Le Grand Reve

Last week I viewed the most extravagant home on the market in the Chicago area, and most likely the Midwest. The home has 27,000 square feet, six bedrooms, and 6.4 bathrooms. Tim Salm and Rhonda Fish of my office (Sudler | Sotheby’s International Realty) have the property listed for $28 million.

I have been in and designed some extremely high-end homes before, but this place beats them all. Richard Landry and his firm Landry Design Group (designed homes for Sylvester Stallone, Wayne Gretsky, Tom Brady, etcetera) designed the home in 2005. Everything from the limestone baseboards to the plaster crown moldings are extraordinarily done. The word amazing is an understatement.

Should you have any additional questions feel free to contact me via 888.471.9993 or Bradley.Riemann@SothebysRealty.com.

Where are luxury properties turning in the Chicago area?

Many homeowners have been asking me lately, "In which areas are properties selling, and which areas are they stagnant?" Lincoln Park and Winnetka would generally be my first answers, however after that I was a little unsure. So today I finally found some time to further research this. This is the product of today's study.

Some things were expected, however others came as a surprise to me. As with any statistics you really must read between the lines, though.

The Loop being at number three was my biggest surprise. When I thought about it and looked into it further I realized both properties that sold in the last year were located in the New East Side (the area east of Michigan, south of the river, and north of the park). In the proper Loop there have been no sales and there are three properties currently on the market over $3 million.

Hinsdale was another major surprise to me. It is the only suburb not on the North Shore that is continuing to hold strong (you could maybe consider Burr Ridge and Oak Brook but I would consider 1:5 average at best).

In general, your prime luxury markets are continuing to be centered around Armitage and Clark in Chicago. On the North Shore, Winnetka continues to be in high demand. The further north you get, though, the lower the demand for properties.