The Price Must Be Right for the Chicago Home to Sell
My two-year-old Jackson was waxing philosophical this morning.
The side lot was strewn with twigs and branches that rained down during what I assume was a heavy downpour last night. Peering out from the back porch over his bowl of fruit and cereal Jackson said, “Market time is like grass in the rain.”
Actually his words were a bit more muffled coming as they were from a mouth full of food and said by a toddler. After a second of lexicon recognition I nodded my head and recognized the wisdom of what he was saying.
Grass in the rain (like we have had this year in Chicago) tends to grow long. Meanwhile listings in the current Chicago real estate market themselves grow long in terms of length of time on the market.
From the mouths of babes and all of that I turned to my first-born son and waited for more pearls.
I didn’t have to wait long as he then uttered unequivocally “Long grass cut!”
Hmm, I thought to myself, whether deftly or roughly applied, this means price your Chicago home to sell. That’s certainly something the team at The Real Estate Lounge Chicago holds to be true.
And this means price it right.
It also means that taking a little off the top (reducing the price) will some times be appropriate and necessary.
At this point I was mesmerized by the sagacity of my son. Three months shy of his third birthday and he was proffering secrets of the trade that seasoned realtors sometimes neither perceive nor understand.
Tempering myself to not be gluttonous nor greedy with the kernels of wisdom dispensed by Jackson I inhaled slowly to maintain my patience. But foremost in my mind was the question - what more will he reveal?
By the same token, though, I mused to myself - what more does he need to reveal? The bottom line in the current market is that right-priced properties sell. The only question is how long it will take to achieve the sale.
As a group of my friends from a different forum like to say (and with applicability here) “sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly.”
Which is true in the here and now. Even when we are right-priced at times we need to hold course with fair value pricing until the right buyer arrives.
Comforted by these caveats Jackson and I settled down to enjoy the remainder of Sunday morning, he with his yogurt montage and me with my metropolis coffee.
The Big Truth about Jumbo Loans in Chicago Real Estate Market
As a Chicago real estate professional I would never be so dense as to say I cover the entire city of Chicago or all of the outlying Chicagoland area.
Instead I concentrate on a geographic swath within the city that essentially extends from the Chicago River to Devon Avenue, from Lake Michigan to west of Western Avenue. I go beyond these artificial boundaries to the South Loop and Hyde Park, and I go to those western and North Shore suburbs as my clients express affinity.
But for conversational purposes my “sweet zone” is within the boundary I have indicated.
Ask me about any and all of these areas and I will rattle of statistics that will make you yawn and wish me silent. That is, unless, you are looking to either buy or sell in any of these locations. I mention my knowledge of the market to make the following point - the decision to exclude Chicago from one of the country’s 100 “high cost” areas where Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae can purchase mortgages larger than the $417,000 standard limit is absurd and does a disservice to the Chicago real estate market.
Every once in a while I will receive an email or phone call from somebody who wishes to buy a median-priced home. Truth be known, I would like to buy the selfsame home at the same price. But the fact of the matter is that I have never seen a median-priced home in the mid $300s in Chicago. They surely exist - that’s how the number is derived in the first place.
But they don’t exist in Lakeview or Bucktown, in the Gold Coast or Edgewater, in Wicker Park or Roscoe Village. They don’t exist in a range of Chicago neighborhoods because the so-called price of admission is much higher either incrementally or substantially than the $417,000 cap. And though this is the case the overall metropolitan Chicago area was excluded from the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 which would have enabled Chicagoans easier access to more providers of so-called jumbo loans.
In the Chicago Tribune this week Thad Wong of Chicago’s @properties said leaving Chicago off the list was an oversight or mistake. He went on to say, “If the limit were raised, there would be a wider pool of lenders. There would be buyers who could qualify for a lower rate. It would add more people to the market. It would accelerate pricing and reduce the market time.”
