We stumbled across a very interesting film on Netflix the other night entitled The Battered Bastards of Baseball. It’s the story of 1960’s TV cowboy Bing Russell and his ownership of a rag-tag minor league baseball team. Russell (father of actor Kurt Russell) played the part of a deputy sheriff (and later the sheriff) named Clem on the TV series Bonanza. Russell claims that he appeared in 200 episodes of Bonanza and never solved a crime. After the series concluded, Russell’s career took a turn and he purchased an independent minor league team based in Portland, Oregon.

The team, which was comprised of a group of “has-beens” and “never-wills” was thrown together following an open tryout. The players knew their future in baseball extended no further than the stadium’s parking lot and they were paid accordingly. Still, a funny thing happened. With a true and pure joy for the game of baseball and the desire to do nothing more than savor the moment, the team went on to be quite successful. No spoiler here, however. Find the movie and watch it…it’s good!

Watching the players throughout the movie, who truly enjoyed their lives and “careers”, it got me to thinking about things like job satisfaction and passion for career. I began to think about those who serve in jobs each day who may or not be fulfilled. I thought back to my 25 years in Corporate America and searched my own personal archives for those moments of pure joy and satisfaction. I had trouble finding more than a few instances of such pleasure. I thought back to the time where a prospective sales representative thought I must be full of funny and interesting stories to share after serving with the company for so long. I drew a blank when he said that.

After further consideration, yes, there were a few occasions that might be considered somewhat amusing, but you probably had to work there with me to think they were even remotely funny. Like the time the blow-hard boss kept mispronouncing the name of the newly-introduced product at the company sales meeting. Or maybe the time the lady boss, whose face’s texture resembled that of Bing Russell’s saddle in Bonanza, walked into a meeting with a fake orange tan which would make Trump look like an albino. Again…you probably had to be there to appreciate the humor.

Fast forward to my post-corporate career as producer and co-host of The Tomfoolery Fun Club, a comedy-based variety series. Without getting into too many details how I ended up here, I did. Along with my business partner and most significant “other”, Ms. Michele, we’ve staged nearly 100 events consisting of various forms of comedy accompanied by live music. After we watched the movie I mentioned earlier, I asked Michele if, after the nearly 100 shows we’ve produced together, could she think of something that really stood out as particularly funny and interesting. She gave me somewhat of a quizzical look and said, “are you kidding?” The question didn’t really require an answer because we both knew that if we had only 100 seconds, we both could probably list 100 funny and interesting things that took place over that time. We put our hearts and souls into our events and, when people do that, amazing things happen. I recall standing on the stage of our last event and, as the capacity crowd cheered for our performers and our production, I asked myself; is there anywhere else on earth you’d rather be right now? The answer was a resounding “no”.

As COVID continues to batter away like a never-ending storm, so many people are worried about their livelihoods. Their jobs may or may not be there when we all (hopefully) get our vaccine and our world returns to normal. I’m working very hard not to worry about money, but to focus on the controllable. Personally, when I come out of this pandemic, I hope to be refreshed and full of newly creative ideas to set free. Stay tuned!

George, Kramer and Elaine are incredibly gorgeous, shy and fearful, 10-week-old, fluffy white kittens with black markings looking for a loving home.

These kittens are wonderful in the home, love each other and play, play and play. They are perfect with their litterbox and love treats. They are looking for a home with a true feline-lover who will work with them to help them blossom. They will each do best in a home with at least one well-socialized cat, and without dogs. Meaning we don’t adopt out single kittens unless they have a playmate, although two kittens may be adopted together.

They were found under some bushes in a parking lot; and a kind cat-lover took them under her wing to raise them in her home. Since they are fairly new to the world of humans, they need more hand-taming and love, because they still hiss and hide at first, before melting into your arms.

Thanks to their foster mom’s diligent care, they are now extremely healthy.

They are neutered/spayed, de-wormed, vaccinated for distemper, virus-tested negative and micro-chipped. They will need their second and third vaccines including rabies at the appropriate intervals.

To meet and possibly adopt these gorgeous kittens, please fill out an adoption application at https://friendsofpetraits.com/dog-cat-adoption-application/

After the application is complete, please contact [email protected] to schedule an appointment to meet them.

Their adoption fee of $150 each, $275 as a pair, or $375 as a trio benefits the rescued pets of Friends of Petraits Rescue.

They are currently being fostered in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood.

