It’s hard to believe but 2011 is halfway over, and what an eventful first half it was. A new mayor was elected; an old governor convicted; and the third largest blizzard in Chicago history shut down the city.

While unemployment remains stubbornly high, the Dow steamed past 12,000, and apartment rents and occupancies have soared. On the local housing front, the first half of 2011 had its ups and downs, but through it all, @properties has grown steadily and grown stronger.

We remain the #1 brokerage firm in Chicago by market share, leading by a wider margin than ever before. And we are still the fastest growing brokerage firm on the North Shore, firmly entrenched among the region’s top companies less than two years after entering the market.

In the first half of 2011, @properties introduced new programs to improve service to buyers and sellers. Every home listed for sale by @properties now has its own URL linking directly to a listing detail page on the @properties website. Every home is also more visible online thanks to enhanced listings on the leading real estate search portals: Realtor.com, Zillow, Trulia and HomeFinder. And new communications tools and web enhancements keep homebuyers educated and informed.

If you haven’t visited the @properties website recently, log on to conduct a search, review the latest Market Reports or learn about the many resources I use to market and sell your home. While there, flip through the latest edition of our Luxury Collection Magazine featuring the finest million-dollar listings in the city and on the North Shore.

If you have questions about the local real estate market or just want to check in, I’d love to hear from you. And if you or someone you know is thinking about buying or selling a home, I’m always here to help.

Crain’s Chicago Business reported that the beloved stalled project located at 111 W. Wacker Drive has officially been purchased by developer Related Midwest who plans to turn the unfinished tower into a 65 story, 500 unit apartment building. Related is also planning to build a luxury apartment tower at 500 N. Lake Shore Drive in the Streeterville / River East neighborhood.

Several other Chicago developers tried to put together a deal for the old Waterview site, however their plans to build a hotel / office tower concept were crushed mostly due to the difficulty of financing for such a project. At the current multi-family construction, financing and investment is almost as hot as the condo market was in 2004.

Related Midwest plans to start construction in the first quarter of 2012 and plans to complete the project 18 to 24 months after which would put final completion right before or right after the 2014 New Year. The question is will the multi-family market stay hot until then? Will this developer be able to flip this building in 3 years like so many others are currently doing? The fundamentals of 111 W. Wacker are phenomenal. From a “Apartment Building” stand point, you cannot find a better location. It is walking distance to any building in the loop, plus only a short walk to River North, Michigan Avenue and the Lake. My hope, for the sake of Related Midwest, is that they are building this tower based on valuations of rents in the CURRENT MARKET and not future rents in 2014 which many are foolishly predicting double digit year over year rent increases.