Chitownproperty

Wacko world of willfully weak market — chicagotribune.com
Are homeowners still in denial about falling home values, or have they learned to be realistic? It depends who you ask, naturally. Mary Umberger tells us that Zillow.com thinks homeowners are in denial, not surprising for a company whose business model is based on the presumption [...]

Buying vs. renting, or cost vs. time — chicagotribune.com
Since the slumping home market has changed the equation determining the benefits of buying or renting, the Tribune is taking a fresh look at this age-old question. Prices are generally lower now, meaning it might be a good time to buy, but a tight credit market [...]

In a recent survey conducted by Coldwell Banker, 78 percent of its agents reported that their clients have indicated more interest in living in the city instead of the suburbs because of higher energy costs.
The overwhelming reason for this change of heart is to reduce commuting costs, but a majority of those surveyed also cited [...]

Zillow.com has just released their quarterly home value reports for major metropolitan real estate markets. The good news is that home values didn’t decline in the Chicago area as much as they did in the rest of the country. The bad news is that they did decline 5.8 since the first quarter of [...]

Remodel on the cheap - CNNMoney.com
You don’t have to spend a fortune to remodel a kitchen or bathroom, if you’re willing to buy used. Second-hand appliances and kitchen fixtures, floor models, and antiques can fit your style and budget. Check out the Building Materials Reuse Association and Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore directories for [...]

We’ve said here before that you should always think of your home as a place to live first, and an investment second. It’s true, you can likely count on a home to appreciate in value over time, but you can’t count on it as a sort of piggy bank. CNN/Money breaks down some [...]

Making your home greener isn’t just the right thing to do for the environment, it can save you money too. This recent article in the Sun-Times includes a number of steps for updating your heating and cooling systems and modifying your water usage to make them more environmentally friendly, like installing a programmable thermostat, [...]

Maybe you didn’t even realize you could do this, but almost all furnaces have an adjustable humidifier that you can set according to the indoor temperature to make things more comfortable, and maybe even cut down on those nasty winter static shocks. Some models just let you control the amount of water going into [...]

Buyers commonly request home warranties in today’s market, as a way of squeezing one more concession out of eager sellers. But not every warranty is the same, so you need to read the fine print before assuming that your expenses will be covered for the first year in your new home.
Warranties on existing homes [...]

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 [...]

Remodeling your kitchen probably has the biggest impact on your home’s value of any project. But it requires careful consideration. How much should you spend? How long are you planning to stay in the house? And what is the standard kitchen in the neighborhood like? You don’t want to spend [...]

So you bought the house of your dreams, furniture’s set, ceiling fans and blinds installed. Summer is coming, so what’s next? That’s right, you need a $35,000, 16,000 BTU grill with a griddle, hardwood cutting board, two side burners, a warming drawer, bar and sink. No home is truly complete without one.

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 [...]

While some consider a full-amenities building, complete with a doorman, to be the height of luxury living, many apparently see a doorman as a negative:
In fact, most doormen would apparently rather live without a doorman even if they could afford it, according to Peter Bearman, a Columbia University sociology professor and author of “Doormen” (University [...]

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

The Historic Chicago Bungalow Association has made $750,000 available for grant funding so that bungalow owners in need of assistance can make repairs. Bungalow owners making less than 80 percent of the area’s median income can apply for grants of $3000 to [...]