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Chicago's North Shore Insider Guide & Video Directory         
Friday May 09, 2008
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North Shore Chicago Real Estate

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Getting “Real” On The North Shore

Are you thinking about your downtown living exit strategy? Or are you jettisoning the suburban life now that you’re an empty nester, and looking at Chicago Condos and heading back to the city? According to a recent Chicago Tribune article, local developers remain confident in housing sales:

"Traffic at sales centers remains good, we are signing purchase contracts, and people still are looking for a new home," said Alan Lev, a partner in the Belgravia Group, which builds condos, apartments and townhouses in Chicago. He said buyers at his company's new high-rise at 600 N. Lake Shore Drive "aren't all that concerned about obtaining a mortgage, because many have a lot of equity available from selling a home in the suburbs."

Downtown denizens making the move North remains one of the primary factors in North Shore Chicago real estate. It’s especially attractive to new home buyers for several reasons, especially with proximity to downtown and an abundance of commuter options available. But what about the downturn in the housing values?

Given today’s real estate market, there’s justifiable concern about making such a large financial commitment. However, North Shore Chicago real estate remains a solid investment. Trulia.com research shows average listing prices on the North Shore have remained stable. Here are just a few examples of three-bedroom average listing prices along the North Shore:

Highland Park Illinois home for sale: $659,000
Lake Forest Illinois Homes: $989,000
Deerfield Illinois Homes: $476,852
Evanston Homes for sale: $496,490

Here’s a quick List of Evanston Condos For Sale:
Church Street Village
Sherman Plaza
Prairie Central
Main Street Station

Northbrook Illinois homes: $487,179
Glencoe Illinois homes: $978,295
Glenview Illinois homes for sale: $534,757
Wilmette homes for sale: $643,313
Winnetka homes: $902,198

What’s more, the North Shore is a desirable address – a sampling of 2000 census data shows that on average, more than 60 percent of its residents have lived in the same home for more than five years. More than half the population, and in some ZIP codes, more than three-quarters – are married, with a divorce rate between 2.6 and 7.5 percent. The majority of its residents are in the professional and/or sales sector, and unemployment hovers between 1 and 4 percent.

Today, October 1st there are 1,676 North Shore Chicago condos or townhomes available for purchase on the North Shore – defined here as the communities of:

Bannockburn, Evanston, Deerfield, Glencoe, Glenview, Kenilworth, Lake Bluff, Lake Forest, Highland Park, Northbrook, Northfield, Skokie, Wilmette, and Winnetka.

Right now, prices range from a one-bedroom/one-bath 500 square foot condo in Evanston for $99,000 to a $2.7 million, 3-bedroom/4.5 bath, 4,000 square foot condo in Lake Forest. You’ll find the largest selection of condos and townhomes in Evanston, Skokie, Northbrook, Glenview and Highland Park.

There are 98 pre-construction or new construction condominiums and townhomes available on the North Shore. These range from a $269,218 one-bedroom, 1,020 square foot pre-construction unit in a Skokie development, to a $1.6 million, 3,995 square foot condominium in the Willow Lake development in Lake Forest.

Look carefully and you may find developer close-out specials. For example, a three-bedroom/3-bath condominium in Evanston, where the developer is offering to pay six months on your mortgage if it’s under contract in the next 30 days, or a two-bedroom/two-bath unit with luxury appointments in downtown Skokie, where the developer has taken several thousand dollars of the asking price, now at $349,800, and you’ll still have a say in color selection.

Heading Back to the Big City?
Around here, we have a saying – “Chicago works.” Despite what the mass media says about large city living – it’s expensiveness, the crime rates, urban blight – Chicago continues to chug along, working on making the city a better place not just to work, but to live. Green spaces, environmental initiatives and rehabilitation of existing housing all make Chicago extremely attractive to buyers, including many from the suburbs who are looking to get back to big city living.

Whether you are looking to move into a house with a big backyard, or a Chicago condo or North Shore Chicago condo unit overlooking a big lake, North Shore Chicago real estate has just what you need.