Mac & Cheese Cheese Pizza at Ian’s Pizza by the Slice in the heart of Wrigleyville!

Yes, you read right…mac & cheese pizza.  As weird as this sounds, thanks to a couple friends, I recently had the pleasure of eating a piece a month or so ago.  The pizza was forever engrained in my mind so the other day I was driving through Wrigleyville and I had to go back in to Ian’s Pizza by the Slice and get a slice of their mac & cheese pizza.

Ian’s Pizza by the Slice, located at 3463 N. Clark Street, offers a ton of different pizza’s and a lot of them aren’t the normal cheese and pepperoni.  This month’s special is a sloppy joe pizza which has the meat, pickles, french fries and more on top of it.  And as odd as that sounds, I bet it tastes awesome.  Check out Ian’s website for their pizza of the week special.  Each large specialty pizza slice is $3.75.

Mac & Cheese Pizza. Photo courtesy of Time Out Chicago

Home prices in Chicago fall in the month of October.

So you may think it’s pretty weird to have this posted in January of a totally different year, but the figures just recently came out and were printed in Crain’s Chicago Business, one of the trusted business sources in Chicago.  Even if the idea of prices falling in Chicago isn’t great, it will only help things get back to a more “normal” state quicker.  I’m just happy sellers are finally starting to recognize that they, generally, can’t make a 100K profit.  I also see that they’re finally listening to their REALTORS!  Makes my job a bit easier also!

Chicago home prices fall in October

Dec. 29, 2009

(AP) — Chicago-area home prices showed the second-biggest drop in October of 20 metro areas, according to a report Tuesday.

Local prices fell 1 percent in October compared with September, the first drop after five straight monthly increases, according to seasonally adjusted data from the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price indices.

Home prices in the Chicago area were down 10.1 percent in October compared with October 2008.

Peter J. Birnbaum, president of Chicago-based Attorneys’ Title Guaranty Fund, thinks the October decrease can be attributed to timing, coming after the expiration of foreclosure moratoriums and at a time when many closings were to first-time homebuyers taking advantage of a federal tax credit.

Mr. Birnbaum expects local prices to decrease over the next year because of the high inventory of distressed properties.

“I think we’re going to see this for a while,” Mr. Birnbaum says of prices falling.

Nationwide, prices rose in October for the fifth month in a row, but the recovery continues to be uneven, with only 11 of the 20 metro areas tracked showing gains.

The 20-city S&P/Case-Shiller index released Tuesday edged up 0.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted reading of 145.36 in October from September.

The index was off 7.3 percent from October last year, nearly matching expectations of economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters.

The index is now up 3.4 percent from its bottom in May, but still almost 30 percent below its peak in April 2006.

Tampa, Fla., showed the biggest decrease in October from September, a seasonally adjusted 1.2 percent.

San Francisco and Detroit posting the largest increases. Dallas recorded a flat reading for the month.

“Coming after a series of solid gains, these data are likely to spark worries that home prices are about to take a second dip,” David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at Standard & Poor’s, said in a statement.

That happened in the early 1980s, he said, and the current housing recovery appears more solid….

To read the full Crain’s Chicago Business article, click HERE!

Ritz-Carlton Residences on Michigan Avenue moving forward! Positive news for sure.

Kuwaiti bank pegs Michigan Avenue condos at $242 million

By: Todd J. Behme Dec. 28, 2009

(Crain’s) — A Kuwaiti bank that has invested in the Ritz-Carlton Residences, a 40-story condominium tower under construction on Michigan Avenue, said Sunday that the project is worth $242 million.

Kuwait Finance House said in a release that it has a 95% stake in the project while Chicago-based Prism Development Co. owns the remaining 5% of the development at 664 N. Michigan Ave.

The investment is a pricey bet that the market for new luxury condos will rebound strongly by 2011, when the project is scheduled to be completed.

The $242 million refers to the gross sales proceeds from the 88 condo units, says Bruce R. Schultz, a principal with Prism. He estimates the cost of the project at $200 million. The development has a $137.5-million construction loan from the German financial institution known as Helaba.

Of the remaining capital in the deal, Kuwait Finance has put up 95%, which would be about $59 million. That includes a $40-million preferred-equity investment when the sale of the site closed last year.

After KFH and Prism each recoup their equity investments, they will split the projects’ profits 50-50, Mr. Schultz says.

