72.9% Appreciation in 7 Years for this River North Penthouse Loft: 550 N. Kingsbury

550 n kingsbury

This 2-bedroom duplex penthouse loft at 550 N. Kingsbury in River North came on the market in December 2015.

It faces west which is the Chicago River view and has two private outdoor spaces, a balcony facing west on the first level and a private 12×8 rooftop deck on the second level.

The loft has authentic loft features including exposed brick walls and timber ceilings.

There’s a spiral staircase that leads to an office, or the listing says a third bedroom, that is on the second level which is the roof.

The listing says the kitchen has been “completely remodeled.” It has dark wood cabinets, stone counter tops and luxury stainless steel appliances.

There’s also a unique 2-level storage room measuring 23×17 across the hall.

It has washer/dryer in the unit, central air and 1 heated garage space is included.

This loft last sold in November 2008. It has come on the market 72.9% higher than the 2008 sale.

Will it get the premium?

Stephanie LoVerde at Baird & Warner has the listing. See the pictures here.

Unit #606: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1910 square feet, duplex

  • Sold in December 1995 for $340,500 (included 2 parking spaces)
  • Sold in November 2008 for $535,000 (included 1 parking space)
  • Originally listed in December 2015 for $924,900
  • Currently still listed for $924,900 (includes 1 garage parking space)
  • Assessments of $715 a month (includes doorman, cable, exercise room, exterior maintenance, lawn care, scavenger, and snow removal)
  • Taxes of $8809
  • Central Air
  • Washer/Dryer in the unit
  • Wood burning fireplace
  • Bedroom #1: 12×12 (main level)
  • Bedroom #2: 15×12 (main level)
  • Office: 16×12 (second level)
  • Private rooftop deck: 12×8
  • Storage room across the hall: 23×17

 

 

48 Responses to “72.9% Appreciation in 7 Years for this River North Penthouse Loft: 550 N. Kingsbury”

  1. who is the target market for this property?

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  2. “who is the target market for this property?”

    DINKs

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  3. Internet millionaires.

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  4. Squatters.

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  5. I love that it boasts a “clean” exercise room.

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  6. People with narrow minds cause it seems to be a place of narrow rooms.

    And if it is DINK’s they better only have one car. As you close in on $1M I’d suspect that second parking spot becomes a bit of a factor. Sure the DINK’s may both work in the loop and not “need” two vehicles however I’d suspect that when there is that type of income stream, desire to have a high housing cost spending, and apparently significant cash flow having two cars may not be a stretch.

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  7. 1995 price + cpi = $530k.

    How do they get to 1910 for the SF? The baths aren’t huge, there’s no room-sized closet, there’s barely any hall.

    “the kitchen has been “completely remodeled”” in 2015 per the listing–does anyone here think that the finishes they picked were forward looking? it’s certainly nice enough, but it strikes me as already dated, but maybe I’m unreasonable. [Asking this bc thinking about doing something w/ my kitchen, and would prefer it to seem ‘recent’ for a while]

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  8. At least the micro isn’t over the stove.

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  9. “At least the micro isn’t over the stove.”

    you’d probably have issues installing a microhood over that range anyway.

    “[Asking this bc thinking about doing something w/ my kitchen, and would prefer it to seem ‘recent’ for a while]”

    This looks dated to me and I wouldn’t go this route. Clearly these owners like a lot of dark brown from all of their furniture. In my own opinion, I’d only go white or walnut for a new kitchen remodel. Stay away from granites with a lot of movement and ideally go with quartz.

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  10. I think the kitchen looks very out of place in a loft.

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  11. This place looks dated and certainly not what one expects for a loft asking almost $1,000,000. They could have at least updated the fireplace surround. The 90’s built in desk unit on the top floor isn’t helping either.

    It is a decent space. The spiral staircase will scare off a lot of DINKs who can see past six months into the future when they start thinking about children.

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  12. “you’d probably have issues installing a microhood over that range”

    Are there any microhoods that are compatible with high BTU ranges?

    meant to include the +50 bips historical ‘appreciation’ too:

    ’95 price + (cpi+50) = $585k

    Also, +200, just for fun: ’95 price + (cpi+200) = $780k

    All those number disregard the apparent loss of a parking space that’s worth $50k or so, now.

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  13. “does anyone here think that the finishes they picked were forward looking?”

    Not at all. Jenny nailed the issue with her response. This individual needed to spend 10 minutes down the street at the Merch Mart first floor showrooms for inspiration before deciding to put this Barrington suburban kitchen into a River North loft. Epic fail.

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  14. Think that you misunderstood Annony’s comments about a micro over the fridge. He was not being literal but was actually referring to that loft on Wayne that we discussed last week.

    https://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/2510-N-Wayne-Ave-60614/unit-305/home/13361002

    BTW we are considering a steam oven from Meile or Wolf in our renovation this spring. Does anyone have one or have any experience with one?

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  15. jp3, do either of those manufacturers make internet enabled appliances like this one? http://professional.electrolux.com/products/food-service/cook—chill/air-o-steam-touchline-combi-ovens/

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  16. this place is ugly and totally out of date. Who in their right mind is going to pay a million bucks for this!?!

