Page 3 - Chicago homeowners question staying in city after unrest 8.11.20

Then as COVID-19 took hold in March, sales opportunities were buttoned up tight as some open

houses were canceled, many mid- and high-rise buildings in semi-quarantine barred all guests,
while tradesmen hired to fix up properties being groomed for sale were also shut out. The market in
April and May went into a tailspin. On top of that came the retail carnage.

Despite the initial round of smash-and-grab destruction in late May, downtown transactions began
to inch back up in June and July as the city entered a more relaxed Stage 4 of recovery from the

pandemic. Now, some residential brokers say, the market in August has gone cold again with little
hope for a recovery soon.

“A lot of the sales downtown are to either empty nesters or second-home buyers drawn to the
museums, theater, restaurants and pro sports here,” says Michael Michalak, a RE/MAX broker in
Lincoln Park. “But all of that is closed now. Even with mortgage interest rates below 3 percent,

potential buyers are looking at all this crime and deciding to put deals on hold.”

Editor's note: This story has been changed to reflect the correct property Jennifer Ames sold within
24 hours. It also now shows the correct name of Ames' firm, and corrects the notion that she

reduced the price of her own home due to protests and looting. In fact, she said, she had taken it off
the market because of the pandemic.

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