The MG Group Blog

I remember driving through Chicago during the housing boom in the early 2000s. Construction cranes dotted the sky everywhere. Developers were putting up condo towers, single-family homes and townhouse developments faster than the newspapers could report on them. That’s changed, of course. The pac...

With all the negative news surrounding the U.S. housing market, you’d think that no one would be interested in purchasing a home here. Of course, I always say not to believe the media when it comes to our housing market. Depending on where you live – say, for instance, in Chicago – the residentia...

I wish I could see into the future. Then I could tell my clients exactly when the residential real estate slump will end, and when housing prices will begin climbing again. Unfortunately, I don’t have this power. That doesn’t mean, though, that I don’t have my own thoughts. Personally, I think we...

Please visit: www.theresidentialreports.com and www.mariogreco.com. When people find out I’m a REALTOR®, they inevitably ask me one question: When are things going to get better in the housing industry? I try to tell them that if they happen to be selling or buying a home in Lakeview, Lincoln Par...

There are certain Chicago neighborhoods that have been largely immune to the housing slump. Lincoln Square on Chicago’s North Side is one of them. If you want proof, simply drive around the neighborhood. It’s a vibrant place, filled with restaurants, shops and even its own movie theater. You’ll a...

It’s no surprise that the last four tumultuous weeks on Wall Street have changed the entire landscape of the residential real estate market. Unfortunately, the hysteria surrounding the plummeting stock market has spread to and infected the Chicago housing market. Simply put, it’s been a whole new...

The residential real estate slump has brought us our fair share of bad news. But nothing has been more sobering than has been watching as foreclosure rates across the country, and at home in Illinois, have risen. No one benefits from a foreclosure. And no one in the housing industry wants to see ...

It started in the late 1990s, and escalated during the housing boom of 2001 through 2006: People began looking at their homes as giant piggybanks. You know what I mean. People purchased homes, lived in them for a year or two and then sold them for big profits. Everyone, it seemed, was happy. That...

The best seller is one who is highly motivated. A highly motivated seller is more likely to sell his or her house at a lower price, insist on less contract stipulations, and allow for a shorter closing time. It also helps to determine why a home-owner may be motivated to make a quick sale; learni...

I always tell people how fortunate I am to sell residential real estate in the city of Chicago. Unlike in the large metro areas on the East and West coasts, the housing market in Chicago and its suburbs is a fairly steady one: We don’t see huge upswings in housing prices. At the same time, we don...