On behalf of the team at The Real Estate Lounge Chicago I agree wholeheartedly.
But here we are, defined by HUD as not a “high cost” market. As a result, with fewer jumbo loans available and those available being for higher interest rates we pay the price with consumers who wish to participate in the market not being able to do so with the freedom that is prevalent in other areas like Boston or San Francisco.
What seems more sensible to me is making the “high cost” determination based on more local terms such as zip code. Given the very local nature of real estate this approach seems more reasonable.
Efforts are underway to extend the 2008 Stimulus Act beyond this year. Make a call to your congressional representative to push for a more localized definition so the Chicago real estate market will feel some of the love of this stimulus package. Here’s some contact information to facilitate you making the call:
Rep. Bobby Rush (D-1st)
Chicago: (773) 224-6500
Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-2nd)
Chicago: (708) 798-6000
Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-3rd)
Chicago: (312) 886-0481
Rep. Luiz Gutierrez (D-4th)
Chicago: (773) 384-1655
Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-5th)
Chicago: (773) 267-5926
Rep. Peter Roskam (R-6th)
Bloomingdale:(630) 893-9670
Rep. Danny Davis (D-7th)
Chicago: (773) 533-7520
Rep. Melissa Bean (D-8th)
Palatine: (847) 358-9160
Rep. Janice Schakowsky (D-9th)
Chicago: (773) 506-7100
Rep. Mark Kirk (R-10th)
Deerfield: (847) 940-0202
Rep. Jerry Weller (R-11th)
Joliet: (815) 740-2028
Rep. Judy Biggert (R-13th)
Clarendon Hills: (630) 655-2052
Tell them Tom McCarey referred you…
By the way, Sunday brings two open house opportunities…
1858 W Race a contemporary masterpiece East Village Single Family Home priced under $1MM - open from noon - 3p
1934 W Thomas a corner condo one minute south of Division Street - open from noon - 2p
Crazy Like a Fox - Fox News Parts Ways with Good Taste
Did you see the tagline Fox News applied to Michelle Obama during a Wednesday segment?
Married to Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama since October 18, 1992, Fox referred to Michelle as “Obama’s Baby Mama.”
Not quite sure what this misguided and distasteful moniker was seeking to achieve other than a significant debasement of this organization’s already questionable credibility. I guess it was just business as usual for the network that described the Obamas’ knuckle tap the night Barack won the Democratic nomination as possibly a “terrorist fist jab.”
Now the question becomes what will these faux Fox journalists come up with next?
The Oxford English Dictionary defines the term bandied so glibly by Fox as one “chiefly in African-American usage” that refers to, “The mother of a man’s child, who is not his wife nor (in most cases) his current or exclusive partner.” Again, Barack and Michelle have been married for 16 years.
This disturbing news comes as American journalism lost a most reasonable voice today with the untimely death of Tim Russert. In a frenetic world where the fervor of cable tv tends to replace thoughtful discourse with disdain and disgust, Russert’s presence will be sorely missed. Only 58, Russert apparently suffered a massive heart attack at his desk and never revived.
Russert had just returned from a family vacation in Italy to celebrate his son Luke’s college graduation. Having been to Rome last Christmas with my two young sons, I can only imagine the depth of his family’s loss and pain with his early departure.
I will miss his direct, no nonsense approach to either side of the aisle in “Meet the Press,” his thoughtful approach, and his utter and non-swerving humanity.
The Green Grass of Wrigley Field (as the Cubs Keep Their Winning Ways)
Wrigley Field on a sunny Summer afternoon…
Few things in life provide such a rare pleasure. And with the Chicago Cubs tearing up the national league with a major league-leading 42 wins, the Friendly Confines have rarely been friendlier real estate to this life-long Cubs fan.
Early on Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano was tagged for a two-run shot to left. But given the offensive firepower surrounding him and with the wind whipping the left field flags like mad, this deficit seemed puny and easy to overcome.
