Eric's Chicago Real Estate Local

Sellers take note. Home buyers in Chicago are out now. My brokerage has seen an up-tick. Me personally? Clients are coming from everywhere and want to be in a place by early spring... which means they'll be writing offers in January and February. Will your home be ready? The Chicagoist (read my c...

 This question is slanted to us in the know...considering if you're reading this you are probably on the "good" side of technology. However, Robbie at Seattle's Rain City Guide points out that:Survey Says...?!Many Realtors discuss the need for technology, but invest little in it. I suspect, from ...

Last weekend I met a nice married couple at my open house. This is typical for my business... I work open houses 75% of weekends throughout the year to sell my listings and meet new clients face to face.After showing the several units in our development, we figured this wasn't the price point the...

The Bear's win Sunday revealed more than just a clinched Central Division Champion...Median housing prices for Chicago: Up 1.7%Rex Grossman's Quarterback rating for Sunday: 1.3Housing Wins!

Lately, it seems my buyer clients want to know if a seller will accept an offer... even when they have not made an offer.That is, my buyers have not sat with me and formulated a written offer for purchase. In Chicago, with many properties and many people out there looking, selling agents want to ...

 Must have been a slow week in real estate. I'm going to get the business for this post but I was exasperated reading this. You can make any subject super complicated. No offense to Anne Brennan, author of the front page Tribune story this weekend titled "Family Planning"... but come on. The prem...

Snowmageddon Chicago 2006: Eh? My back decksMy view from the sun room/officeManor ParkNorth Branch-Chicago RiverManor Estate on the RiverThere is no better sales pitch for this city than the snow removal. I swear, I'm not in any politicians pocket... and if one more family member gets appointed o...

 My open house was a little slow last weekend, which meant I caught up on a bit of reading and figurin'. Figurin' is my little way to explain simple housing and real estate math to clients.For instance, how much house should you buy? Mortgage lenders usually base your approved loan amount on a bo...

City living in the face of gas hikes  (re-posted from my other blog in April after a conversation with a suburbanite looking to move to the city)You'll never hear me complain about the cost of a gallon of gas. Surprising considering I'm a Realtor who basically lives out of his car. Okay, maybe I'...

Chicago Bungalow RehabIt's on. My partner Jon (pictured right) and I began the planning stage of the rehab. We took an inventory of the work we will do and discussed initial floorplan changes we'll make.  We'll do some wild stuff, adding a master bath and re-doing the staircase to the second leve...