“Things work until they don’t.” A doorman at my building offered that consolation when I was chiding myself for not replacing my ancient desktop computer before it died last week. I appreciated his sympathy, but it would have been better to replace the computer before it didn’t function. You can wait to buy a dishwasher, but a computer holds irreplaceable contents. 

No, I didn’t lose all my files, but there were enough complications for me to think about becoming more tech savvy. As I set up a computer by myself for the first time in my life, I regretted taking technology for granted when it works.  

Actually, computer shopping had been on my mind for a while, since the iMac was at least a decade old, but the machine kept soldiering on, giving me no warning of its imminent demise. 

Sitting in the living room one evening, I heard the familiar Apple chimes. Either the computer itself or a ghost had done a reboot. The iMac was caught in an endless reboot loop. I grabbed my cellphone and trudged down to the building’s business center to use wifi (more on wifi to come) to google a fix, but none of the recommendations worked. 

Since I had intended to replace the iMac, what did it matter that I couldn’t revive it? The big problem, which I still need to tackle (advice welcome), is how to wipe clean the hard drive before the machine is recycled. 

Also, not being able to get into the old machine, I couldn’t transfer files from it. I can retrieve files stored in iCloud. But I’ve discovered that I neglected to back up contacts, so now I’m lacking everyone’s postal address. Plus, all the sticky notes with messages to myself are gone because backing up the desktop did not include backing up sticky notes on it.

I still have to investigate how to copy all the files from the cloud to my hard drive, but I’d bet it can’t be done in one fell swoop. For the time being I’m telling myself that the cloud is the safest place for them.

How nice it was in my working days to have an IT person. Adam set up my old computer, which I bought when I retired. As I unplugged it last weekend, a black box connected to it by a USB cable entered my consciousness as if I were seeing it for the first time, even though I’ve dusted it for years. I suspect it’s an external hard drive. If my files are in it and not in the iMac, I don’t have to worry about wiping clean the computer hard drive. I’d better find out, and while I’m at it, learn how to retrieve the files. 

If it weren’t for my knowledgeable niece Sarah, who had advised me on the computer purchase, I wouldn’t know that I don’t need to buy a new printer. The MacBook Air recognizes the old HP’s print software but not its scan software. “You can scan with your cellphone,” Sarah informed me. 

You think tech obliviousness is excusable in a 72-year-old? Then here’s another example: I didn’t realize I’ve had wifi for years because RCN’s cable installer had connected the modem to the iMac with a cord. I’ve been trekking down to the business office every time I didn’t want to use cellphone data. When I called RCN last week to ask about getting a different modem for a laptop, I was surprised to hear that I have a wifi modem. 

How do people know these things? I wonder. I doubt they read user manuals from cover to cover. Paying attention might help; I could have wondered what that black box was for when I dusted it. 

Most likely I’ll fall back into obliviousness soon enough. But while I’m excited about the new computer, maybe I will read the user manual.

•••••

MEDICARE OPEN ENROLLMENT ENDS TODAY

Today is the last day to switch your Medicare Advantage or supplement plan for 2021. When open enrollment began, I was debating whether to stay with the top-rated Humana Gold Plus Medicare Advantage plan that has served me well for seven years or to switch to a plan accepted at a nationally ranked hospital.

I was relieved to find out that I can have both Humana Gold Plus and a nationally ranked hospital: both Northwestern and Rush are joining the Humana Gold Plus network on January 1. Better yet, Rush recently opened, a quarter-mile from me, a state-of-the-art clinic with primary care physicians, specialists, lab services, and imaging tests.

Some people prefer to pay the higher price for Traditional Medicare so that their choices aren’t limited to a plan’s network providers. In Chicago, where you can be in the network of a top-20 hospital and its physicians, I don’t anticipate any reason to go out of network.

Arizona legislature closes after Giuliani spent two days with maskless GOP lawmakers

Washington Post

Rudy’s tested positive.

Those close to him now pray

That God forgive how close they were

When they should have stayed away.

Dining IN is OUT.

Dining OUT is IN.

But come December, things can get pretty cold outside in Chicago.

Rules and Regulations

Currently the City of Chicago is in Phase Four of COVID regulations. This means No Indoor Service at Restaurants. 

The regulations which became effective at 12:01 a.m. Friday, October 30 includes:

• No indoor dining or service at bars or restaurants
• Non-essential businesses must be closed to the public between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.
• Restaurants may continue to sell food via delivery, takeout, or curbside pickup at all hours
• Outdoor food service and bar reminders include: Maximum party size and table occupancy at restaurants, bars, taverns, breweries and event venues remains at six people

Oh to get a taste of what we used to take for granted likethe beautiful brunch from Cafe Robey, pictured below.

