Yuval Degani's (dreamtown) Blog

Pending home sales for February in the Chicago area were the highest in nearly a year, according to research released by Midwest Real Estate Data LLC this week. An article in the Chicago Tribune that reported on the figures suggested the number of homes under contract is a “glimmer of hope” for t...

Chicago had another long, cold, snowy winter this year. But as spring approaches – and the sunshine and warmer temperatures melt through those 5-foot snowdrifts – Chicago neighborhoods also reemerge as great spots for guided tours. Starting March 19th, you can get a firsthand look at dozens of di...

The years that you’ve spent socking away money for your first home have finally paid off-you have enough to both qualify for a mortgage and make a down payment on your Chicago condo or house. Many first time homebuyers think they’re in the clear after making it past those financial hurdles, but d...

There’s a lot to love about Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood, which is five miles northwest of the Loop and bounded by the Metra/Milwaukee District North Line railroad to the west, the North Branch of the Chicago River on the east, Diversey Avenue on the north and Bloomingdale Avenue on the so...

If you’re a Chicago Cubs fan, you’ve probably been to Wrigleyville a time or two, or perhaps even hundreds of times you’ve listened to the sounds of summer: the crack of a bat, the roar of a crowd and the sizzle of a ballpark hot dog, as you meandered down Clark Street on your way to Wrigley Fiel...

  In 1882, millionaire Potter Palmer moved to the area bounded by North Avenue, Lake Shore Drive, Oak Street and Clark Street and built the Palmer Mansion, a 42 room castle-like structure. Other wealthy Chicagoans followed suit and the Gold Coast continues to be one of the wealthiest neighborhood...

Humans are sensory creatures, and it pays to pay attention to the judgments potential home buyers might pass as they walk through your home during a showing or an open house. Here’s how to appeal to the most buyers by staging according to the five senses.Staging By SightRooms should be neat and f...

Market conditions might not always be ideal for you to sell your home. However, just because a wealth of buyers might not exist doesn’t mean that you won’t be able to sell your home at all. It does mean a little patience and flexibility will be required, as well as extra preparation, to make your...

While many people have a strong desire to buy a home-and buy a home now-current economic conditions and fears of a continuing or even worsening financial climate often preclude them from turning that desire into action. “We’ll buy next year, or the year after,” they think, setting an arbitrary ti...

In today’s economy, having a roommate makes good financial sense. As people put off getting married until later and incomes are often frozen or decreasing, a roommate doesn’t have to be an inconvenience, but rather a conduit to save money. Here are some tips for living with your roommate and liki...