Chicago Median Sales Price Goes Up

New figures released by the Illinois Association of Realtors continue to show a discrepancy between city and suburban home sales.

Area-wide, home sales were down 29% for the month of March. In the nine-county Chicago Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area, home and condominium sales in March totaled 5,753, compared with 8,101 in March 2007, the association said Tuesday in a news release.

However, totals from the city were more forgiving. Sales fell only 11.5% in March in the city of Chicago, to 2,045 from 2,311.

The degree to which the prolonged winter weather effected these totals can't be accurately counted but should not be ignored either.

On the bright side, for those home that are selling, the median sales price is actually rising. The median sale price in the Chicago area rose to $248,000 in March, up 1.2% compared with March 2007. The median price in the city rose 5.3% to $300,000.

Two New Upscale Boutiques in Bucktown

The hip just keep hipper.

Bucktown is getting not one but two new upscale clothing stores this summer. California based Joe's Jeans Inc will open a 1890 sq. ft. storefront at 1715 N Damen avenue in August. Just down the street, New York based clothier Intermix just leased a 2350 sq. ft. storefront at 1633 N Damen ave.

It would seem that this further cements the reputation of Bucktown--a drug and gang infested neighborhood just 15 years ago--as being the boutique capital of world...or at least Chicago.

Energy Efficient Home Electronic Tips

Between cell phones, iPods, computers, DVR's and everything else that we use in our tech savvy lives, we use a lot of energy. Over the course of a year that can really add up to some bucks! Here are a few tips you can use to reduce your energy consumption at home and save you and your family money.

• Look for the Energy Star® label. It can help you identify products that use less energy.

• Unplug mobile phone or PDA chargers when batteries are fully charged or when the chargers are not in use.

• When available, use personal and laptop computers' power management features to control energy consumption.

• When you're finished watching a movie or playing a video game, don't forget to turn off your DVD player or video game console as well as the television or monitor.

• Plug electronics, such as TVs, DVD players and audio systems, into power strips, and turn the power strips off when the equipment is not in use especially for long periods of time.

• Investigate home-networking and automation products and services that let you control heating, lighting and cooling from a central location in the home.

• When in the market for home office products, consider multifunction units combining, say printing, copying, scanning and faxing, instead of a single device for each function.

• Use technology to save money. For example, save fuel by shopping and banking from home on your computer.

"One Book, One Chicago" Goes Noir

The city of Chicago's One Book, One Chicago program has announced it's selection for the spring 2008: The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler.

This is a worthy initiative by the city to try to not only spur reading among all citizens but also foster discussion of literature throughout our city. I'm looking forward to reading this classic mystery from one of the 20th century's most celebrated writers.

You can hear a great expose from WBEZ's new magazine Eight Forty Eight by clicking here.

What You Need to Know About Mortgage Modifications

In the wake of the current mortgage crisis, many homeowners are seeking relief from adjustable rate mortgages by working with their banks to modify their loan terms. If you find yourself in this predicament and are attempting to work out a modification with the bank there are a few things you need to know.

1. Get a phone with a speaker or a headset. You will be spending a lot of time on the phone with your bank.
   
2. Take careful notes of every conversation you have with various representatives. Get their names and, if they will give them, their direct phone numbers or extensions.
   
3. Get confirmation when sending faxes. If you are sending documents through the mail, send them registered mail.
   

If you need more information--or even inspiration--check out this article from Newsweek.com. It details the trials of one family who went through this process with a major lender--Countrywide.

Who is Chicago's Best Broadcast Team?

I'm going to veer slightly off the standard real estate course today and talk about another of my favorite subjects: baseball. Ok, so it's Chicago baseball so technically it falls under the general heading of "what's happening in Chicago and why you would want to buy a house here."

We are blessed to not only have 2 pro teams in this city but also 4 great broadcast duos: t.v. and radio teams for both the Cubs and Sox.

While much is made of the Northsider's beloved radio team of Ron Santo and Pat Hughes, I have to say I am really enjoying the Sox radio team of Ed Farmer and Steve Stone. This is remarkable because I am not a big Ed Farmer fan. In the past I've found him to be arrogant and downright annoying. When he partnered with the less-experienced Chris Singleton a few years ago, his domination of the microphone became too much for me. I really couldn't even listen to the broadcast.

Steve Stone on the other hand is one of the best in the game, period. He knows the game inside and out--not just the Sox but all of baseball past and present. He has a great sense of humor but he's not a ham. What's more he's just a class guy. I recently heard him on the radio talking glowingly about the man whom he replaced--Singleton. That kind of humility is in short supply these days. He has actually made it possible for me to stomach Ed Farmer. It's as if Farmer knows that Stone is every bit his equal and has elevated his own game.

Next time you're near a radio tune in for a Sox game on 670 am WSCR. If you want to more of Steve Stone's baseball musings, check out his podcasts & interviews here.

Thanks for indulging me. Tomorrow it's back to real estate...although baseball is a lot more fun to blog about...

How to Appeal Your Property Tax Bill

In response to a comment on yesterday's post, here are a couple of links for those of you interested in appealing the assessed value of your home.

The Cook county assessor's website has an entire series of pages on appealing your residential property assessment. It contains a petition for appeal, the option to track an existing appeal and other useful information.

Mondays broadcast of Eight Forty Eight--Chicago Public Radio's excellent local news journal--featured a story on appealing your property assessment. Granted, the appeal deadline for the 2007 tax year was March 31st but it's not too early to start the process for next year.