The project is about 40% sold, roughly unchanged in more than two years.

But in a hopeful sign, two contracts have been signed in the past 30 days, Mr. Schultz says. The development is slated to be completed at the end of 2011, with the foundation to be complete by March 1.

“We’re moving forward,” Mr. Schultz says, adding that the project is “very fortunate” to have KFH and Helaba on board.

Despite the current slowdown in sales, the project could benefit next year from a pent-up demand for high-end condos, says Gail Spreen, president of residential brokerage Streeterville Properties.

Also, Ritz-Carlton Residences will face less competition than it might have because of cancelled projects, she says….

Check out the full Crain’s Chicago Business article by clicking HERE!

   

Chicago-area home sales jump 72% in November. That’s Awesome!

Chicago-area home sales jump 72% in November

By: Eddie Baeb Dec. 22, 2009

(Crain’s) — Chicago-area home sales soared 71.6% in November compared with the same month last year, according to the Illinois Association of Realtors.

CHICAGO-AREA SALES
Below is a monthly year-over-year comparison of home sales (single-family and condo) in the nine-county Chicago area.
Month	2009	2008	Change
January	2,965	3,927	-24.5%
February	3,082	4,326	-28.8%
March	4,260	5,759	-26.0%
April	4,747	6,094	-22.1%
May	5,634	6,927	-18.7%
June	7,140	7,806	-8.5%
July	7,427	7,408	0.3%
August	7,009	6,917	1.3%
September	6,862	6,477	5.9%
October	7,286	5,467	33.3%
November	6,826	3,978	71.6%
Source: Illinois Assn. of Realtors

 

The group cited pent-up demand from buyers, low interest rates and the federal tax credit for first-time home buyers as the reason for the fifth straight monthly year-over-year improvement for the Chicago metro area.

Home sales in November and October of 2008 were extremely low as the worst of the nation’s financial crisis was hitting.

“November’s sales surge reflects the rush to beat the tax-credit deadline,” Mike Onorato, the association’s president, said in a press release. The tax-credit deadline was extended from November through April 30, 2010.

Median prices in the Chicago area, however, continued to fall.

In November, the region’s median price – where half the homes sold for more and half sold for less – was $189,000, down 9.1% from $207,995 in November 2008.

Total sales in the region, including single-family homes and condominiums, were 6,826 compared with 3,978 in November 2008.

In the city of Chicago, November sales were up 69.9% to 1,859 compared with 1,094 homes sold in November 2008. The median price in the city was $215,000, down 3.4% from November 2008.

Statewide, home sales totaled 10,361 in November, up 64% from the same month last year. The statewide median price was $155,000, down 4.3% from November 2008.

Check out the full Crain’s Chicago Business article by clicking HERE!

Adler School of Professional Psychology’s major move and expansion in the Loop.

North Loop school moving to 1 N. Dearborn

By: Eddie Baeb Dec. 02, 2009

(Crain’s) — The Adler School of Professional Psychology is moving to the vintage office building at 1 N. Dearborn Street, a deal that doubles the school’s current space and is one of the biggest new leases downtown this year.

The Adler School will occupy two full levels at 1 N. Dearborn and is to move in January 2011 from its home of almost 20 years at 65 E. Wacker Place, a skinny building where the school is spread over seven floors.

At 1 N. Dearborn, a 17-story tower built in 1905 that includes Sears’ State Street department store, the school has leased 100,796 square feet that includes a designated first-level entrance and lobby. The school also will have a rooftop deck and has expansion options for the currently vacant 17th floor.

Adler President Raymond Crossman says the move will be “transformational” for the little-known school, which offers graduate-level courses in psychology and group counseling as well as social justice programs inspired by Alfred Adler, an Austrian psychiatrist who died in 1937 and is credited with coining the term “inferiority complex.”

Mr. Crossman says the move will accommodate the school’s recent growth, to 712 students this fall from 366 five years ago, and also help raise Adler’s profile.

“Right now, you can walk by the school and not really notice it. That won’t be possible at the new location,” says Mr. Crossman, adding that the new classroom space also will be a big improvement for students and staff. “It’s going to be hard to walk into that space and think inside the box. The space is going to be so innovative.”

While the recession has ravaged the office leasing market and burst the construction boom downtown, universities have been a bright spot for the Loop. Roosevelt University recently sold bonds to finance a new 32-story tower, which will be the second-tallest college building in the U.S. when completed in 2011, while Robert Morris University is also expanding….

