De-Gentrification? (Chicago, Humboldt: sales, 2011, mortgage)

[heyjude1959]

The downturn in the economy still hasnt killed the condo market downtown....yet

I watch that area to see if a good buying opp every comes up and the prices have held up pretty good and the crime rate doesnt seem to have gone up

any thoughts?
thanks

[PokerPlayer1]

Originally Posted by ajolotl

Since 99% of the people who post here know this already (and discuss it almost daily) your self-congratulatory tone looks sort of stupid.

LOL. If you think my post was self-congratulatory, you must really struggle with comprehending words.

[PokerPlayer1]

Originally Posted by Attrill

No one is saying that - there were a number of posts that have been removed. They definitely went beyond just talking about racial dynamics.

Ahhh, OK. That makes sense. The discussion in this thread has been quite benign as far as the race/gentrification interplay goes. I must've missed some posts that were deleted and apparently, over the top.

[ajolotl]

You gave your audience too little credit (particularly the venerable sukwoo), constructed a straw man, and then seemed to really get into yourself in tearing it down. I call that self-congratulation. Maybe there is a better word.

Anyhow, you get the last word. No hard feelings. I do like your posts in general.

Originally Posted by PokerPlayer1

LOL. If you think my post was self-congratulatory, you must really struggle with comprehending words.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by heyjude1959

The downturn in the economy still hasnt killed the condo market downtown....yet

Absolutely it has. Condo sales are down over 80% from just one year ago. Lots of condo developments are now renting units because they cannot sell them. I have a friend who has a condo in the South Loop for sale. She can't even get an offer for 90% of what she paid for it six years ago. The downtown condo market is unbelievably saturated. The only reason construction is going on is because there is too much invested in a lot of them to turn back. Groundbreaking on new buildings has ground to a halt, and there is now serious doubt that the Spire will ever be built, or if it is, that it will take on anything close to its originally planned scale.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by Drover

...Groundbreaking on new buildings has ground to a halt, and there is now serious doubt that the Spire will ever be built, or if it is, that it will take on anything close to its originally planned scale.

We should all ask Obama for the money-then we can name it the Obama Spire with a giant revolving sign of his campaign logo on top.

I think the some of the governments money can be better spent to build the Spire than to waste on a company like AIG which can not manage money worth a crap or to GM (which is stuck in 1995.)

I am actually not kidding about the idea.

[jdiddy]

Originally Posted by Drover

Absolutely it has. Condo sales are down over 80% from just one year ago. Lots of condo developments are now renting units because they cannot sell them. I have a friend who has a condo in the South Loop for sale. She can't even get an offer for 90% of what she paid for it six years ago. The downtown condo market is unbelievably saturated. The only reason construction is going on is because there is too much invested in a lot of them to turn back. Groundbreaking on new buildings has ground to a halt, and there is now serious doubt that the Spire will ever be built, or if it is, that it will take on anything close to its originally planned scale.

Not to mention the 20 something story concrete shell on Wacker. And Trump suing his lendors in an attempt to avoid a possible foreclosure.

And overall the sales numbers are as bad as they've ever been since they began tracking downtown condo sales. Only Q4 2001 just after the 9/11 attacks was worse. 9,300 new units will be delivered by the end of next year, when less than a thousand units have sold so far this year.

I don't even think saying its "dead" does it justice. Perhaps "DEAAAAAAD!!!!@#%@#%" better describes the situation.

[jdiddy]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

We should all ask Obama for the money-then we can name it the Obama Spire with a giant revolving sign of his campaign logo on top.

I think the some of the governments money can be better spent to build the Spire than to waste on a company like AIG which can not manage money worth a crap or to GM (which is stuck in 1995.)

I am actually not kidding about the idea.

I prefer the hole in the ground left as is to represent Hillary's debt.

[Lookout Kid]

You guys need to give heyjude1959 a little bit of a break here. While sales have certainly slowed, prices have been remarkably stable so far. Deals are out there compared to the peak 2006 prices, but a lot of people are expecting huge discounts that still aren't happening. Greater Chicago has seen median sales prices drop, but nothing like what we've seen in some hotter markets elsewhere in the country. There's still time, however!

[Attrill]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

You guys need to give heyjude1959 a little bit of a break here. While sales have certainly slowed, prices have been remarkably stable so far. Deals are out there compared to the peak 2006 prices, but a lot of people are expecting huge discounts that still aren't happening. Greater Chicago has seen median sales prices drop, but nothing like what we've seen in some hotter markets elsewhere in the country. There's still time, however!

Yeah - the prices being stable is why they aren't moving. The prices probably need to come down 15-20% before they start moving again, that should start happening soon.

I think it makes sense to be looking and find some buildings you like, then keep an eye on prices over the next year. Keep an eye on actual sale prices in the area (get a good realtor who will do this for you) and then jump in whenever you think things are showing signs of picking up again.

Also, be sure you're willing to stay in the place for a minimum of 5 years, or even better - 10 years.