Chicago Real Estate Guide

Lincoln Square, Ravenswood and Mayfair Are Hot Spots for Builders

• August 9, 2011

by Erin Calandriello

Exterior of 6011 N. Paulina St.

The north side of Chicago, from Lincoln Square to Mayfair, continues to be a hot spot for gut rehabs and new home construction in the city.

For example, Antony Kaplan, a local builder, has several properties popping up in that area, including new single-family homes as 4222 N. Drake Ave. (map) and 4224 N. Bernard St. (map) that are expected to be completed by the end of August and priced around $499,000.

Kaplan also has three gut rehabs on the north side: 6011 N. Paulina Ave. (map) listed for $424,500, 5620 N. Kedvale Ave. (map) for $399,000 and 3705 W. Sunnyside (map), which hasn’t been priced yet (the full listings with photos have yet to be posted).

Living room at 6011 N. Paulina

Prior to the homes being rehabbed, the properties were either small, frame homes in bad shape or vacant lots. Now, they are (or will be) three and four-bedroom homes with new kitchens, large living rooms, finished basements and garages.

“I think these neighborhoods are gaining traction with buyers because they are realizing that they can get a single-family home for what they would pay for a condo in locations further south and east,” Prudential Rubloff’s Alex Nettey explained. Pointing out that no neighborhood in Chicago was recession proof, Nettey said areas like Lincoln Square fared better than most because they offered more properties in the price points near or below the single-family conventional and/or FHA loan limits, $417,000 and $410,000 respectively.

This article originally published at http://chicago.urbanturf.com/articles/article/lincoln_square_and_ravenswood_are_hot_spots_for_builders/3946