Except it wasn’t.
Inning after inning the northside nine put up goose egg after miserable goose egg. In days of old (going back an entire century) Cubs fans would have anticipated the worst. An “L” for loss would be lifted atop the center field score board and that would be that, a simple single pockmark in a season rife with the rough terrain of far too many pockmarks.
But this team has proven to be different. And this day would be proof of this difference.
After several false starts, the Cubs finally gained a little traction in the 7th inning and halved the Atlanta Braves lead to 2-1. Given the fact that the Cubs have been scoring runs in droves, one run should be a gimme.
Turns out the gimme waited until the bottom of the 9th to show up. That’s when Jim Edmonds poked a line drive homer to the basket in left to tie the score. Ah, the universe felt as if it was coming back to a charitable disposition. Except that in this instance charity wasn’t given - it was taken. And the final collection waited until the 11th inning to bear its lovely toothy smile.
To set the table of the 11th inning picture the bases loaded with Cubs and no outs. Great position for pinch hitter Reed Johnson to be in as he took his place at the plate. He waited for the delivery of the first pitch from the brand new reliever when instead of getting a hit to win the game he was simply hit to win the game.
Kind of anticlimactic, yes, but nonetheless Johnson was hit by the first pitch, forcing in the winning run and the Cubs improved their major’s leading victory total to 43.
And we raised our voices as if in unison we 41,000+ faithful on hand to mark this latest entry in what we hope is a storybook season for this team we call our own.
By the way, located at Sheffield and Clark, Wrigley Field is two and a half blocks from a transcendent bit of Chicago real estate listed by Tom McCarey of The Real Estate Lounge Chicago - 726 Addison is a luxury condo on the top floor of a fully rehabbed all brick building. With a flowing extra wide layout, this condo is perfect for any number of Chicago real estate buyers, including first-time buyers or buyers looking for a bit more space in a wonderful Lakeview location, or out-of-towners looking for an in-town residence.
And another thing…
Another simply gorgeous residence that single home seekers in the Chicago real estate market need to know about is 1858 Race.
Occupying a bright corner in Chicago’s very hot East Village, this contemporary four-level luxury single family is the rarely available under $1MM residence. Having represented the buyers when we purchased in 2004 I can speak to the top notch quality of this Chicago single family home from top to bottom - commercial grade kitchen, artistic floating staircase, solid 8-foot doors, hardwood floors throughout, 6-zoned multi-component sound, awesome penthouse suite with walkout deck with beyond-your-imagination Chicago skyline views. Plus there’s a deck atop the two-car garage. This home will appeal to luxury home seeker who is either a current Chicago resident or is a corporate relocation to Chicago.
For more information on either of these must see homes, either call me at 773.848.9241 or email me tom@TheRealEstateLoungeChicago.com.
Send text message to google (and save yourself the fee)
The easiest way to find what you are looking for and your don’t want to pay a 75 cent surcharge by calling 411?
Send a text message to google.
That’s right, send a text message to 4 6 6 4 5 3.
Here’s the deal, enter the numbers 4 6 6 4 5 3 and in the body of the text you enter the bare-bones description of what you want.
For instance yesterday up and down the street surrounding our home in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood our neighbors had the big blue cans as Chicago starts to get real about recycling. And there we were with no monolithic blue bins in front of the Tom McCarey and Nicole Hilario estate.
Boo hoo.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t have my alderman’s number on speed dial. And I didn’t feel like calling anybody at The Real Estate Lounge Chicago office so I spun up google and texted.
Moments later I had info in hand and was en route to resolving my lack of big blue cans as I called my locally elected official and explained my predicament.
Of course, dear reader and seeker of info, please don’t try to perform this task while operating heavy equipment. If you are driving take a moment and pull over to the side and pose your question via text message.
And within moments you will have your response sans the surcharge of calling 411.