Check out the full Crain’s Chicago Business article by clicking HERE!

1 N. Dearborn St. Photo from CoStar Group Inc.

United States Treasury sets guidance to make short sales easier! Thank you!

Treasury sets guidance to simplify “short sales”

By Al Yoon Al Yoon – Mon Nov 30, 6:58 pm ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The U.S. Treasury on Monday set long-awaited guidance on a plan for mortgage companies to speed “short sales” of homes and other loan modification alternatives to stem a rising tide of foreclosures.

The Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program provides financial incentives and simplifies the procedures for completing short sales, a growing practice in which a lender agrees to accept the sale price of a home to pay off a mortgage even if the price falls short of the amount owed, according to an announcement on the Treasury’s website.

Guidelines address barriers that have often sidelined short sales by setting limits on the time it takes a bank to approve an offer, freeing borrowers from debt and capping claims of subordinate lenders.

The incentives, first announced in May, expand on the government’s Home Affordable Modification Program, known as HAMP, that has seen limited success in lowering payments for distressed homeowners. The Treasury earlier on Monday stepped up pressure on mortgage companies to make permanent the 650,000 trial modifications they have started.

“While HAMP program guidelines are intended to reach a broad range of at-risk borrowers, it is expected that servicers will encounter situations where they are unable to approve” or offer a modification, the Treasury said in its announcement.

Financial incentives for completing short sales or similar deed-in-lieu transactions — in which the deed is simply transferred to the lender — include a $1,000 payment to servicers, and a maximum of $1,000 to go to investors who sign off on payments to subordinate lien holders, the Treasury said. Borrowers would receive $1,500 in relocation expenses.

Short sales are favored by real estate agents and community groups over foreclosure because they can preserve the borrower’s credit rating and leave the property in better condition than when a homeowner is evicted. While primary lenders typically realize steep losses, their recovery is typically far better than under foreclosure.

But short sales have been frustrating for borrowers and real estate agents, often hung up by negotiations with multiple lien holders and mortgage insurance companies. Real estate agents have complained that sales fall through as lenders bicker over the sales price, what they should receive from the proceeds, and whether the borrower will be held accountable for the debt in the future….

Check out the full Yahoo News article by clicking HERE!

This is awesome news so lets just hope it actually follows through and actually makes short sales easier to navigate through.  Right now, I have someone interested in a short sale and I’m just about to start the stages.  But, with the right people behind you, short sales can actually be short!  On that note, if you or a friend are ready to jump into the buying, selling, or renting process, shoot me an email at jeffstewart@atproperties.com or visit my @properties agent profile by clicking HERE!

 

Local, Chicago home prices up for the 5th straight month!

Local home prices up for 5th month

Nov. 24, 2009

(AP) — An index of local home prices rose for the fifth straight month in September, further evidence that the housing market recovery is continuing.

The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index for the Chicago area increased 1.1 percent from August on a seasonally adjusted basis. Local prices were still 10.6 percent below their level in September 2008, according to a report released Tuesday by Standard & Poor’s.

An index of 20 major cities, meanwhile, rose a seasonally adjusted 0.3 percent in September from the prior month. Prices rose month-over-month in 11 metro areas, a weaker showing than in recent months.

Compared with a year earlier, prices were down 9.4 percent, the smallest year-over-year decline since January 2008.

“We have seen broad improvement in home prices for most of the past six months,” David M. Blitzer, chairman of the Standard & Poor’s index committee. “However, the gains in the most recent month are more modest than during the seasonally strong summer months.”

Prices, as measured by the seasonally adjusted 20-city index, are up more than 3 percent from the bottom in May. But they are still down 30 percent from the peak in April 2006….

Check out the full ChicagoRealEstateDaily articley by clicking HERE!

The many proposals for the Chicago Hellenic Museum in Greektown, Chicago!

 Here are a few of probably a lot more proposals for Chicago’s National Hellenic Museum to be located at the Northeast intersection of Halsted and VanBuren in Chicago’s Greektown neighborhood.  Currently, the National Hellenic Museum is located at 801 W. Adams Street, Suite 400 so the move won’t be too far for them.  The site has recently been fenced off so construction seems to be coming soon…  The most recent proposal IS the best, in my opinion, but I do wish it had the height like proposal 1 has.

Old Proposal

Old Proposal Take 2

New Proposal