South Loop

Three little words: location, location, location. When the going gets tough in the investment world, the world takes flight to quality. And in real estate, quality is virtually synonymous with location. The South Loop may suffer disproportionately in the near term due to its enormous supply of new housing units coming onto the market over the next few years, but you can’t take away its location: along the lakefront, at the hub of all mass transit lines and within walking distance of Grant Park, Museum Campus and the Art Institute, shopping and Soldier Field. Those who can buy on price weakness and hold will do quite well.

Audience Choice
Gold Coast; Logan Square (tie)

Best of Chicago 2007

South Loop

Chicago magazine blew it the kiss of death just months ago, decreeing it the “hottest neighborhood in America.” Before long, the collapse in credit markets and declining home prices started dominating America’s front pages, making the thousands of new condo units in the works for the South Loop over the next few years a dark cloud over the neighborhood’s recent prosperity. And sure enough, just this month, major real estate developer Lennar Corp. bailed out of a high-rise condo project, even with construction already underway. Of course, the work goes on, now as a rental project, for, while condo prices are no longer rising, downtown rents have hit all-time highs.

Audience Choice
South Loop

Best of Chicago 2007