Cafe Robey Brunch salad. Photo: Carole Kuhrt-Brewer

Dining at a Distance to the rescue

The awesome Dining at a Distance website, created shortly after the pandemic provides comprehensive information for restaurants offering delivery and carryout.

The constantly evolving and updated website currently features information on over 2400 dining establishments–both in the City of Chicago and in the suburbs. Users can search by neighborhood, speciality and restaurant name.

For example if you are looking for a restaurant in Bucktown, you can go to the Dining at a Distance website and select Bucktown. A list of participating restaurants and their specialities will pop up.

Looking for Vegan? There’s Handlebar and Native Foods Cafe. Both offer delivery and takeout. You’ll also be able to click on their websites, get their menus and ordering information from 40 Bucktown restaurants in 14 different categories.

You can’t go inside but you can still enjoy some of Gibson’s Italia pastas. Photo: Carole Kuhrt-Brewer

Or click on Hyde Park and you’ll find 24 restaurants in 15 categories. The same goes for the other 2400+ restaurants from hot dog stands and coffee shops to ethnic and Michelin stars.

Added Bonus

If you order takeout from 10 Chicago restaurants between now and December 15 you can enter the Take Out Chicago Contest.

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It’s a scene that is rarely seen in the world of sports. Even at the professional level, touching an official is off-limits. An accidental bumping will get an athlete an automatic ejection and most likely, fined and suspended. At the youth levels, children are taught not to argue with the referees, no matter how egregious they think the decision is. Referees and umpires are to be respected for the thankless job that they do.

That’s what made what occurred in Texas last week so shocking. It happens so rarely that most of us were stunned to see the video of the event.

Emmanuel Duron is a senior at Edinburg High School. He was last season’s District 31-6A Defensive Player of the Year. He is also the team’s kicker and punter. He is also one of the state’s premier wrestlers.
In a report from The Monitor, a a McAallen, TX newspaper, here are the details:

Duron, the team’s star defender, was flagged on a play early during the second quarter after he shoved an opposing offensive lineman to the ground and attempted to make a tackle on PSJA High freshman quarterback Jaime Lopez after the whistle had blown the play dead.

Duron and referee Fred Gracia exchanged words after the play was over, and Gracia ejected Duron from the contest after back-to-back unsportsmanlike penalties on the same play.

Duron, who was leading the Bobcats in tackles (102) and sacks (eight) through four games, then charged onto the field as teammates raced after him in an attempt to hold him back. The senior defensive end collided with Gracia, checking him chest-to-chest at full speed and sending him to the turf.

Duron was escorted out from the stadium by a team of four Edinburg police officers who were working security for the game. He was not handcuffed, but was removed from the premises and did not return.

Referee Gracia went to the hospital where he was diagnosed with rib and shoulder injuries plus a concussion.

The next day Emmanuel Duron was charged with assault and given a $10,000 bond.

The Edinburg team went on to win the game 35-21. The win would have qualified them for the state playoffs. However, their season is now over after this announcement from the Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District:

“The district has decided to remove the Edinburg High School football team from the playoffs after an unexpected incident involving a student that occurred during a football game on December 3, 2020,” the district stated. “We extend a sincere apology to the referee and his family. On behalf of the Edinburg CISD Board of Trustees and administration, we apologize to the athletes, staff, and our school community. We will take the appropriate disciplinary action once we understand the facts and circumstances underlining this incident. The district takes these matters very seriously; however, we cannot comment further on a pending investigation.”

All of this leads to the following questions:
a. What is the appropriate punishment for the student/athlete? Are legal charges too much for an incident that occurred on the playing field?
b. Was disqualifying the team from the playoffs too much? Was there a need to punish the other student/athletes because of an incident in which they had no involvement?

Obviously, Emmanuel Duron will not be playing high school football again. He’s a senior and with his team no longer in the playoffs, his football career is over. My guess is his wrestling career is over, too. Usually, I’m believer in second chances and redemption stories, but he had a similar incident with an official during a soccer game last year. This was his second chance. My guess is the school will give him a long suspension and bar him from attending any official school events, such as prom and graduation. I’m fine with that. I doubt he will also see any jail time over this. A lengthy time of probation and plenty of community service should take care of his legal issues.

