Chitownproperty

Those of you who can remember your economics class in high school will be happy to know that the basic laws of supply and demand still apply to the real world, especially to the real estate market right now. The general slowdown in the market means that inventory, i.e. supply, is up, meaning that [...]

You wouldn’t buy a used car without checking its maintenance and accident history would you? But many people purchase condos without carefully checking the building’s financial records, maintenance and assessment schedule, and board activity. Doing so can sometimes turn the most desirable home into a lemon, uncovering years of neglect or whopping assessments [...]

With an uncertain market, that question isn’t as cut-and-dried as it used to be. Last week the New York Times published a fantastic online calculator to determine whether you should rent or buy, based on a number of variables like monthly rents, home prices, taxes, appreciation rates, and interest. Given these values, it [...]

A reader at CNN/Money asks the question whether they should buy now and take advantage of low interest rates, or wait and see if prices are going to fall even more. The answer, of course, isn’t as simple as they would probably like. You could take advantage of falling prices to bargain your [...]

The New York Times ran a great piece this weekend about the thought process that goes into setting a market price. The number are huge because they’re talking about New York, but whatever the market, an asking price isn’t so much a flat statement of how much the seller would like to get for [...]

The holiday season may mean a slowdown for the home sales market, but that also means it’s a good time to buy. This Inman News Service article in the Tribune points out that sellers with their homes on the market during the down time between Thanksgiving and the new year mean business, and will [...]

Negotiating a purchase price is hard enough these days, but many real estate deals break down during the second round of negotiations over inspection issues. Both buyers and sellers have to be willing to compromise, and perhaps forfeit a little money or pride in the name of closing the deal. This article from [...]

Despite the constant emphasis placed on home values in the media, a recent survery by Coldwell Banker found that only 5 percent of Americans view their homes primarily as investments. A vast majority, 67 percent, viewed their homes as just that, a place to live, and all things remaining the same, would not trade [...]

With markets across the country cooling down to more sensible levels, some people are sitting out of the real estate game, convinced that prices will go down even further. These “bubble sitters” are waiting for just the right moment to swoop in to pick up a great deal, cashing out of the market now [...]

With much of the leverage in the real estate market swinging to buyers, they have become more demanding in their lists of must-haves for potential homes. High-end upgrades like walk-in closets and stone countertops are essential in new homes, but different groups of buyers focus on different things. Many younger buyers are looking [...]

Your credit score can be a great source of mystery and frustration when you begin the mortgage application process before buying a home. What does your credit score mean? How do the credit agencies arrive at a score, and what does it mean to banks and mortgage brokers? How do you make [...]

Buying new construction in the city isn’t all about condos. There are plenty of single-family homes to be found, either as infill or in planned developments. This article from the Sun-Times profiles a handful of these new developments.

No matter what your financial situation, if you’re serious about buying a home, you can save enough for a decent downpayment with careful planning, a few modest sacrifices, and a concrete goal in mind.

From this week’s Chicago Tribune real estate section, a look at how people actually live, regardless of how fantastically a builder or architect might present the home.

“Life is messy, and most houses can’t handle it,” [Builder Magazine] said in a feature on the “Reality House,” a show home based in part on the researcher’s [...]

A quick rundown of this weekend’s real estate news sections:

An overview of the International Builders Show by the Sun-Times focuses on building materials and home fixtures to be featured by home builders in the coming years.
Several new high rises in the city take advantage of their proximity to Millennium Park, including the fabulous Heritage.
There are [...]