Is Lawndale in Chicago a safe neighborhood?

No it has a lot of shootings. Driving through on Ogden it does not seem so bad because a lot of investment via Lawndale Community Church. They obviously do a lot for the community but crime is high.

Is the shameless area safe

I rode my bicycle from West Loop on a chilly, cloudy day in early spring because I wanted to see the houses where the Shameless characters live (these are in South Lawndale between the Kedzie and Central Park stations on CTA's Pink Line). I rode through University Village/Little Italy, Tri-Taylor and then down Ogden and through Douglas Park. While you can tell that the area around Douglas Park is somewhat economically depressed, I didn't feel threatened or scared. You encounter the usual panhandlers at traffic lights but I didn't really witness any drug dealing at corners or anything of that sort. I suppose in the summer months when more people spend time outdoors, you could expect higher occurrences of petty and perhaps violent crime.

What is real estate like in lawndale?

Lawndale is NOT a safe neighborhood. There are quite a few crimes here, and many of them are violent. I'd keep my distance.

Lawndale is a pretty high-crime area, in comparison to the rest of the city. There are some parts of the neighborhood that are safe, but you'll want to research the crime rate to be sure.