Chicago is up for another boom ? (Manhattan, Ashland: cul-de-sac, middle-class, credit card)

[MassVt]

Originally Posted by Aleking

I'm not sure how anyone could look at the unemployment rate in Chicago and describe the economy as anything but struggling. The middle class continues to flee for the suburbs/sun-belt and much of the growth is a speculative (luxury rental towers) and driven only by growth at the top end of the market.

Agreed, and most of the supposed 88% can't afford 700K condos, either..

[Aleking]

Originally Posted by emathias

A car is a convenience, and I haven't owned or leased a car since 1999 and I've averaged a six figure income since 2003.

not owning a car is a lot easier when you make enough money to live in the transit dense urban core

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by im_a_lawyer

Supply doesn't match demand. The kind of housing that costs $700,000 is for the people in the top percentile. This city doesn't have enough lawyers and financial types to justify those prices. You would expect developers and the city to build more 'plain' housing because this is what people nowadays can afford yet all we're getting is luxury housing for the super rich. If your argument is that someone is actually buying those luxury condos, then you should research into money laundering and how real estate relates to it.

Interesting theory. But the real estate market prices things based on supply and demand. Developers do this for profit, and they don't just sit on empty units for years on end. They sell them, eventually at a lower price if they can't get the original price. Sometimes at a higher price if the market is rising. If they don't sell at a high price, the prices get lowered until the sale occurs. So yes, there are enough buyers to buy these condos at $700,000.

As far as your money laundering conspiracy theory is concerned, that would be such a small percentage of the market that it would have little effect on prices.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by im_a_lawyer

If the city wanted, they could make the city more affordable but apparently people don't want that as everyone is cheering when home prices go up 20%...

Yeah, having our totally inept city government place artificial price controls on the real estate market is a good idea in what universe? That would kill the city faster than you could imagine.

Affordable housing supply is another issue entirely. But a recent study of "affordable housing" mandates and rent control in New York has shown that these programs actually drive up housing prices across the board, as they increase the development costs and make the market "stickier" in terms of relocation. Supply fails to keep up with demand with these market constraints in place.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by prelude91

What is "downtown New York"?

The study his figures come from defined "downtown" as "within a 2 mile radius of City Hall".

Originally Posted by Aleking

not owning a car is a lot easier when you make enough money to live in the transit dense urban core

True, although first, I haven't always lived in River North - I also lived in Ravenswood part of the time, and in Rogers Park during a previous time in Chicago, both without cars. And Lakeview. And the pre-gentrification West Loop. And I spent a lot of time in pre-hipster Logan Square. The entire north lakefront is transit-dense and north of Irving Park is mostly quite affordable.

[Midwest Revival]

Don't say Chicago will have another boom, say Downtown and the Northside will have a boom....

I don't think any of that "boom" will be coming to the Southside or the Westside sadly

[rubbersoul89]

Originally Posted by Aleking

the you don't need a car in chicago meme is greatly overstated

you need a car

could have fooled me, guess i'll go buy one now.

[im_a_lawyer]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

As far as your money laundering conspiracy theory is concerned, that would be such a small percentage of the market that it would have little effect on prices.

Agents report more Chinese buyers active in Colorado - The Denver Post

"Half of them are Chinese buyers with cash — there seems to be a lot of cash," said Richards, a broker with Kentwood City Properties in Denver. "This is a brand-new trend."

A website for Chinese investors:
http://translate.google.com/translat...754%2F&act=url

[im_a_lawyer]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

Yeah, having our totally inept city government place artificial price controls on the real estate market is a good idea in what universe? That would kill the city faster than you could imagine.

Who mentioned anything about artificial price controls?? Bring back the old way of city planning instead of these boom and bust mortgage games and prices will drop dramatically.

[Larry Siegel]

Originally Posted by Aleking

I'm not sure how anyone could look at the unemployment rate in Chicago and describe the economy as anything but struggling. The middle class continues to flee for the suburbs/sun-belt and much of the growth is a speculative (luxury rental towers) and driven only by growth at the top end of the market.

I was referring to the metropolitan area.

Anyway, the unemployment rate is not a good measure of how well the average person is doing. With technology putting a lot of lower skilled people out of work, unemployment is high but a lot of people are living comfortably middle to upper middle class lives *in the city*. Look at the number of luxury condos, apartments, and houses in formerly no-go areas of the near south and west sides, as well as the massive expansion of the affluent north side westward to and across the Chicago River and north into the old working class neighborhoods, and then look at the nonexistent vacancy rates, and you'll see that a lot of people are doing very well.