Of course if you have any questions about Chicago real estate, whether condos or single family homes, feel free to call me at 773.848.9241 or shoot me an email at tom@TheRealEstateLoungeChicago.com.
Ain’t life grand? Talk with you soon.
By the way, special thanks to my sister-in-law Monica Mendez for sharing this slice of the technological pie.
Rain Falls on Chicago Real Estate Open Houses
Rain, Rain, Go Away, Come Again Some Other Day!!
And so goes the lament of this Chicago real estate professional this darned damp Sunday.
Sequestered in one of the nicest condos among the current roster of Lakeview real estate I am left to my own devices. And so I plug away at the keyboard as I sit at the kitchen island at 726 W Addison.
And so it goes.
Maybe prospective open house attendees are huddled over iced lattes talking about Big Brown’s failure to shop up at the Belmont yesterday. Or they are viewing you tube clips of Carlos Zambrano going ballistic in the dugout after his dismal performance against the Dodgers yesterday. Or they are prepping for tonight’s game between the Lakers and Celtics.
Or maybe they were daunted by the prospect of getting doused by bucket-loads of rain that spilled from the sky at a more prodigious rate than from my sons’ eyes when admonished to not throw solid objects inside of the house.
Whatever the case may be here I am and here you are not.
And until you get here that will be the simple fact of the matter.
Maybe next time.
Or, if upon viewing this much nicer than average manifestation of Chicago real estate you decide that you want to see it in person, you decide to call me at 773.848.9241 to schedule an appointment of your own.
And remember, if you have a friend looking, do him or her a favor by forwarding this piece to them so they can see it for themselves.
You’ll be a hero! You’ll be a winner! You will be a true friend!
And I, Tom McCarey of The Real Estate Lounge Chicago, will be more than happy to help several more thoroughly pleased participants in another Chicago real estate transaction.
Connecting the Dots to Learn More About Chicago Real Estate Projects
As a kid I was a voracious reader. Starting with comic books at the dinner table and moving on to reading newspapers cover to cover to learning to love reading books under the tutelage of my third grade teacher Miss Bruch.
As I read today’s Chicago Tribune I mused about an old-school journalist I used to love to read - Sydney J. Harris. One of the hallmarks of his well written columns was a section he called “Things I learned en route to looking up other things.”
The unspooling of an informational ribbon, especially as I rapidly connect the dots using google, never ceases to amaze me.
The one thing that stuck in my mind from today’s Tribune was a reference to the anticipated use of the Esquire Theater on Chicago’s Oak Street. Hmm, I thought to myself, the decision by the developer to not seek a boutique hotel on the site but instead to create a two to three story luxury mall with the likes of Jimmy Choo, Prada, Barneys, Harry Winston and Hermes might interest my well-groomed and better mannered readers.
So I tapped in instructions to my wonderfully versatile laptop to tell me about Oak Street, learning that after the Chicago fire in 1871 this brief stretch of Chicago real estate was favored by the favored class who brought in European trained architects to reach three or four stories to the clouds and create monied mansions.
Of course, not so many of these homesteads still stand, leaving instead shops, boutiques and salons that cater to those who have arrived (and perhaps those who wish to).
More information I sought (a la Sydney J.) was whether this stretch at 1000 north fell within the geography of Chicago’s Gold Coast. Alas, one set of rules indicate that this lovely quadrant commences two blocks north at Division (and falls between Lake Michigan on the east and LaSalle on the west).
For my money, though, Oak Street belongs more to the Gold Coast than it does to Rush Street or Streeterville. Maybe I am swayed by the street’s affluent businesses intermingling this with the fact that the Gold Coast is considered Chicago’s wealthiest area (falling only behind Manhattan’s Upper East Side in the country).
