Modern Bucktown Living 2321 W McLean Ave Chicago, IL ModernBucktownLiving.com

Welcome home to this renovated luxury single-family residence just off of the Armitage Avenue in Chicago’s Bucktown neighborhood.

www.ModernBucktownLiving.com for more info.

This home is ready for the most discerning buyers who appreciate contemporary design with quality, value and location. Single-family masonry residence in the Bucktown community which features a modern multi-level home with a central open riser steel staircase and a three story tall atrium space with roof skylights allowing light to pour into the homes central core. Brazilian cherry hardwood floors on three levels. Large Great Room level includes custom cherry cabinets, granite tops and a back wall of windows letting the southern light pour into this primary living space. Full side by side laundry on this level too. Walk out french doors leads to one of the three outdoor deck spaces and landscaped yard including an outdoor pond with fountain and fenced yard with 2 car detached garage. Three bedrooms upstairs with two bedrooms and second bath on second level and large master suite steps above second level with a walk through organized closet system, large master sleeping area enough for an office or seating area and with walkout deck overlooking rear landscaped yard. Master bathroom includes a large twin whirlpool tub and walk-in shower with multi-head shower features. Dual vessel sinks with Philipe Starck fixtures.

Lots of privacy and separation yet everything is close and well laid out and proportioned. Another original superior quality design from the Gramata Development Corporation.

Great location near shopping, theater (3 blocks) the Metra (5 blocks) the Blue line El (one block) to downtown and airport, I-90 expressway (5 blocks) and public transportation (one block). Three blocks to Holstein Park with outdoor pool, courts, swing sets, activities for everyone. Walkscore.com has rated this home a 95/100 “Walkers’ Paradise” because of its close proximity to restaurants, schools, parks, grocery stores and there are nine transportation options nearby including two train options making this home a commuters dream whether by car, bus or train.

Gramata Realty Group

Lakeview Dog-friendly Chicago Condo

Chicago's Featured Dog-friendly Condo 

This bright, sunny rarely available corner-unit dog-friendly condo with stunning panoramic views of the city skyline, surrounding neighborhoods, Wrigley Field and Lake Michigan. 

This split 3 bedroom 2 bath condo includes soaring 14 foot ceilings in the open and sunny living/dining room with hardwood floors and private balcony. This home also includes an updated kitchen with granite counters and stainless appliances. In addition to the large master suite with walk-through organized closet and whirlpool tub this condo features a full size in-unit washer and dryer. Included in the price is an indoor heated garage parking space. Enjoy the rooftop deck with panoramic views of the city skyline and surrounding neighborhoods too.

Caribou Coffee and XSports Gym is in the main level retail space and Whole Foods Grocery Store is across the street. Also located just down the street is the YMCA with tons of activities & events for adults and kids. CTA buses abound. Paulina Station Brown line 2 blocks away. 

It’s the new heart of West Lakeview and there is always a buzz in the air right outside your front door.

LakeviewChicagoCondos.com

Call Jim at 773-315-6103 send a text or email him at jim @ atproperties.com

Search for more dog-friendly condos at DogPads.net today!

Michigan Avenue Development Dead

Citing worries about the slumping downtown condominium market, Miami developer Peebles Corp. has walked away from a prime Michigan Avenue site where it had planned to build a 50-story condo and hotel tower.
Peebles had signed a contract this spring to pay about $32 million for the site at 300 N. Michigan Ave., currently home to a Walgreens, a Subway and a Radio Shack (Crain's, April 14).

But the developer "felt a bit uncomfortable" with the weak high-end condo market and decided to back out a couple of weeks ago, says Barron Channer, Peebles' vice-president of development.

"We're not moving forward with it, but we're still looking aggressively in the market," he says. "We want to do something that's more in scale with where we think the market is."

from Crain's Chicago Business

Average, Not Speculative, Buyers Moving Market

The stories are similar across the country. More homes for sale and fewer people buying. The National Association of Realtors reports sales of existing homes fell for the fourth straight month.

David Hanna is the treasurer for the Chicago Association of Realtors.

"Overall, the market has just gotten back to a pace where it's more about the average person going out and buying a home, and that's what's driving our market today versus the investment activity that we were seeing before," said Hanna.

The American dream of buying a home isn't as easy as in some Chicago communities. Geoff Smith is the research director for the Woodstock Institute where they track financial services in Chicago's minority communities. He says foreclosures have gone up 50 percent since last year and he says that only makes it harder for low income families trying to buy or keep a home.

"It's going to be more difficult for borrowers who are having problems with their mortgage to refinance their loan because credit terms are going to be more restrictive. It's going to be more difficult for them to sell their homes because there is a much larger supply of homes on the market," said Smith.

In addition to sub-prime lenders aggressively marketing their mortgages to those who couldn't afford them, sometimes a job cutback or illness may put homeowners behind in payments. If that happens, housing experts recommend calling the lender immediately to work out some arrangement to change terms or work out a way to get up to date.

