Jim Gramata

I just finished an article written in Crains Chicago and am blown away as to how much new home sales are down in the Gold Coast neighborhood. It will be less than half the units sold in 2007 for the first six months AND it would only be 1/4 if you take out the Spire contracts.

This is really bad news for the new homes market and when buying a new home you should take this into serious consideration when negotiating with your builder.

I just successfully negotiated a new downtown condo down from $799,000 to $715,000 but couldn't get any more after three additional attempts.

Sometimes you have to know when to say enough...Gold Coast volume for the quarter is down 14% however median prices are up 2.44% as compared with 2007 (however that includes new and resale)

Join us on Sunday, September. 28, 2008 at 9 a.m. at Montrose Beach (a designated DFA) for the 8th Annual Run For Their Lives 8K Run/4K Walk.

Raise money to support PAWS Chicago by running or walking for homeless animals. Pets are allowed in the 4K walk or test your skills in the 8K run.

Great pooches, great people, great cause, great setting.

It's pretty much all around a great time for a great cause.

Visit dogpads.net for more information on this event and other real estate related dog issues

Have you heard there may be a top-down authorization for some areas of Lincoln Park which may force the properties in certain zones to be labeled "landmarked" with the intent of preserving the original quality construction properties throughout the neighborhood and attempting to decrease the amount of demolition going on to make way for the mega mansions going up.

This would have a huge impact on development and construction in the area not to mention a 'regular' homeowner who is interested in a renovation or addition. Both would see costs soar and the impact on property value would be significant.

Lincoln Park is one of the few areas that has benefited from the construction of these larger single family homes so much that an average tear down in the area is as high as $1.1 million since what is driving the land value are the ceilings of the new developments averaging around $3.3 million.

I am all for preserving the fabric for those who choose to keep and maintain the vintage structures within our community, but when large areas are forced to be considered landmarked to prevent a few buildings from moving aside to keep the developments and new single-family homes coming, I wonder to what end this purpose serves.

Where we really need regulation is on the design pallet of some of these new houses (here and throughout the city). I have no idea how some of thise ugly monstrosities are being built but let's police the general facade improvements and not limit the development opportunities which are significantly improving the land values in our neighborhood

Join in the fun for the annual Castaways Beach Party!

Please come out and join the Beach Party (formerly our annual cruise)

This event is hosted by Lakeview and Lakeview East Chambers of Commerce!

CASTAWAYS, NORTH AVENUE BEACH HOUSE
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20TH
6:30PM-9:30PM

Live Reggae Music by White Dove
Includes Summer Buffet and Complimentary Premium Hosted Bar (with tropical drinks!

IN ADVANCE: Members $35 / Non-Members $50
AT DOOR: Members $50 / Non-Members $70

Parking will be available in North Avenue Beach Pay lot - $10 for three hours.

Picture of this party coming soon! Hope to see you there!

The Chicago Home Buzz First Quarter 2008 market report is completed and the numbers are still down significantly from last year with a decrease of 26.7% overall in total sales volume at $1,454,284,915 (that's BILLION) for all of our clients and associates on our mailing list in the Chicagoland region! This $1.45 billion sales volume was only down 23% from last year as compared with the fourth quarter decrease which was over 130% decrease. For the first time in several quarters we are starting to see areas turn the numbers to positive gains. The Gold Coast in Chicago saw both its detached and attached housing post gains of 13.07% and 20.79% as compared with last year. Lakeview saw gains in all three sectors with 18.39%, 8.05% and a significant 45.13% increase for multi-unit, attached and detached single-family homes respectively.

Who saw the biggest decreases this quarter? Edgewater single-family homes were down 231.80% from $9.5 million to just $2.8 million with just four homes sold. Ravenswood single-family detached homes saw a similar drop of 230.03% while Rogers Park multi-unit sales were smacked with a 410.13% drop.

In the suburbs, Highland Park (both detached and attached) showed modest gains of 3.96% and 3.15% respectively. Bolingbrook saw an 85% jump in condo sales but single family sales were down 34.14% and attached condo and townhome sales in Wauconda were the only other positve gainers in the suburbs included in our report. Barrington saw a 259.55% drop in condo sales which was 'top drop' in attached sales in both the city and the suburbs.

What is positive? We may have slowed the bleeding. Down 26.7% this quarter versus 132.85% for the previous quarter is encouraging to me that some areas are making a quicker rebound than others as is to be expected.

Real estate has its own micro-economy and it is important to know what the real estate weather is like in your specific area or block or street or subdivision. All the national news cannot be applied to the entire region.

Look at Lakeview in Chicago. 247 attached condos or townhomes sold in the last quarter alone totaling $99 million with a median price of $385,000. Last quarter, 200 units sold totaling $74 million with a median price of $346,000. That is a pretty healthy market.

Visit www.abodebuzz.com for more information and to download this report when it becomes available (or email me and I'll get you a report). If your area is not included in the report and you live in Northern Illinois, let us know that too and we will put you on our mailing list.