Steals and Deals: 2 bedrooms for under $300k in the South Loop
How badly do you want space?
There are a couple of short sale condos on the market in Dearborn Park in the South Loop that are far cheaper than any of the new developments going up to the east.
Of course, you’ll have to live in a building constructed in 1979.
I’m talking about 1143 S. Plymouth. It’s one of those non-descript red brick buildings just south of Printers Row.
There is no laundry in the unit. And there is a wait list for parking. But there’s apparently an outdoor pool.
Unit #302: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1250 square feet
- Sold in March 1999 for $145,000
- Currently listed for $279,900
- Assessments of $332 a month
- Baird and Warner has the listing
Unit #604: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1250 square feet
- I couldn’t find the previous sale price
- Currently listed for $249,900
- Assessments of $354 a month
- Listing says it’s the lowest priced unit at Dearborn Park
- It has a month to month tenant
- Baird and Warner has the listing
There are no interior pictures of Unit #604.
At least one unit did sell for over $300,000 in the building in the last year.
When I saw these hit the market I immediately wondered how long until Sabrina featured them.
The 1143 Plymouth building has similar units to 1115 & 1169 Plymouth. I found 3 sales of similar units in 2007:
1143 PLYMOUTH CT 308 5/17/2007 $271,000
1169 PLYMOUTH CT 304 6/29/2007 $310,000
1169 PLYMOUTH CT 308 12/4/2007 $303,000
Based on the above, these don’t look to be much of a deal at the asking prices.
Two others with similar layouts also sold, but they have 21’x25′ terraces which seem to command a premium (although these folks might come to regret their purchases):
1115 PLYMOUTH CT 412 8/28/2007 $389,900
1143 PLYMOUTH CT 412 9/25/2007 $356,000
It is interesting to note that Dearborn Park I saw little appreciation in the 1980’s and 1990’s, with a couple of down periods where sellers lost money (yes, it has happened here.) Most of the gains occured in this bubble and accelerated only in the past couple of years. Much of these recent ‘gains’ will simply evaporate.
The March 1999 price for #302 above, as well as current rents in these properties, indicates that the unit might be worth around $200K.