Uptown Theatre Rocks

After years of neglect, groups fighting over it

The historic Uptown Theatre, which has defied redevelopment attempts and slowed the resurgence of its neighborhood since closing in 1981, is suddenly a hot property.

Local concert promoter Jerry Mickelson and Block 37 developer Joseph Freed & Associates LLC are battling a group led by real estate investor David Husman over control of the foreclosed 1920s-era landmark, which also has attracted the attention of national concert promoters.

Mr. Mickelson, co-founder of Jam Productions Ltd., wants to restore the 4,500-seat theater, which once hosted Prince, the Grateful Dead and other big acts, as a concert venue. In a foreclosure sale, a buyer may have to pay upward of $3.5 million to satisfy the outstanding mortgages, liens and money the city is owed for repairs. Renovation would cost about $40 million.

The fight for control of the theater reflects the Uptown neighborhood's improving fortunes. That revival would gain momentum from a redevelopment of the cavernous 1925 movie palace, which sits prominently on Broadway, Uptown's main drag.

Click link for full story from Crain's Chicago Business

Home sales fall even faster in 1st quarter

No bottom in sight as new-home slide accelerates


Dashing hopes that the housing slump would soon bottom out, new-home sales in the Chicago area fell even faster in the first quarter as the market meltdown spread from the suburbs to the city.

Residential developers in the Chicago area sold 5,341 homes in the quarter, down 35% from a year earlier and the weakest showing in more than 11 years, according to a report by Tracy Cross & Associates Inc., a Schaumburg-based real estate consulting firm. City sales, which held up better than the suburban market last year, plummeted to 1,170 units, a 44% drop from the year-earlier period and the lowest volume in 15 quarters.

"Everybody was waiting for spring," when buyers re-emerge, but "it just didn't come," says Tracy Cross, president of the firm. "This is definitely the steepest downturn we've seen" since the early 1980s.

Recession is rippling through the homebuilding industry, one of the area's biggest employers, with nearly 285,000 workers, from architects to carpenters. Contractors and developers have slashed payrolls and stopped building houses on "spec," meaning before finding a buyer. Many are cutting prices to goose demand, and the median sale price for single-family homes fell 1.7% to $299,470, the report shows.

Experts predicted the new-home market would hit bottom this spring after six straight quarters of falling sales. But recovery now appears further away, particularly in the city, where developers continue to build despite the precipitous drop in sales.

"We've seen continued softening in April," says Dan Star, Illinois division president for Dallas-based Centex Corp., which sold 1,150 homes in the Chicago area last year. "Traffic is down. Contracts are down. I think this will go on for another six months or year or longer."

Centex's local workforce is about half the size it was at the peak of the housing boom in 2005, when it employed "well over" 200 people, Mr. Star says. The company's Chicago-area sales in the most recent quarter were roughly flat, he says, declining to disclose specific sales or employment figures.

Demand started falling in 2005 as rising interest rates, combined with lofty prices, put homes out of reach for many buyers. Builders are likely feeling the after-effects of the ultra-low interest rates that drew large numbers of buyers into the market earlier in the decade but left little demand for later years. Mr. Cross estimates that as many as 7,000 local apartment renters a year became buyers during the boom, a number close to zero now.

Recent turmoil in the subprime lending market also may be crimping demand, as tighter lending standards make it harder for people to finance home purchases, Mr. Star says. Compounding those woes is the growing reluctance of consumers to buy homes in a declining market.

The first-quarter sales decline was the sharpest since the downturn began, according to Tracy Cross. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, sales slid to 18,927 units, down 26% from 22,226 in the previous quarter and 46% from the peak of 35,264 in second-quarter 2005.

As suburban sales tumbled last year, the city held up relatively well, logging its second-best year ever. That changed in the first quarter, when city sales fell 44% vs. 32% in the suburbs.

The supply of unsold condominiums in downtown high-rises under construction is growing even as demand is declining. Speculators — investors who buy condos to flip them for quick profit — fueled the boom but have all but disappeared from the market. And developers are likely to face stiff competition from the resale market, as thousands of owners of recently built condos put their units back up for sale, Mr. Cross says.

"You should see continued erosion in the city," he says.

The Chicago Home Buzz is already printed and mailed and the stats in our report shows a 35% reduction in sales compared to ehe previous quarter. For a copy of our CHB report email me!

©2007 by Crain Communications Inc

Canine Clout Tribune Article

Here is an article printed in the Chicago Tribune Sunday Real Estate Section written by Chuck Green quoting none other than...

