Real Estate

A real estate recovery will be difficult without job creation, and Illinois entered the recent economic downturn with one distinct disadvantage: It never really recovered from the last recession.

So says Geoffrey Hewings, director of the University of Illinois’ Regional Economics Applications Laboratory, who was the first guest to take the mic at Thursday’s 2010 Economic Forecast panel hosted by the Chicago Association of Realtors. The presentation, moderated by WBBM’s Ron Gleason, also featured Inland Real Estate Group Vice President Joe Cosenza, Hanley Wood Market Intelligence Regional Manager Michael Hart, and Appraisal Research Counselors Vice President Gail Lissner, all of whom gave Realtors updates on the state of the residential, commercial, and industrial real estate markets in the Chicago metro area.

Duration : 0:6:19

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Chicago has tens of thousands of real estate agents. How should a home buyer go about picking one to work with?

That’s the question I posed to veteran real estate agent (and former night club owner) Lino Darchun, who works out of Coldwell Banker’s Lincoln Park office.

The background photo was taken by Michael Kardas, YoChicago’s staff photographer.

Duration : 0:9:29

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Some days it seems like the world is awash in financial planners. Few of them qualify for the Certified Financial Planner designation.

I met Annette Findling of Stonebridge Advisors at an open house event in Lincolnshire hosted by Linda Martin of Coldwell Banker.

I asked Annette what a financial planner does and what the CFP designation means. Take a look at her answers.

Duration : 0:4:4

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I’ve known David Hall for most of his career, and have long considered him one of the smartest, most articulate real estate brokers in Chicago. This third part of our 6-part discussion is focused on the market in Chicago’s neighborhoods and where to find opportunities in tough times.

Hall has seen the ups and downs of Chicago’s real estate market during his more than 30 years in the business. The market crash of the early 80s wrecked his construction business, leaving him down to his last $5.

The last 20 years, however, have seen Hall presiding over Coldwell Banker’s Lincoln Park Plaza office and building it into a powerhouse, with more than 200 agents and $1.7 billion (yes, billion) in sales in 2006. To put that sales number in perspective, if Hall’s office were a company it would be one of the largest real estate companies in the United States. From 2004 through 2006 his office ranked first in sales in the entire Coldwell Banker system.

Duration : 0:4:17

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We sat down recently for a wide-ranging discussion with Michael Sato and Chris Feurer, agent – developers who are the new owners of Jameson Real Estate.

This is the first part of our discussion.

Duration : 0:7:54

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Garry Benson and Christine Lutz are, respectively, the founder and Senior VP of Chicago-based Garrison Partners, a national sales and marketing organization for home builders. They’re thoughtful and well-informed professionals who are currently representing more than $2 billion in residential construction in 9 markets throughout the country.

I visited with them to get their perspective on Chicago real estate and how home buyers should be approaching the current market.

At the end of our discussion, in this video, I asked Garry and Christine to single out the most important factor a buyer should consider.

Stay tuned for more of this interview.

Duration : 0:3:15

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I’ve known David Hall for most of his career, and have long considered him one of the smartest, most articulate people in the industry in Chicago. Watch the first part of our 6-part discussion, and stay tuned for some advice that most people don’t expect to hear from a real estate broker.

Hall has seen the ups and downs of Chicago’s real estate market during his more than 30 years in the business. The market crash of the early 80s wrecked his construction business, leaving him down to his last $5.

The last 20 years, however, have seen Hall presiding over Coldwell Banker’s Lincoln Park Plaza office and building it into a powerhouse, with more than 200 agents and $1.7 billion (yes, billion) in sales in 2006. To put that sales number in perspective, if Hall’s office were a company it would be one of the largest real estate companies in the United States. From 2004 through 2006 his office ranked first in sales in the entire Coldwell Banker system.

Duration : 0:5:22

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I’ve known David Hall for most of his career, and have long considered him one of the smartest, most articulate real estate brokers in Chicago. This fifth part of our 6-part discussion is focused on how Chicago real estate developers are navigating this difficult market.

Hall has seen the ups and downs of Chicago’s real estate market during his more than 30 years in the business. The market crash of the early 80s wrecked his construction business, leaving him down to his last $5.

The last 20 years, however, have seen Hall presiding over Coldwell Banker’s Lincoln Park Plaza office and building it into a powerhouse, with more than 200 agents and $1.7 billion (yes, billion) in sales in 2006. To put that sales number in perspective, if Hall’s office were a company it would be one of the largest real estate companies in the United States. From 2004 through 2006 his office ranked first in sales in the entire Coldwell Banker system.

Duration : 0:5:22

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I’ve known David Hall for most of his career, and have long considered him one of the smartest, most articulate real estate brokers in Chicago. This final part of our 6-part discussion touches on the state of Chicago’s South Loop market and closes with some personal reflections.

Hall has seen the ups and downs of Chicago’s real estate market during his more than 30 years in the business. The market crash of the early 80s wrecked his construction business, leaving him down to his last $5.

The last 20 years, however, have seen Hall presiding over Coldwell Banker’s Lincoln Park Plaza office and building it into a powerhouse, with more than 200 agents and $1.7 billion (yes, billion) in sales in 2006. To put that sales number in perspective, if Hall’s office were a company it would be one of the largest real estate companies in the United States. From 2004 through 2006 his office ranked first in sales in the entire Coldwell Banker system.

Duration : 0:4:4

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How does a person decide to become a real estate developer?

There are as many paths to the decision, in all likelihood, as there are real estate developers.

Cory Jones, a Chicago policeman, talks about what motivated him to restore a vintage six-flat in Chicago’s North Kenwood – Bronzeville neighborhood.

Duration : 0:8:55

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