As I continued my occasional sleuthing later in the day (bear in mind that in the morning I met with clients to see two single family homes in Hinsdale, making an offer on one, next showed a listing in Chicago’s East Village at 1934 Thomas, proceeded to pick up our newest family member, Lulu, from my wife in Lincoln Park, then went to show my Lakeview listing at 726 Addison (leaving Lulu in the running car with a/c), and now sit in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood at my favorite coffee purveyor, Metropolis, telling you of this next interesting nugget).
Anyway, if you’ve heard this one, stop me…
For riders of Chicago’s el, the big empty space between Montrose and Wilson just east of the train and along Broadway is something of a mystery.
Well, wonder no more (if Crain’s Chicago Business has its sources correct). Retail giant Target says further word of their talks to place a store on the site will be released later this month. If things work out Target’s ubiquitous red and white sign will grace Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood, sharing the site with a 382-car parking garage and 178 units of affordable housing.
Also possibly coming to this northside neighborhood that would love to reclaim some of its past glory could be a nine- or 10-screen movie theater, a 500-car parking garage and 85,000 square feet of retail space. Also in the works and awaiting approval is a possible 21-story condominium tower at 4738-50 N. Winthrop Ave., just south of the proposed retail/parking building. The condo tower would have 131 condominiums, four levels of parking and a swimming pool.
At any rate, having unearthed all of these possibilities leaves me feeling pretty good about myself. And has me paying a bit of homage to a man I never met in an era long before computers (let alone wireless laptops). Hats off to Sydney J. Harris whose regular article and its “Things I learned en route to looking up other things” has been something of a mantra my entire life.
By the way, if you are out and about (or if you know of somebody looking for a home in Chicago) come by my open house Sunday from noon-3p at 726 W Addison. I won’t be providing anything buy air conditioned air and the prospect of finding a top notch condo with an attractive price tag.
Until the next time!
Chicago’s Mercurial Weather Patterns
If the rhyme were true then April’s showers would be a thing of the past by now leaving us in June to luxuriate in the perpetuated scent of May’s flowers.
But here in Chicago where the weather can stop on a dime nothing of the sort was present just two days past.
And so Tuesday morning I selected my sons’ very stylish clothing for the day based on the previous day’s “ain’t life grand” foray into the 80s (degrees, not decade). Unfortunately the day veered drastically from its most immediate predecessor and we were greeted by a day straight from London - chilly, wet, and unforgiving.
So as we made our first stop at Nookie’s on Wells for breakfast it was a mad sprint from our parking space a block away to the comfortable climes of a Chicago landmark. Making the tumbling raindrops even more grating as I balanced Jackson in one arm and buried my free hand in my pocket was the fact that each quarter I nabbed would purchase only 15 minutes at the meter.
And so it goes.
As a full-time realtor in Chicago and gratefully among the industry’s top performers, I work every weekend, both Saturdays and Sundays. Pick up the phone and call top producing Chicago realtor Tom McCarey at 773.848.9241 and you will reach him. To offset this hectic schedule and to spend time with the reason that I work so hard (my family) I spend the bulk of Mondays and Tuesdays with my wife and my two boys. On this particular Tuesday we were on the trail to find a playset/tree house that would nestle in our side yard for the next decade for Jackson and Lucas.
On a previous excursion perusing car lots on the North Shore Nicole had spotted several suitable purveyors. With this remembrance of things past we nosed the 4 Runner north through the steadily increasing rain to take a look.
Time passed and we continued north through Chicago and traced our path up the Edens Expressway, passing Old Orchard in Skokie and nosing to where the highway ends in Deerfield. Just north of this juncture where 94 joins the tollway we stumbled into the candidates (for our kids’ playsets, not the presidency).
By this time, though, the rain was of the bucketload variety and our June day felt more like we were on the verge of winter’s chill rather than summer’s warmth. Getting out of the car was not only not an option, it was just a plain bad idea.
So nestled in our shell we continued our northward trek. Looking back at Jackson and Lucas, donning clothing more geared for the 80s, not the 50s, I settled upon the idea to go where no man (me) had gone before, the outlet stores in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. There we could amend my earlier poor choice-making and get a few more layers of clothing for those better reflections of myself, my sons.
