Lincoln Square Condos start around 133k and top out at 625k. For a 1 bedroom, 1 bath (53 available) the prices range from 133k to 285k with a median of 200k. For a 2 bedroom, 1 bath (97 available) the range is 177k to 330k with 230k as a median. For a 3 bedroom, 1 bath (14 available) its 200k to 365k and a median of 235k. For condo units with 2 bathrooms or more the prices range from 200k to 625k for 2 bedrooms (131 available - median of 339k); for 3 bedrooms it is 230k to 579k (median of 400k -- 36 available). For a 4 bed, 2 bath condo, the list price is 439k and there is only one available. Visit my Chicago Lincoln Square Real Estate site and find Condos for Sale in Lincoln Square. Information on this post is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed. (6/21/2007) 06/21/2007

Lincoln Square Real Estate prices range a great deal. This depends on type of property, as we would expect, and yet it ranges quite a bit within type. The variety of places in Lincoln Square allows the area to continue to draw a nice mix of people. This variety makes for a more interesting atmosphere and avoids the "one note" element that some neighborhoods have. Although Lincoln Square is gentrifying it continues to have affordable housing. It also has some amazing luxury with single family homes above 1.7 million dollars. Visit my Lincoln Square Chicago Real Estate site and find Chicago Condo Prices and Chicago Loft values. 06/21/2007

Chicago, like New York, is one of the great cities of the world! The world-class cultural amenities, fun nightlife, multicultural population, beautiful parks, gorgeous lakefront, fantastic architecture, stable economy, and welcoming atmosphere assure that Chicago will continue to be a first-tier city. Although the city is less well-known outside the US, it is poised to be known world-wide by hosting the Olympics. This exposure will further strengthen knowledge of Chicago as a city with amazing amenities and relatively low housing prices. Visit my Chicago Real Estate site and view Chicago Condos and Chicago Lofts for sale. 06/20/2007

West Ridge is otherwise known as West Rogers Park. It is a neighborhood located on the far north side of Chicago, bordering Rogers Park to the east, Evanston to the north, North Park to the west and Lincoln Square to the south. The street boundaries are shown below: West Ridge housing at-a-glance: Single Family Homes.  There are just over 100 single family homes currently available for sale in the area. Two bedroom homes  (5 units) range in price from $349-485KThree bedroom homes (57 units) range from $295-600KFour-plus bedroom homes (42 units) range from 319-900, with a few luxury new construction units reaching $2.9 mil.Since the beginning of this year, 47 homes have sold, and an additional 24 are under contract. Condos & Townhomes  One-bedroom condos (113 units) range from $105-262K... 06/20/2007

School's out.My summer project is to do what I advise my clients to do: get out, and get to know the neighborhood. Of course, I already know many of the neighborhoods: after all, not only have I lived in Chicago all of my adult life, I also sell real estate here.But, too often, we take for granted the things we know. Changes sneak up on us. New neighbors move in. Businesses open. Homes get bought, sold, torn down and rebuilt. So, for the next several weeks, I plan to reacquaint myself with some of Chicago's neighborhoods: talk to friends who live there about their favorite spots, visit local businesses to sample the wares and chat with the owners, walk or bike around and take in the local color. When I report my observations within these pages, I will balance them with hard numerical fa... 06/18/2007

My daughter got married in San Diego on the fourth and I just want to share a few pics of a proud old man.Where in the heck does time go.I hope they have a wonderful life filled with joy.Her husband built that alter on the beach which is kinda cool since I dabble in rustic art myself. 06/18/2007

The Southside of Chicago, in particular the Bronzeville area is on its way.  Check this out! Bronzeville is a 5minute car ride to downtown, 2 mins to the beach and less than 5 to every major expressway or interstate:  Lakeshore, I-90, I-94, I-294.  Where can you find a condo with 1600sqft with 42in cabinets, granite, stainless steel appliance package for $225,000.  There is a home on 48th & Champlain that looks like and feels like home featured in Lakeview.  You can get a home valued at 3-4million for under $1million in Chicago Bronzeville, North Kenwood areas.  Take a walk area and you to will appreciate all this neighborhood has to offer. Chicago's Bronzeville Luxury Homes will be popping up all over the Southside.  You better invest now before the Olympic announcement.  Cash cow oppo... 06/18/2007

