Brandy Sells 312

01/09/2026

🧭 ❤️

Brokerage giant Compass has completed its $1.6 billion acquisition of rival firm Anywhere, a combination resulting in the world's largest residential real estate brokerage by far.

The all-stock merger, valued at about $10 billion, closed Friday after winning approval from 99% of Compass shareholders and 72% of Anywhere shareholders, faster than initially expected.

Compass will now operate Anywhere’s brands, including Century 21, ERA, Sotheby’s, BHGRE (Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate), Corcoran, and Coldwell Banker, in addition to its own Christie’s operations.

12/04/2025

Awwww ♥️

Holiday film fans can see the movie at CineCity Studios Dec. 9 and 20 and at Facets Dec. 15.

12/01/2025

Oh the joys of winter in the city 🏙️

The 227 tows were the lowest in four years and the second-lowest this decade. Last year, 244 cars were towed while 263 cars were hauled away in 2023, the city said.

11/28/2025

Zoom 🏎️ zoom 🏎️

A former professional race car driver who's now a real estate developer is revving the engine of his latest project, a plan to build luxurious garage condos where car buffs can house and show off their vehicles.

Romeo Kapudija's proposal to put 121 garage condos, a clubhouse and a niche brand car dealership on a 21-acre site on Rand Road received approval from Lake Zurich's village board Nov. 17. He expects to start construction in early spring and have a little less than half the units, with prices starting at $549,000, and the dealership ready for occupancy by the end of 2026.

Luxe Corsa, as the project is called, won't be the first garage condos in the Chicago area. There are already similar developments in Naperville, Mundelein and Joliet, and more proposed in Barrington and far west suburban Gilberts.

Designed by OKW, a Chicago architecture firm, the 13-building complex "will feel like you're in Las Vegas, not Lake Zurich," Kapudija said. The panelized exteriors will have abundant lighting and sizzle, and each garage condo's interior will have ground-level space for cars and a mezzanine level above that owners can finish with a kitchen or other features (separate from the purchase price).

Read more here: https://www.chicagobusiness.com/residential-real-estate/ex-pro-driver-romeo-kapudija-plans-lake-zurich-garage-condos?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

11/26/2025

Quiet luxury at its finest ⭐️ 🪿

A mansion in Winnetka quietly sold for $34.5 million earlier this month, the highest price ever for an existing home in the Chicago area and $3 million above the last record-setter, which sold just two months ago.

Though it sets a new bar, the price comes with a caveat. The sale price of $34.5 million included the sale of some of the mansion's contents along with the sale of the real estate, said Jena Radnay, the Christie's International Real Estate agent who represented the property. She said she could not break out the real estate price from the contents and will be putting the sale in the multiple-listing service today at the full $34.5 million.

The Real Deal, which was first to report the sale, pegged the real estate value as $32.5 million, which suggests the contents went for $2 million.

Even at that price, the mansion topped the $31.25 million sale in September by Muneer Satter and Kirsten Hertel of their lakefront estate. Both of these homes come in at less than the $58 million that Citadel's Ken Griffin spent on a stack of unfinished penthouse floors in a Gold Coast tower in 2017. They also trail venture capitalist Justin Ishbia's plan to spend at least $77.8 million developing a new Winnetka estate. But those were not purchases of finished, existing homes, as this sale is.

Read more here: https://www.chicagobusiness.com/residential-real-estate/winnetka-mansion-sells-345m-new-chicago-area-record?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

11/26/2025

Apartments at top-of-the-market buildings in Chicago keep getting more expensive, boosted by a muted construction pipeline and a growing pool of renters willing to pay top dollar for the nicest buildings in the trendiest neighborhoods. Meanwhile, Chicago’s more attainable housing stock is slipping away, and the city’s overall affordability could be dwindling.

The cost of apartments is going up in most big cities across the country, but Chicago is leading the pack: Rents here grew more than in any other metro area in October, with the typical asking rent rising 6% year over year, according to a report from online real estate marketplace Zillow. The metro area ranked 39th out of the nation’s 50 largest metro areas on Zillow’s affordability index as of October, compared to 38th the previous year.

And rents are poised to keep climbing as Chicago stares down a major supply shortage: About 9,800 rental units are under construction, accounting for about 1.7% of the metro area’s total inventory, with just 1,500 units expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Other factors are boosting rental demand in addition to the supply crunch. People are renting for longer — the average age of a first-time homebuyer in the U.S. has risen to an all-time high of 40 — and amid economic uncertainty and still-elevated interest rates, the financial flexibility of renting is more appealing.

Read more here: https://www.chicagobusiness.com/crains-forum-chicagos-housing-market/chicagos-top-rent-prices-keep-hitting-roof?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

11/13/2025

Will always be ⭐️⭐️⭐️ to me ;)

The Lincoln Park restaurant has boasted three stars since 2010.

09/14/2025

07/01/2025

🍕 🗞️

When Great Lake Pizza shut down in 2013, owners Lydia Esparza and Nick Lessins left the door open for a possible revival.

Twelve years later, they're finally back.

The duo is in the midst of opening Great Lake — sans "pizza" in the name — at 1476 W. Berwyn Ave., two blocks south of their original Andersonville location. The eatery appears to be in a soft opening phase, operational but not yet in full force.

Great Lake 1.0 was wildly popular. Shortly after its 2008 opening, GQ restaurant critic Alan Richman called Great Lake the best pizza in the country. Megastars Beyonce and Jay-Z even popped in for a bite in 2011. The national attention caused the restaurant to have hours-long waits.

Read more here: https://www.chicagobusiness.com/restaurants/great-lake-quietly-reopens-chicagos-andersonville?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

03/17/2025

01/18/2025

A love letter to LA 💌 Join us for an unforgettable evening with Chicago’s top chefs at Salon 61 to support those impacted by the LA wildfires. Proceeds will benefit the efforts of World Central Kitchen.

Reserve your spot: https://bit.ly/4gX7cZb

12/03/2024

Duck 🦆 Duck 🦆 Goat 🐐 is always a good idea

Duck Duck Goat ❤️