As for the team, I have conflicting reactions to their disbarment from the playoffs. I’m not sure one bad moment from one kid should ruin it for everyone else. If you watch the video below, you’ll see Duron’s teammates trying to keep him from getting to the official. They then immediately got him off the playing surface….and yet their season is now over. 
As for team’s coaches, they had to know about the soccer incident. Yet they allowed Duron to play football, most likely because he was their best player and gave them the best chance to win games.

Once again, winning over everything else.

Related Post: What’s the matter with kid’s sports parents?

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Maybe the shuttered bar owners need the nuns to march for theme. The Sisters of Charity marching 1965 in support of civil rights. (Uncredited photo.)

Civil disobedience was once the honored touchstone of the Boomer generation’s fight against racial injustice and anti-war protests.

Now, it should be redeployed to fight  unjust, excessive and dangerous Covid-19 pandemic restrictions that are destroying small businesses and abusing children by keeping them out of schools.

Sadly, so many Americans today are unaware of the critical role that civil disobedience played in ridding the country of Jim Crow and pulling America out of the unpopular Vietnam War.

It was used in lunch counter sit-ins and to protest other racial wrongs. Those who used it were  willing to accept the legal consequences of their actions. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was rightly praised for successfully employing the tactic to fight racial discrimination.

Now some restaurant owners are openly defying the pandemic restrictions in the same manner, although the woke left might not call recognize it or call it such.

In Washington state,  officials have threatened fines and criminal charges against businesses defying COVID-19 restrictions. In Staten Island, Mac’s Public House is openly defying Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s unscientific and loopy order shutting it and others down. 

Today’s media of course put down such actions as “flouting” instead of acknowledging the once honored practice. Maybe the bars that are protesting their shutdowns should recruit some nuns to march with them, as the civil rights protesters did in the ’60s and ’70s. Just to show you how little civil disobedience is resected today, on Saturday Night Live, the wealthy Pete Davidson disrespected the protesters and bar owners. (See below)

In Illinois, strip clubs were open, but now getting a burger and a beer in a tavern is verboten. Many schools have shutdown in-person learning. Constitutionally protected places of worship have to initiate costly legal battles to stay open. And so much of the suppression of American’s civil right is done contrary to the scientific evidence.

Today’s media of course chose instead consider the protests that led to arson and murder as something heroic. Small businesses, in turn, are either ignored or portrayed as in some cases so ignorant and money-hungry that they would willingly murder by virus their customers.

It’s as if the media years ago would have condemned King as an ignorant law-breaker. Come to think of it, some did.

 [embedded content]

Do you ever read something that bothers you so much, even seemingly inconsequential and trivial, that for some reason you can’t shake it off? Another person might not give it a second thought, but it gets on your nerves and stays there.

I was informed the other day, by no less an authority than the venerated Wall Street Journal, that my fun and festive Christmas wreath is “tone-deaf.”

A recent piece I came across in the Journal real estate section was pretentiously headlined: “Why You’ll Want a Simple Wreath this Holiday.” (Few things get my goat more than being told by would-be trendsetters and tastemakers what I’m supposed to want. There’s no better way to get on my bad side right out of the starting gate.)

The upshot of this article was that your holiday decorating ought to match the tenor of the times—that is, it should be as dull, bleak, joyless and sterilized as 2020 itself. Over-the-top wreaths with big bows and shiny balls and other frou-frou are “tone deaf,” the article proclaimed. Instead, the wreath gracing your front door ought to be bland and monochromatic as…wheat.

No joke. As alternatives, the WSJ piece suggested stripped-down wreaths constructed from berries and a dried-wheat wreath from Pottery Barn as examples of the type of minimalist holiday cheer appropriate to 2020.

My tone-deaf wreath, according to WSJ

 

The dried-wheat wreath WSJ thinks I should have

Which would you rather look at?
There have been periods in the recent past when it was suggested that more understated and subdued holiday festivities were called for in light of national events. Two that come to mind are the post-9/11 season and the 2008-09 recession. In the case of the latter, Oprah sidelined her wildly popular and celebrated “Favorite Things” tradition.
You can choose to subscribe to a contrarian school of thought, which is that going all-out and over-the-top is the tonic we need in troubled times. You don’t have to go out and buy new stuff. But if you’ve already got the lights, ornaments, the mechanical lawn Santa and snowmen, why should you let them collect dust in the basement because some Scrooges in the print media say so?
Maybe carrying on—decorating, dressing, gift-giving, cooking and baking—same as we do every year is the biggest middle-finger we could give to this horror show of a year. It’s not like anyone is going to any big, boozy holiday soirees. At least not unless they’re a politician.
If understatement and minimalism suits your personal taste, then by all means, do you. There’s nothing wrong with that style. There’s nothing wrong with any kind of decorating. Unleash your inner Martha Stewart.
I remember back a couple decades ago when the minimalism movement was in vogue. A woman I knew had an annual tradition where she bought a large real fir tree and invited her friends to a tree-trimming party at her Uptown condo. “When it comes to Christmas,” she declared, “I’m a maximalist.”
And wheat is for farmers.
Let’s raise a glass to big-ass bows, giant shiny balls, and flashy multicolored string lights. According to WSJ, my Christmas wreath is tone-deaf. With all due respect Wall Street Journal, take your dried wheat and stuff it.

