Can You Sell Just 4 Months Later for a Profit? A 2/2 at 2819 N. Lakewood in Lakeview
This top floor 2-bedroom at 2819 N. Lakewood in Lakeview came on the market on Nov 1, 2014.
It might look familiar to some, however, because it was a previously bank owned unit that was listed in May 2014 and sold at the end of June.
You can see what the unit looked like when the bank owned it here.
From those pictures, the kitchen looked to be fully intact, with stainless steel appliances and cherry cabinets.
In June, there were cherry floors throughout.
There were no pictures of the bathrooms however.
The current kitchen looks identical, except for a new backsplash.
The unit has 12 foot ceilings with crown moldings.
It also has two decks, a back deck and a private roof top deck with an outdoor kitchen with a grill, refrigerator and granite counter tops.
It has central air, in unit washer/dryer and a covered carport parking space.
In June 2014 it sold for $407,000.
It came back on the market in November for $485,000 and it remains at $485,000.
Is the market hot enough in 2015 for this seller to get the premium to the 2014 price?
Susan Beyler at 33 Realty has the listing. See the current pictures here.
Unit #3S: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, no square footage listed
- Sold in June 2005 for $490,000
- Lis pendens foreclosure filed in July 2011
- Bank owned in May 2014
- Listed in May 2014 for $371,500
- Sold in June 2014 for $407,000
- Listed in November 2014 for $485,000
- Currently still listed for $485,000
- Assessments of $124 a month
- Taxes of $6,501
- Central Air
- Washer/Dryer in the unit
- Covered carport parking included
- Private roof top deck
- Bedroom #1: 15×13
- Bedroom #2: 11×11
This property got me thinking about the market conditions right now.
As a seller, when do you know when it’s the right time to lower the price? Market inventory is very low right now due to the time of the year. There ARE buyers out looking. We’ve seen some properties sell within a week in just the last month.
If you’ve been on the market even a month in the GZ, should you be lowering?
This condo has been on the market for 2 months now without a price reduction. I’ve seen others where it’s 4 months without a reduction.
The selling point on this place is the rooftop deck as such if $485M is the right number (Not saying it is or isn’t), they’ll have a much easier time moving it in May.
I think the realtor told them to price it higher so they can either lure in a sucker who might pay $450k, or do a typical price drop every time they re-list it every few weeks so the property will remain “Hot!” and “New!” and platitudinal phrases like “Property will go fast!” and “Price reduced $20k!” can be justified even though no one with half a brain who can see the last selling price and few improvements will pay anything significantly over that.
This is a great example of how important photos are in a listing. The difference between the REO listing and the current one are night and day. They didn’t even highlight the fabulous rooftop deck/kitchen in the June 2014 listing. If this commands a premium over the last sale, perhaps it’s due to an improved market, but my guess is it will be due to more traffic from better photos and an agent who knows how to market the unit.
The roof deck is the selling point for sure. Lakewood right there is a busy cut through street for Diversey traffic; but the park to the west is real nice. 2br/2bath cookie cutter new construction sht like this is abundant throughout Lakeview; with lots of supply in the low $400-$425k range.
Suze…you are so correct. Most REO agents are hacks. They have no clue on how to market properties; esp. properties in good/hot locations. Pictures are the #1 aspect to marketing these days with the internet searches etc.. Like I said… majority of the REO agents couldn’t care less.