CANINE CLOUT

Would-be buyers may love a house, but when it comes to a decision, dogs rule

By Chuck Green

Special to the Tribune

Published February 4, 2007

Kelly and Matt Elvin with Sammy (from left), Mandy and Boomer. The Elvins relocated to Oak Park partly so their golden retriever would have a yard. They have since added two Labradors. Now they have a farm in Michigan, where the dogs can really romp.When Kelly and Matt Elvin shop for a couch, the question isn't whether it blends with the rest of their furniture or floor plan. Foremost in their minds is whether it's right for their dogs. "We're the kind of people who literally pick out a couch based on whether there's enough room for people and dogs," Kelly Elvin said.So it's only natural that while they loved living in the city, the Elvins moved to Oak Park several years ago, partly so their golden retriever would have a yard. "We wanted him to be able to play and exercise, in addition to his daily walk," said Kelly. In fact, the Elvins, both formerly lawyers, have since added two Labradors. "That would have been a tight fit in our apartment."When it comes to relocating and altering lifestyles to accommodate one or more dogs, the Elvins have plenty of company. According to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association 2005-06 National Pet Owners Survey, 43.5 million U.S. households own a dog, and nearly 73 million dogs are owned in the country.

"Dogs are a part of the family almost as much as any other member. They're part of the home buying decision-making process," said Jim Gramata, a broker associate with Keller Williams Lincoln Park Realty. "Whether I'm listing a property and presenting it to prospective buyers, or out with clients, I understand the importance of the family pet and how homes can be passed on due to their requirements."In fact, he said, a woman who recently attended one of his open houses had to pass on a unit she liked because it wouldn't be right for her pet, who was with her."I told her to bring him in if she wanted because he should come check it out too. The only unit available was on the top floor, which she loved but couldn't even consider because her dog was getting old and would have had trouble handling the stairs because of bad hips," Gramata said. "She said that had happened to her several times already in her search and that she was really limited in her choices due to her dog's age, but was determined to `find them both a good home.'"

That determination resonates with Jamie Damato, who said when she searches for a place to live, her dogs have "about a 98 percent vote. Name a choice, they have a say." Even if their choices don't necessarily coincide with hers, noted Damato, who has lived in a single-family house in Logan Square since 2005."The neighborhood became less my choice but the choice of my budget. Unfortunately, you don't get a nice house with a yard and good-size, dog-friendly home for a reasonable price in Lincoln Park or Lakeview."My ideal neighborhood would be anywhere along the lake--preferably a loft space with big windows and a deck," noted Damato, who along with Kelly Elvin is affiliated with Damato's Animal Sense Canine Training and Behavior Inc. in Chicago. However, that arrangement would be less than ideal for her dogs, a beagle mix, Doberman mix and toy poodle mix. "They need to be happy and have their needs met."Her home, more than 2,500 square feet, includes a fenced-in back yard, "with lots of space in the house for playing."Damato said she's moved more than 10 times since she got her first dog more than 14 years ago. "It's been a non-stop search for the perfect dog-friendly space. And since I'm such a huge dog fanatic, I always have at least two or three at any given time, whether they are mine [or whether she's pet-sitting or caring for a foster dog]. Landlords aren't so groovy about that sort of thing."Before purchasing her home, Damato lived in Uptown. "It was a decent dog set-up, situated on a park, but still didn't have a yard or a true dog-loving landlord. So I had to become my own dog-loving landlord. It was just getting old having other people make the rules for my pets."Ideally, she said, "I wouldn't own at this point in my life, but moving as often as I did was not ideal, either. Besides, I hated that my living situation impacted my choices about fostering animals or just having a bunch of dog friends over to hang out."When the Elvins took trips to her in-law's farm in Pennsylvania, they noticed how much their dogs liked romping freely about. So about a year and a half ago, they bought a farm in Grand Junction, in southwestern Michigan between South Haven and Kalamazoo. "We started looking for a place where we could go on weekends and have more property so our dogs could do what they do, and safely," said Kelly Elvin of the nearly 10-acre property."They'd always go with us to the farm in Pennsylvania and loved running off-leash, going into the woods and sniffing for rabbits. Seeing how much they liked it, we wanted them to have that experience more than once a year," Kelly said. "It's wonderful because the dogs can play off-leash. In Oak Park, you don't really have access to the kind of yard dogs can run in. There's only so much excitement you can find in a yard."Unfortunately for Lisa and Alex Collins, when it came to their dog, a Rotweiler, and their neighbors in a Lakeview building, they had excitement they could do without, which prompted their move last May to a home with a yard on the Northwest Side."A couple of people had a problem having the dog in the building, which made things difficult for us." Otherwise, they would have remained longer. "It was a one-bedroom, and the first place I ever owned. It was small, but we didn't need much more space. The neighbors were a huge deterrent, so we didn't like living there any longer."At that point, the couple found a four-unit condominium--"a decent place, but it had other issues," said Lisa. "But we had a child, and with a dog we wanted to get into a single-family home and have a yard and move a little farther out."She remembers one place they liked in particular that had spiral staircases they felt would have been tough for their dog to negotiate. "It's difficult for a dog to get down, and two, I didn't want to be carrying a dog up and down a spiral staircase once he got older and had arthritic issues or anything, so there were places prior to this that were excluded because of an issue like that."Damato said her dogs have no issues with her current living arrangement. "Now that I have this house, I can have a zillion dogs in and out and come and go and the only one who has veto power is my poodle."