for sale. Unit #09 and #10 have 794 square feet and are priced from $295,000–$323,000. Unit #02 and #07 have 765 square feet and are priced from $275,000–$326,000. Average assessments run $225 per month for these Chicago condos.

There are also two one bedroom, one bath plus den condos available. Uni t#04 and #05 have 900 square feet and are priced from $312,000–$385,000. The average assessment is $265 per month.

Four of the two bedroom, two bath condos are still for sale from the developer. Unit #01 and #08 have 1,250 square feet and are priced from $409,000–$480,000. Unit #03 and #06 have 1,297 square feet, a second bistro balcony and are priced from $489,000–$629,000. You can expect to pay assessments of $345 per month on these condos.

Indoor heated parking is an additional $35,000 with a monthly assessment of $25.

Emerald condos come with Bamboo or hardwood flooring, floor-to-ceiling windows, a balcony, washer / dryer hook-up, 42″ kitchen cabinets, stainless steel or granite counter tops, stainless steel double bowl sink and stainless steel appliances. The bedrooms are carpeted and have vinyl coated wire shelves in the closets. Baths have natural stone floor tiles, vanity tops and tub/shower surrounds.

Emerald’s two 12 story towers have a two story atruim lobby, a great room with flatscreen television, boardroom with wireless Internet and fireplace, fitness center, private study and Club Emerald for entertaining. Emerald is also pet-friendly, which is important to many buyers shopping for Chicago homes.

[tags]Emerald, Chicago Homes, Chicago Real Estate[/tags]

June 23, 2010 – If you’re a fan of Chicago real estate and are looking for something to do tonight, you might be interested in watching the official lighting of the spire on top of the Trump Tower. For the first time, the 227 foot tall spire on the Trump Tower will show off its new LED lights. The lights will be turned on at 8:29 pm tonight. This time around, the lights are red, white and blue to coincide with the upcoming Fourth of July celebration. Those colors will stay on through July 11th, according to an article in the Tribune.

The article went on to state that like the other big name high-rises in Chicago, the John Hancolk Center and Willis Tower, the Trump Tower spire light colors will rotate with the holidays. Halloween will be next with orange lights. Breast Cancer Awareness Month will change them to pink. And Christmas and the winter holidays will glow red and green. When no holiday is upcoming, the lights will be white at night.

There are still lots of Chicago condos for sale at Trump Tower, both resales and from the developer. You can find everything from studios priced in the $300,000s, one bedroom condos priced from $600,000 and two bedrooms from $1.1 million and up. There are also three bedroom condos that start in the $2.8 million range.

If Trump Tower just isn’t what you’re looking for, there are other Chicago Luxury Condos for sale right now, many with price reductions.

[tags]Trump Tower, Chicago Luxury Condos, Chicago Real Estate[/tags]

June 22, 2010 – Everyone wondered just how much of an effect the $8,000 First-Time Homebuyer Federal Tax Credit and the $6,500 repeat buyer credit had on sales of condos and single-family homes. The latest numbers released from the Commerce Department show that nationally, home sales dropped 33% in May. The deadline for signing a sales contract to qualify for the credits was April 30th.

The drop in national home sales from April to May (2010) was the biggest monthly decline on record. About 300,000 homes were sold nationally in May of this year, which is also the slowest sales rate since 1963, according to the Commerce Department. Breaking it down region by region, the West posted the biggest monthly drop from April to May of 53%. The Midwest posted the lowest monthly drop with a 24% dip in sales.

But the good news is that sales of Chicago condos and single-family homes rose 32% in May. There were 2,057 condos and single-family homes sold in Chicago in May 2010, which is a 32.1% increase over May 2009 sales, according to numbers from the Illinois Association of Realtors that were reported in a recent Crain’s article. May 2010 is the 11th month in a row that sales of Chicago condos and single-family homes have increased.

The May median price also went up a bit to $230,000 which is a 2.2% increase from May of last year.

We will have to wait and see if the lack of tax credits continues to negatively affect the Chicago real estate market. There is still a surplus of Chicago homes for sale, so buyers still have a bit of an edge.

[tags]Chicago Homes For Sale, Chicago Condos, Chicago Real Estate[/tags]

June 19, 2010 – It looks as though Walton on the Park passed one of the biggest milestones for any Chicago real estate development; closings have started. There are 198 one to four bedroom Chicago condos in this Gold Coast tower, and according to the latest data from Appraisal Research Counselors, about 93 of those have been sold. We’ll have to wait and see how many of those actually do close, but at any rate just over 100 units are still up for sale.

The high-rise, located on 2 West Delaware Place, has one bedroom condos that are priced from $450,000. The two bedroom units are listed from $540,000. And the three and four bedroom penthouse residences are priced from $1.3 million.

A rundown of Walton on the Park is listed below.