Long story short we walked briskly, my wife and I, each carrying one of our sons as we shared our body temperatures with our offspring until Baby Gap and Old Navy and Converse afforded us sweat pants here, hooded sweatshirts there, hightop gym shoes as well.
At the end of the process there we were, full circle from where we started - Stylishly adorned boys now ready to face the day, chilled though it turned out to be.
And as I tickle the keys in this latest entry the mercury is already pushing past 70 with a thickly humid sensibility rooted in a night of heavy storms. Welcome to Tropical Chicago.
Did I say something about Chicago weather stopping on a dime. Now the dime is slick with the thick air more akin with the tropics.
And so it goes.
By the way mark your calendars to join me this Sunday as The Real Estate Lounge Chicago with @properties presents a gem of a home in Chicago’s Lakeview community - 726 W Addison will be open from noon-3. This gorgeous fully rehabbed residence walks straight out of a Pottery Barn catalogue and features a flowing, spacious layout along with a parking space.
Contemporary Condo in Chicago’s East Village Neighborhood - Video of 1934 Thomas
Much has been made about the Chicago real estate market, as if a city of this size can be morphed into one sensible equation. Again and again I offer my experiences which underscore the fact that things are selling here in specific locations. And again and again I offer my experiences of buyer after buyer coming in with unrealistic offers that seemed rooted not so much in reality as they are predicated in what I perceive to be either a buyer’s desire to “take advantage” of a desperate seller or a buyer’s desire to not pay too much.
Whatever the case may be, let me briefly tell you of my last week in the Chicago real estate market:
- Lincoln Square single family home listed at $1.349MM went under contract (I represent listing)
- Bucktown 3/3 luxury duplex condo listed at $699k went under contract (I represent listing)
- Lakeview 2/1 newly rehabbed condo listed at $315k went under contract (I represent buyer)
- Roscoe Village 2/2 new construction condo listed at $450k (I represent buyer)
But fear not, there are many other beautiful Chicago properties available, including 1934 Thomas, a one-year-old contemporary condo at the corner of Winchester and Thomas in Chicago’s East Village neighborhood.
Click the link below to tour this spacious and light home with floor-to-ceiling windows and spy what possibly may be your new Chicago luxury condo with two bedrooms/two baths, upgraded kitchen and master bath, hardwood flooring throughout, ideal corner location adjacent to Chicago’s hot Division Street. Plus you have the ever-difficult to find garage space and second parking space.
1934 W Thomas
Luxury Condo
Listed by Tom McCarey of The Real Estate Lounge Chicago with @properties
Making Memorial Day Memorable with Hope
Andy Rooney said something last night on “60 Minutes” that caught my attention.
I’m not one to resonate with Andy’s curmudgeon schtick but last night he uttered something poignant and memorable about the meaning of memorial day to him to not memorialize fallen heroes from conflicts past but to work earnestly and zealously to removing the need for our young men and women to march to war at all.
With one nephew and niece making their way through college in the ROTC program (Erin & Sean McCarey), one young cousin contemplating the armed forces having just completed high school (Brandon Garza), one brother a veteran of Vietnam from 1967 -1969 (John McCarey), and a nation engaged in Iraq long after George W muttered “Mission Accomplished,” I look at Andy’s idealism as a necessary ingredient to move our nation forward beyond our current quagmire replete with color alerts, fear factor campaigning, and questions of an individual’s patriotism rooted in whether he sports a flag pin in his lapel or if his name has too many vowels.
One of the chief questions I would like each candidate and every individual supporting him or her to contemplate and answer is “Where do we go from here?”
If it’s more of the same, I’m not buying it so please don’t try to pawn it off on me, or my family, or my two young sons.
If it is something different, something tinged if not fully colored with reasonable hope, sign me up.