Uptown is a diverse neighborhood located 6 miles north of Chicago's downtown. The boundaries of Uptown are: Foster on the north; Lake Michigan on the east; Montrose (Ravenswood to Clark), and Irving Park (Clark to Lake Michigan) on the south; Ravenswood (Foster to Montrose), and Clark (Montrose to Irving Park) on the west. Uptown borders three community areas and Lake Michigan. To the north is Edgewater, to the west is Lincoln Square, and to the south is Lake View. Uptown also has an extensive park system. The main park for the Uptown area is Lincoln Park, which has soccer and athletic fields, a segment of the Chicago lakefront bicycle/running path, Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary ("The Magic Hedge"), a sledding hill, Puptown Dog Park, Wilson Skatepark and Waveland (Marovitz) Golf Course... 06/16/2007

While standing in the Starbucks line with one of my younger clients the other morning I noticed Paul McCartney's latest attempt to puncture the demograhically unforgiving shield of the twenty-something buyer we all seem to be expanding toward with near Einsteinian adequation. Word on the web and beyond is that the ex-Beatle averaged less than a million paid downloads for each of his last three singles and is now banking on the 'check-out line of choice' for Realtors and housewives of all ages, to boost his shrinking musical market share in the U.S. I stood silently looking at the CD display ironically titled, "Memory Almost Full," waiting for my beverage. I tried hard to remember if I even own a CD player anymore. I don't think I do.To put it in persepective, Hey Jude sold 4 million rec... 06/15/2007

Edgewater is seven miles north of downtown bordering the neighborhoods of Rogers Park to the north, Uptown to the south, Lincoln Square to the west and south and West Ridge to the west and north. Edgewater boundaries are: Foster on the south, Devon on the north, Ravenswood on the west, and Lake Michigan on the east. Edgewater contains several beaches that residents enjoy in the warm months. It also has the highest population density of any of the neighborhoods in Chicago. Visit www.lincoln-square-condos.com and view Edgewater Condos, Lofts, Edgewater Real Estate Listings. 06/15/2007

Avondale is located on the Northwest Side about 5 miles from the Loop. Its main borders are the North Branch of the Chicago River, Diversey Avenue, Addison Street and Pulaski Road; bisecting the community are Belmont and Milwaukee Avenues along with the Kennedy Expressway (Interstate 90/Interstate 94). Located directly north of the Logan Square neighborhood, it is also accessible through the Belmont and Logan Square stations of the CTA Blue Line. Visit www.lincoln-square-condos.com and view Avondale Condos, Lofts, Avondale Real Estate Listings. 06/15/2007

Andersonville is a region of the larger Edgewater Community and is bounded by Magnolia Avenue to the east, Ravenswood Avenue to the west, Winnemac Avenue to the south, and Victoria Avenue to the north. Once a sleepy little village made up primarily of Swedish immigrants, Andersonville is now one of Chicago's most popular neighborhoods. The community is particularly known for its diversity, including a continued Swedish cultural presence led by the Swedish American Museum, the Swedish Bakery and other Swedish delicatessens. Visit www.lincoln-square-condos.com and view Andersonville Condos, Lofts, Andersonville Real Estate Listings. 06/15/2007

Lincoln Square is located about 6 miles northwest of the Loop. Greater Lincoln Square encompasses the smaller neighborhoods of Ravenswood Gardens, Bowmanville and Budlong Woods. Although it is sometimes known by these other names, the City of Chicago officially designated it as Lincoln Square in 1925. About 44,000 people live in the neighborhood along with over 1,000 small and medium sized businesses. It is bounded by Peterson Avenue and Bryn Mawr Avenue on the north, Montrose Avenue on the south, Ravenswood Avenue on the east and the Chicago River on the west. It is an excellent neighborhood with many young professionals and many families. View Lincoln Square Condos For Sale 06/15/2007