One Bedroom Floor Plans:
#04 1BR/1.5Bath/Work Station / 945 Sq Ft / Floors 8-31
#05 1BR/1Bath / 920 Sq Ft / Floors 8-28
Park Residence #01 1BR/1Bath/Work Station / 960 Sq Ft / Floors 3-6
Park Residence #02 1BR/1Bath/Work Station / 965 Sq Ft / Floors 3-6

Two Bedroom Floor Plans:
#03 2BR/2Bath / 1,280 Sq Ft / Floors 8-28
#06 2BR/2Bath/Work Station / 1,415 Sq Ft / Floors 8-28
#07 2BR/2.5Bath/Den / 1,520 Sq Ft / Floors 8-31
#08 2BR/2Bath / 1,319 Sq Ft / Floors 8-23
Park Residence #03 2BR/2Bath / 1,275 Sq Ft / Floors 3-6

Three Bedroom Floor Plans:
#01 3BR/3Bath / 2,050 Sq Ft / Floors 8-31
#02 3BR/3Bath / 2,130 Sq Ft / Floors 7-28
Park Residence #04 3BR/2Bath 1,410 Sq Ft / Floors 3-6

Penthouse Floor Plans:
#02 4BR/3.5Bath/Family Room / 3,400 Sq Ft / Floors 29-31
#06 3BR/3Bath/Family Room / 2,335 Sq Ft / Floors 29-31

Walton on the Park is one of a select few Chicago real estatedevelopments that will deliver this year, so if you’re shopping for new luxury Chicago condos you may want to take a closer look at this project.

[tags]Walton On The Park, Chicago Condos, Chicago Real Estate[/tags]

June 18, 2010 – For those of you who purchased Chicago condos in time to qualify for the $8,000 First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit but need a little more time to close, you may be in luck. The original deadlines for the tax credit were to have a sales contract signed by April 30th and close by June 30th. But the Senate has approved a three month extension for closings. The new deadline is now September 30th.

This extension was proposed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and was approved by a vote of 60-37 last week. The extension is only valid for buyers who did get a contract signed by the original April 30th deadline.

According to data released by the Federal Housing Administration, around 180,000 buyers would most likely miss the June 30th closing deadline due to difficulty in securing home financing for their purchase.

This extension should help many who purchased Chicago real estate for the first time and are finding that locking in a mortgage can be difficult to do under a deadline.

[tags]First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit, Chicago Condos, Chicago Real Estate[/tags]

June 17, 2010 – One of the hot spots for sales of Chicago condos seems to be Silver Tower on 303 West Ohio Street. This 40 story Chicago real estate development ran into financial trouble not too long ago and has cut prices enough to entice quite a few buyers. Before the price cuts went into effect, around 80 of the 225 units were under contract, but since then over 50 more sales have been inked.

A list of the available floor plans and pricing from the developer is detailed below.

1BR/1Bath with 728 square feet at Silver Tower are running from $255,000 to $260,000. The condos had been priced from $300,000 to $352,000. Assessments are $280-$321.

1BR/1Bath with 783 square feet that were priced from $280,000 to $352,000 are now listed from $240,000 to $255,000. Assessments are $276-$321.

1BR/1Bath with 785 square feet that were listed from $344,000 are now priced from $230,000. Assessments are $285-$382.

1BR/1Bath with 813 square feet that had been listed from $293,000s to $372,000 are now priced from $245,000 to $265,000. Assessments are $275-$324.

1BR/1Bath with 829 square feet that were priced from $290,000 to $380,000 are now listed from $254,000 to $284,000. Assessments are $288-$331.

1BR/1Bath/Den with 947 square feet are priced from $270,000 to $333,000 which is down from the old prices of $350,000 to $450,000. Assessments are $336-$389.

1BR/2Bath/Den with 930 square feet that were being marketed from the $350,000 to $440,000 are now priced from $279,000 to $304,000. Assessments are $285-$382.

2BR/2Bath with 1,080 square feet at Silver Tower are now priced from $352,000 to $373,000 which is down from the old prices of $375,000 to $505,000. Assessments are $366-$418.

2BR/2Bath with 1,138 square feet that had been listed from $440,000 to $535,000 are now priced from $389,000 to $413,000. Assessments are $402-$458.

2BR/2Bath/Den with 1,190 square feet are now priced from $402,000 to $465,000 which is down from the old prices of the $415,000 to $605,000. Assessments are $409-$453.

3BR/2.1Baths with 1,793 to 1,810 square feet had been priced from $799,000 but are now lowered to $622,000 to $685,000. Assessments are $685-$716.

Parking is an additional $30,000 for each space and come with an assessment of $32.57.

If you don’t see anything in the above list that falls in your price range, you may want to see what Chicago foreclosures are available at reduced prices.

[tags]Silver Tower, Chicago Foreclosures, Chicago Real Estate[/tags]