PHOTO #1: Author
PHOTO #2: Potterybarn.com

Filed under:
media, popular culture, society

Last weeks shooting death of Retired Chicago Firefighter Dwain Williams at 2 pm in the afternoon seemed to have awoken many folks. The retired Father of 4 stopped to pick up a bag of PopCorn and upon returning to his vehicle he was met by 3 armed gunmen who demanded his vehicle. Mr.Williams drew his weapon and was immediately shot down and killed. He was a registered Concealed Carry Permit holder. He became the City’s 737th  murderer victim in 2020 and was one of over 1,270 Carjacking victims so far in Chicago this year. Carjackings have soared by 134% over last year and the most since 2002.  Chicago is enduring a gruesome year of violence. Twelve people a day are being shot down in Chicago alone. As of this morning, the shooting toll stands at almost 4,00 folks shot. The Cook County Medical examiner puts the number of Homicides in Cook County over 925 so far this year.

Almost immediately Politicians and so-called Community activists were lined up at the scene of Dwain William’s murder, anxiously awaiting their turn for interviews and face time from the local press. So far $34,000 dollars has been raised for any information on the killers. Thus far the Police have not interviewed anyone, and are pleading with the public for help. What is curious to me is the response by local Politicians and Community activists.

One of the many so-called Community activists Raul Montes took  (a hardline approach?) calling for more Cops and even asking President Trump to activate the National Guard in Chicago. Hey Raul! where you been? I imagine he hasn’t heard of the defunding the police movement. Picture the National Guard, (I have lived it first hand in 1968,) roaming Chicago’s streets and not knowing State Laws, local laws, Arrest Search, and Seizure,  and with no instruction on the use of deadly force. Add to that, they would not know a Chicago Gang Banger from Sammy Sosa or a local alderman. Not be outdone in the (GET BEFORE THE NEAREST CAMERA RUSH)  is none other than  State Representative La Shawn Ford, who a few years back tried to push a bill in Springfield that would prevent the Police from questioning suspects, even at the scenes of the crime when it is probable that a crime has been committed and the suspect fits the description given by a victim.

Despite the fact that the United States Supreme Court (TERRY vs OHIO) gave Law enforcement the right to question suspects if they believe he or she has committed a crime or is about to. Rep. La Shawn Ford’s latest proposal is to try and get Governor Pritzker to take Executive action to register Chicago’s pervasive VIOLENCE as a public health Crisis. Steven King could not even make that up. Okay,! Chicago your violence is a public health crisis, “TAKE THAT”. Even Pritzker would have had to do a double-take on that. There were many more proposals but all this in my opinion was in keeping with former Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s famous quote. ” YOU NEVER WANT TO LET A GOOD CRISIS GO TO WASTE.”. Wise men talk because they have something to say, fools because they have to say something.

By being passive and with no lack of fools making speeches, we have allowed the violence problem in Chicago to expand and grow to a point where decent dedicated people along with the politicians have no answers and are willing to put forth nonsensical ideas just for the sake of being heard. The speech makers and the babbling pundits all talk a good game but none so far can play a good game. Make no mistake, Chicago’s Gangs are a powerful force, and power concedes nothing without a demand, it never did and it never will. We all have to be aware of do-gooders breathing their own exhaust, it’s delusional, and it’s all an illusion. The violence will stop in Chicago when the gangs meet a force that is superior and willing to restore decency to communities and a city that desperately needs help.

A little known voice of reason in Chicago who seldom is ever heard is Pastor Anthony Williams of Chicago’s Southside. All of Chicago needs to hear HIS words.”UNTIL WE COME AT THIS AND CAGE THIS MONSTER RIGHT (VIOLENCE) WE’RE GOING TO GET WHAT WE ARE GETTING. NONE OF US ARE SAFE, WE CANNOT CONTINUE TO LIVE LIKE THIS.” I wonder if the Mayor of Chicago knows who he is.? Hello!

