In the last 10 years dozens of large condo buildings have been constucted in downtown Chicago. During the boom years these condos sold well.
In the 4th quarter of 2008, sales of new condos in downtown Chicago turned negative as many sales contracts were cancelled. Now, there is obviously a glut.
The Chicago Sun Times reports that:
And in the fourth quarter, the number of residential sales was a negative 250 units.
How can that be?
The numbers are drawn from an annual survey that Appraisal Research Counselors reported Tuesday. They are the worst results anybody can recall for the reports, which the company has compiled in quarterly updates since 1997.
Overall, 592 condos sold in central Chicago during 2008, the survey found. The result was abysmal for a market that has generated annual sales of 4,000 to 8,000 units.
The condo market in downtown Chicago has collapsed compared to 2005 or 2006. Prices are falling and will continue to fall during 2009.
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Condos in Chi-Town. Meh.
ReplyDeleteRight now I wouldn't touch a condo anywhere in the world.
ReplyDeleteIn theory it is a nice option for people who don't want the burden of yardwork and maintenance, but in practice we have had several boom/bust cycles caused by speculation and overbuilding.
I was living in Boston in the 1980's, and there was a real estate bubble there at that time. I remember going into condo conversions where they took a building that used to have student housing, and they cleaned it up and refinished the floors and sold them to specuvestors who were lined up out the door. Lots of people lost money on those things, and it is abundantly clear that nothing was learned from this experience.
http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1096/community-satisfaction-top-cities
ReplyDelete25 Percent of Americans Would Like to Live in D.C.
This is a couple of weeks old, but the Pew Research Center (link above) put out a survey recently ranking U.S. cities by the percentage of respondents who said they'd like to live in that city. At first glance, D.C. didn't do that well, but considering respondents were answering the same question for each of the 30 cities included in the survey, we didn't actually do badly, either. Pew says that 25 percent of respondents said they'd like to live in Washington, D.C., putting us in roughly the same vicinity of Atlanta, New York, Dallas, Philadelphia, and Chicago in terms of desirability. That's pretty decent company. Denver was the most popular city by far, with 43 percent saying they'd like to live there, while Cleveland and Detroit took the bottom spots, getting 10 and 8 percent, respectively. It's interesting to note that if the entire country actually acted on these preferences, there would be approximately 75 million people living in Washington.
"Longterm prices have not dropped and they will not drop in the District or even in the surrounding area in general. "- lance 28 Nov 2006
ReplyDeleteWhat is funny is that there are people just like lance arguing that Chicago is "different" right now, even with the facts staring them in the face.
"25 Percent of Americans Would Like to Live in D.C.
ReplyDeleteThis is a couple of weeks old, but the Pew Research Center (link above) put out a survey recently ranking U.S. cities by the percentage of respondents who said they'd like to live in that city."
HAHAHAHA!!! What are you retarded? This blog post wasnt even talking about DC! Keep dreaming while prices keep tanking though, its funny to see people defend DC when its not even the subject.
Uh, Chicago is in the Pew survey results. Funny to see angry suburbanites defending their "way of life".
ReplyDelete"We will not apologize for our way of life." George W. Bush
"We will not apologize for our way of life." B. H. Obama
Well, doesn't matter if you apologize or not, because the fundamentals no longer support your way of life.
Buh bye.
This information is really unique and good, this is what we all worried about
ReplyDelete"Funny to see angry suburbanites defending their "way of life".....
ReplyDeleteWell, doesn't matter if you apologize or not, because the fundamentals no longer support your way of life.
Buh bye."
Who are you talking to? Again, its funny to see people like you who cant accept prices are tanking. Who cares if 20% of the US wants to move to DC....its still droping like a rock in a deep deep pond. Quit your crying already.
"Who are you talking to?"
ReplyDeleteAre you saying you live in a city? No? Then are you in a suburb or a rural area?
Or are you saying that you don't recognize that "we won't apologize for our way of life" means a sprawl-based (oops, I mean "growth-based) economy will be a subject for historians to document and dissect (in the past tense) 25 years from now?
Here's an idea; starting singing "Tonight I'm gonna party like its 1999...doot doot....doot doot doot...."
'Cause when the imiginary "recovery" comes, everything is gonna be just like it was in 1999; housing prices, sprawl (oops, "growth"), debt-based lifestyles, etc.
Tell me, is it true what they say? Is ignorance really bliss?
Yeah, ok, but what does all that have to do with empty condos in Chicago?
ReplyDeleteDuh.
"Are you saying you live in a city? No? Then are you in a suburb or a rural area?"
ReplyDeleteAgain who are you talking to? You ask a question, answer it for yourself and then reply to it again! Man you are really delusional. No wonder you cant accept the fact that DC is a rock dropping to the bottom.
"It's interesting to note that if the entire country actually acted on these preferences, there would be approximately 75 million people living in Washington."
ReplyDeleteDid you actually read your own link?
Total up the percentages in that article...
Denver 43%
San Diego 40%
Seattle 38%
Orlando 34%
Tampa 34%
San Fran 34%
Phoenix 33%
Portland 31%
etc etc etc
The totals here are far greater than 100%.
If people "acted on" these numbers you would have them spread out amongst a bunch of different cities nationwide, just as they currently are.
The real message of this article is that DC is not "different." It is just one more relatively large city among many.
It isn't a city everyone wants to find some way to move to. It isn't the next big thing. Hell, there are three cities in Florida alone beating DC in this survey.
The only people who are convinced DC is so special are a handful of idiot real estate pumpers.
I love how people get whipped up into a near frenzy anytime someone points out DC is one among many places that people deem desirable.
ReplyDelete"I love how people get whipped up into a near frenzy anytime someone points out DC is one among many places that people deem desirable."
ReplyDeleteI know. Isn't it strange? You can find rabid haters of the nation's capital here and in the comments section WTOP.com. The haters live within the sphere of influence of the nation's capital, yet living within the sphere of influence of the nation's capital makes their blood boil.
Looks like masochistic self-loathing to me.
"Looks like masochistic self-loathing to me."
ReplyDeleteWell, this is a generalization, but: People with low self esteem seek to look down their noses at others to prop themselves up. Washington DC in 1982 is was easy to look down upon.
Most people in the DC area are from "somewhere else", and they'll tell their friends and family back home that they live "in DC". Yet they'll make it clear that they don't actually "live" in DC. Only that they live "in DC". They're too good to "live" in DC, they want everyone to know it, and it manifests itself thusly.
The anger and hate are sad yet amusing.
DC isn't a terrible place to be, what is irritating is people who act like it is something it isn't.
ReplyDeleteIt is just one more mid-large city among many. They all have their various strengths and weaknesses.