Albany Park is located 8 miles northwest of the Loop. The boundaries are Bryn Mawr Ave (5600 N) on the north, Irving Park (4000 N) to the south, the eastern boundary is the north branch of the Chicago River (about 3000 W), and Pulaski (4000 W) is to the west. Neighborhoods: Ravenswood Manor: Lawrence (4800 N), Montrose (4400 N), north branch of the river (about 2600 W), and Sacramento (3000 W). This is a very nice area of single family homes. Mayfair: Lawrence (4800 N), Montrose (4400 N), Pulaski (4000 W), and Cicero (4800 W). North Mayfair: Bryn Mawr (5600 N), Lawrence (4800 N), Pulaski (4000 W), and Cicero (4800 W). Visit www.lincoln-square-condos.com and view Albany Park Condos, Lofts, Albany Park Real Estate Listings. 06/15/2007

The stories appear every week, often every day, about the real estate market being down. More for sale signs are evident and sellers are reducing prices and offering incentives in order to sell their property. Is this a good time to buy real estate? May be it depends on where you are geographically. Visit www.lincoln-square-condos.com and view Lincoln Square Condos, Lincoln Square Lofts, Lincoln Square Townhomes and Lincoln Square Homes For Sale 06/15/2007

My wife and I just made an offer on a house and I think I've lost all voice of reason. Of course I, in my unbiased Real Estate opinion, think the place is undervalued while she, with her eye for detail and blessed with superior negotiational instincts, considers it overpriced. I like it the way it stands now with it's odd living spaces and turn of the century quirkiness (that's two centuries ago, mind you). Nothing I can't live with, I don't think. She already has plans on turning a guest suite into a private dressing room, as lack of substantial closet space is one of the above mentioned quirks. But then again, she does have a hundred (alright, 50) pairs of shoes and again as many handbags.She wants to knock out walls and invite Emeril and Ina Garten over to redo the kitchen (which is ... 06/14/2007

Will prices for Lincoln Square condos and Lincoln Square real estate continue to appreciate or level off? That is the question many investors and first-time buyers have as they consider whether to purchase in the City of Chicago. Although no one has been able to perfectly predict the direction of any market, the history of real estate as an investment has been quite solid. I remember visiting New York City in the 1980’s when the city was having many financial crises and there was concern that certain areas of the city would never improve (Times Square was a mess, Chelsea was nasty, Brooklyn was dangerous, etc.). Some “pioneers” were moving to Brooklyn, Hells Kitchen, Chelsea, and many other “marginal areas”. They were moving into these areas because they were affordable — and people sa... 06/13/2007

The average commission rate real estate agents in the Chicago area is 5% of the selling price of a home. This is paid by the seller at the time of closing. The listing agent, who represents the seller, agrees to split the commission, usually half and half, with the buyer's agent. Thus, each side of the transaction gets 2.5% . Then, each agent shares the commission with his or her brokerage firm, according to the agreement each of them has with the firm. Some top agents may keep all of their commission (however, they usually pay a hefty monthly fee to their company), but more likely 80%, while the brokerage gets 20%. New agents usually split the commission 50/50 with their brokerage. However, some companies charge the agents as much at 65%, especially if they support the agent with sophi... 06/12/2007

In a recent analysis released this week from the Consumer Federation of America, they found that few consumers understand fundamentals of the real estate industry and don't know that they can negotiate better prices for basic services.  They also found that most consumers don't know much about the multiple listing service and that it is the most complete database of available properties. This can be a huge disadvantage to realtors in the current market.  If your potential clients don't know what you do and what you provide to the home buying/selling process, another realtor will let them know.  In any presentation you will want to make sure you inform your clients: •-          How the commission structure works•-          What the MLS does for them•-          Different types of marketin... 06/11/2007

Over the years, I have been monitoring and documenting the types of Realtors I have come across in this business.  While I am sure there are some other undocumented species of Realtor, these are the ones I see most frequently in metro Chicago.  If you are aware of any others, please let me know as I am interested in learning more about them.Old Betty: This species of Realtor can usually be found in suburban environments but is occasionally spotted in large inner cities with wealthy older buyers. Old Betty's are immediately recognized by their Cadillac El Dorado, big hair, and blue eye shadow.   Business cards usually have a washed out glamour shot from the 80's. Old Betty's are usually heard saying things like "I have been in this business for 35 years and I have never heard of..."The S... 06/11/2007