The Chicago real estate market is on a run. November was the third month in a row where home sales posted a 14 year record high. You can see it in the graph below which shows monthly home sales going back to 1997 with all Novembers flagged in red and a green 12 month moving average. However, the amount by which November sales exceeded previous years is not nearly as dramatic as it was in September or October so sales are losing a bit of steam.

November beat last year’s sales by 18.4%, which is still a very respectable showing. This surge is a last ditch attempt by the market to make up for the lost sales earlier in the year resulting from Covid 19 related issues. Please note that in a couple of weeks the Illinois Association of Realtors will release their official sales data and they will announce a 17.5% increase in home sales. We have agreed to disagree on the proper way to calculate sales gains.

Check out the moving average line and you’ll see that it’s coming back but is still not quite back to where it was before the pandemic struck but it’s getting really close to where it was a year ago. 12 month sales are now down only 1.6% from a year ago. It’s entirely possible that the year will close out with sales very close to 2019.

BTW, everything you’ve heard about how people are really liking the suburbs right now is absolutely true. The broader metro area, which includes the city and the suburbs, is doing even better than the city. Sales for the last 12 months are actually up 7.2% from last year at this time.

Chicago home sales have been declining now for several years but the Coronavirus really tanked the market in May and June. The market returned to more normal levels starting in July and appears determined to make up for lost time.

Chicago Home Contract Activity

Contracts for homes continue to run at the highest levels since I’ve been tracking the data – 13 years now. November contracts were 8.3% higher than last year, which is the 5th month in a row of gains over last year, though the increases have been getting progressively smaller. If you look at the light blue moving average line below you’ll see that we’re just about back to where we were before the pandemic nightmare started.

The bottom line is that December closings should be higher than last year but you also have to factor in pending home sales.

Chicago home sale contract activity hit another record high for this time of year after plummeting to record lows because of Coronavirus issues.

Pending Home Sales

Pending home sales represent contracts written that haven’t closed yet – i.e. they should theoretically close in the next month or two. In the graph below you can see that we’re currently at the highest level in 4 years. We ended November 472 units higher than last year, which is down from October’s 637 unit increase but still significant. When you consider that last year there were 1896 closings in December those extra 472 units could have a significant impact.

After hitting historic lows the backlog of homes likely to close in the next 1 – 2 months has reached the highest levels in 4 years.

Distressed Home Sales

With the moratorium on foreclosures (and I hear that it’s been extended yet again) it should be no surprise that the percentage of home sales that are distressed continues to decline. November only had 3.2% distressed sales, down from 6.0% last year and another record low.

Since the housing crisis the percentage of home sales that are distressed has steadily declined.

Chicago Home Inventory

Since the pandemic attached (condos/ townhomes) and detached inventory has been significantly diverging as you can see in the graph below. Everyone has known that detached inventory was extraordinarily low. November had only a 2.2 month supply, which is the lowest level for a November over the time period I’ve been tracking, though it’s up a tiny bit from the July low of 2.1 months.

However, condos are a totally different story with inventory actually rising. Prior to November I wasn’t willing to declare a condo glut because those inventory levels were not really exceeding last year’s levels. But November ended with a 6.8 month supply, which is almost a 9 year high – for any time of year. Clearly, as everyone has been saying, condos are out of favor relative to single family homes.

After a big Coronavirus induced spike in April the inventory of homes for sale dropped back down. Detached inventory hit a record low in July while attached inventory returned to normal levels.

Chicago Home Sale Market Times

Regardless of the higher inventory levels it sure doesn’t look like condo sellers are having any trouble selling their places based on the market times I’m seeing. For condos that closed in November it only took them 66 days to sell on average, down from 83 days last year. It doesn’t really make sense that condos would sell so fast, given their inventory levels, but maybe condos that aren’t selling are being yanked off the market? By comparison single family homes sold in an average of 63 days, which is down from 76 days last year, but that’s no surprise given the low inventory levels and high demand.

When the pandemic first hit Chicago market times rose but now they are actually quite a bit lower than last year.

If you visit our Web site you will find some additional  Chicago real estate market data.

#RealEstate #ChicagoRealEstate #Coronavirus

Gary Lucido is the President of Lucid Realty, the Chicago area’s full service real estate brokerage that offers home buyer rebates and discount commissions. If you want to keep up to date on the Chicago real estate market or get an insider’s view of the seamy underbelly of the real estate industry you can Subscribe to Getting Real by Email using the form below. Please be sure to verify your email address when you receive the verification notice.