The River North Gallery District in Chicago is in the Near North Side, Chicago. It hosts the largest concentration of art galleries in the United States outside of Manhattan. Though, like most city neighborhoods, the exact boundaries are debatable a common definition puts the District in the area north of the Merchandise Mart, south of Chicago Avenue, east of Orleans and west of Lasalle. As it has grown, and the area has gentrified, galleries can also now be found west of Orleans and east of Lasalle, though the core area still contains the highest concentration of galleries.

Subsections of River North include:

A theme-restaurant area with many tourist-oriented restaurants, surrounding Clark and Ontario;
"The Cathedral District," an area with many new residential skyscapers surrounding Holy Name Cathedral (Catholic) and St. James Cathedral (Episcopal), both located near State and Huron;
A design district, with shops and showrooms selling commercial and luxury interior furnishings, in the blocks north of the Merchandise Mart, and
Kingsbury Park, an area of newly built residential high-rises surrounding Kingsbury Park, at Erie Street and the Chicago River.

If having a loft on the umpteenth floor is your idea of living the high life, this may be the neighborhood for you. Towering skyscrapers and mid-rise apartment buildings are home to most River North residents.

If you understand the potential pitfalls of purchasing a distressed property - and work with an agent who has a thorough knowledge of the market - you can get a great home at a great price.

Albany Park |  Avondale | Bucktown | DePaul | Dunning  | East Village | Forest Glen | Gold Coast | Jefferson Park | Lake Shore East | Lakeview | Lincoln Park | Logan Square | Loop | Noble Square | Norwood Park | Old Irving Park | Old Town  | River North | River West | Jefferson Park | Roscoe Village | South Loop | Streeterville | Ukrainian Village | Uptown | West Loop | Wicker Park | Wrigleyville |

The transaction process for short sales or foreclosures often takes longer than for traditional transactions. It's sometimes not clear which lending institution actually owns a mortgage loan, and it can take time to get it all sorted out – especially if there's a second mortgage involved, which is often the case. It's no surprise that buyers are looking for a bargain - but now, even more people are showing interest in the growing foreclosure market. According to Trulia.com and RealtyTrac, a recent survey shows that 55 percent of U.S. adults are at least somewhat likely to consider a foreclosed home when buying real estate. That's nearly a 10 percent increase from November 2008.