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Dennis Rodkin
Chicago’s Real-Estate Forecast
By Dennis Rodkin
“Realtors cannot change economic reality,” insisted Genie Birch, a Koenig & Strey GMAC agent and the president of the Chicago Association of Realtors (CAR). Birch’s remarks opened CAR’s economic forecast panel for 2010, which met on January 28th at the Holiday Inn Mart Plaza. Here are ten other things that Chicago real-estate agents heard from the panel: Read more
Down on the Farm in Barrington Hills
By Dennis Rodkin
List Price: $2.97 million
The Property: Twelve years ago, Doug and Lucinda Hanover bought a little 1880s Barrington Hills farmhouse with a rhubarb patch out front. What they have now is a 6,000-square-foot home that incorporates the property’s old barn as a two-story... Read more
A Gallery of Low Prices
By Dennis Rodkin
Price cuts, short sales, and foreclosures cross my desk in herds these days. Since the start of the new year, it seems that the sellers of houses, townhouses, and condos who are eager to unload their property have become markedly more serious about making it happen.
Today I have pulled together a gallery of low-priced properties in the city and suburbs. Some of these homes are being sold at auction, and others are... Read more
Oh, Beautiful
By Dennis Rodkin
In an Evanston front yard, a conventional turf lawn is replaced with amber waves of ornamental grass Read more
Gold Coast Condo Combo
By Dennis Rodkin
List Price: $3.95 million
Sale Price: $3.5 million
The Property: A ten-room condo on the fourth floor of the 12-story 219 East Lake Shore Drive building was sold on January 20th for $3.5 million, the first sale at that prestigious address since mid-2007. Read more
Glen Ellyn Short Sale
By Dennis Rodkin
List Price: $599,900
The Property: The latest asking price on this contemporary four-bedroom home in Glen Ellyn is about what the sellers paid for the place in 2004—before they spent an additional $75,000 to add a little more than an acre to what was a half-acre lot. The listing is now a short sale (where the lending bank approves selling the property for less than what’s due on the mortgage)... Read more
“Dude, Don’t Rent”
By Dennis Rodkin
Most 20-year-olds can’t picture owning a home for at least another several years. For them, Kristen Conradi has a bit of advice: “Dude,” she says, “don’t rent.”
In December Conradi, a 20-year-old college student, bought a foreclosed two-bedroom condo near... Read more