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  17. “Annony’s comments about a micro over the fridge”

    That’s an unusual subtext to pull from a comment that reads, its entirety:

    “At least the micro isn’t over the stove.”

    which is a well worn hobby horse of Nonny’s.

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  18. what is a dink?

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  19. wait so if I list my place for a million bucks I can count that as appreciation too?

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  20. also I would kill for a combi oven…

    fuck yes do it and do it now

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  21. Do the comps even support this price? I don’t see this being worth even close the ask.

    DINK = Dual Income No Kids

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  22. “what is a dink?”

    Dual
    Income
    No
    Kids

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  23. “DINK” = Dual Income No Kids

    There is also a really funny acronym for dual income, no kids and a dog but it is more of a spoken joke because it doesn’t actually work if you type ti out 😉

    Agree – – That kitchen is an epic fail. About the only thing I would keep is the stove….and I am guessing it has never been used 😉 For this money there are much better units not far from this location. Also, 2008 was the peak…pricing wise. This unit is appropriately priced below $600K IMHO.

    Wood on the balcony looks about rotten. Reminds me of when I fell through the platform at the Francisco brown line one year after they rehabbed it. That roof deck is sweet though – – but private until your neighbors decide to use their “private” roof deck at the same time.

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  24. I meant “Dual Income Currently Without Any Darn….”

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  25. “I meant…”

    I prefer the one that (I think) applies to Sonies:

    Dual Income Large Dog Owners

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  26. sorry my dogs are ‘medium’ size gonna have to call someone else a DILDO

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  27. I guess that would make me Dual Income Couple Kids

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  28. They are trying to play off the pricing of 676 N Kingsbury which is silly considering you can get a brand new place with WAY nicer finishes. 676 has been sitting on the market for a year at a lower price than this place too.

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  29. SIGNIFICANT FIGURE ERROR! Also a list price doesn’t mean much.

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  30. “sorry my dogs are ‘medium’ size”

    Alright, DIMBO.

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  31. The market is hot.Someone will pay a million dollars for this property. Probably, a wealthy millennial.

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  32. Anon – I read that post wrong. But the mention of the micro immediately made made me think about the loft on Wayne. And that kitchen with the microwave sitting on top of the fridge. That was clearly not what you said.

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  33. Jenny – yes they do. The Meile seems to be more intelligent as it has lots of programs and tells you exactly when to put it in etc. or you can put in the food and tell it exactly what time you want it to be ready and it will cook to that minute.

    That’s cool cause in the summer when I tell the wife what time the meat will come off the grill it seems that we are almost always waiting on the side dishes.

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  34. FWIW, I used to live in this building. Moved out for needing more space and the noise issues that come with a timber loft. This unit, on the top floor, shouldn’t have many of the noise transmission problems though. Extremely well run building. A benefit of any new owner is that the building had an extensive special assessment a few years ago (over 2 million) that included tuck pointing, new roof, and several other items.

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  35. The kitchen is OK, if not very “lofty”. It looks much like my nearly ten year old one. No, it’s not cutting-edge style by any means but to some of us it beats the crap out of the minimalist white and gray IKEA look so popular these days that looked cheap and dated on day one.

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  36. Also, the kitchen beats the crap out of the asking price, which s a joke.

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  37. Listed taxes of this place are those of a $625k place. Between the city tax hike and a $900k revaluation, taxes on this place could approach $15k.

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  38. HOA Dues
    $715/month

    Ouch, that’s painful for a place this size.

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  39. This looks like a 700-800K unit, not a 1 million unit. Just my opinion.

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  40. I like the wood beams and the space is not bad, but a million? This seller must be really out of touch.

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  41. “Ouch, that’s painful for a place this size.”

    Actually, I think those HOAs are pretty cheap for a unit this size in River North when the building is older (i.e. more maintenance coming due) and it has a heated garage.

    You will pay $715 a month on many River North high rises for a 2/2 that’s only 1300 square feet.

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  42. You will be surprised by who will step in and buy this place, even though it is for a million dollars. There were several properties that were for 800K to 1.3M and I thought no one would pay that much for this house. Sure enough someone did indeed pay for it. So with this loft you will be surprised, someone will pay 1M for this property. A lot of wealthy people want to move to Chicago apparently.

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  43. Is this preferable? Double the square footage.

    https://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/656-N-Green-St-60642/home/12753867

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  44. “Between the city tax hike and a $900k revaluation”

    That’s not how the assessments work.

    Unless other units in the building start selling for about the same $psf that this one, the assessed value will only go up a little bit. Plus, they have almost 3 years til the next re-assessment.

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  45. This unit recently re-listed as a “new” property. So the market time is 1 day.

    Same price.

    It always amuses me when agents do this. I realize it will again get on the lists of “new” listings that prospective buyers get but it seems kind of silly after just a month or so on the market.

    Interestingly, it used to be that the link went dead but nowadays, the Redfin link just stays active with the newly listed property.

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  46. Fake new listings are a scourge these days, realtors must really think people are dumb and lazy to bother. Sometimes they do make a (even a minor) non-price change to the listing and that may cause it to come up new regardless.

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  47. “realtors must really think people are dumb and lazy”

    Takes one to know one, amirite?

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  48. Closed today for 854,994

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