Chicago Real Estate

I want to know, where is the safest place to live in Chicago?
Bob, from Carol Stream

Unfortunately, the laws that govern my profession do not allow me to address this question. A great resource for that kind of information is the City of Chicago Police Department website. They maintain the appropriate statistics to best answer such a question.

Rebecca Siffel

Wicker Park, named for the triangular park at its center, was once the western border of Chicago, and is now a hip neighborhood with great boutiques and restaurants specializing in cuisine from South America to France. And it’s no wonder; Wicker Park has a long history of diversity from the various ethnic groups that settled the area in the 1800s to the artists and musicians that populated the area in the 1980s. (Read More…)

What is the difference between a loft and a soft loft?
Phil, from Logan Square

Lofts are typically thought of as converted industrial spaces, timber beams, exposed brick, open floor plans, and timber columns. The soft loft has been introduced by developers as a blend between traditional lofts and traditional home elements – the loft meets the condo. Soft lofts are still open floor plans with the exposed brick, but the ceilings don’t have the timber beams or the timber columns. They still achieve the open feel because the walls do not reach the ceiling.

Ben Osbun

What a great Chicago neighborhood! Well, I am a little biased since I live off Wells Street and North Avenue -heart of the Old Town Neighborhood.
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For those of you who are looking for things to do in Lakeview - why not go see a play or improv show? You have a lot of options for both.

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I was speaking with one of my veteran agents this morning when the subject of our “early days” in the business came up. I mentioned that when I first started out almost ten years ago I would often go to a restaurant and just have a cup of coffee while my grade school son (at the time!) ate his breakfast. I was on a mission (my new real estate career) but I was at the same time on a budget as money had not yet started coming in on a regular basis. (Read More…)

Is your office a smoke filled room? No, its not what you might be imagining. I’m talking about good smoke…not the kind that sticks on your clothes and your hair but the kind that sticks to your mind and your attitude. I’m talking about the ideas and techniques you acquire just from being in the same room full of Real Estate experts–that kind of smoke. (Read More…)

I post on this site from time to time when I happen across something worth passing on to the new or ’soon to be new’ agent. Yesterday I was having a conversation with another Realtor from another brokerage when she mentioned how when she first started in the business “it was sink or swim…but mostly sink!” (Read More…)

Its just what I’ve been saying all along—what is happening in other regions of the country is not necessarily applicable to an urban market like Chicago! News released today out of Washington reports the turning of this media fueled tide. Chicago is a city that has consistently held its own, even during the past 12 months of national price corrrections.

Here’s an interesting study I came across in CareerJournal.com. The highest paid executive listed in this table makes the equivilant income of a ten million dollar a year annual producing Realtor in Chicago. (We have more than a few of these in our office.) (Read More…)