Dramatic Changes in the South Loop: 1247 S. Plymouth
How much have things changed in the South Loop in just the last decade?
The prior sales prices of this single family home at 1247 S. Plymouth tell some of the tale.
This house is part of a rare group of single family homes that, when they were built in 1991 as part of a “Parade of Homes” (an old developer technique where developers would build 5 to 10 homes on a street and then open them to tours for, say, $10).
If I remember correctly, this was the first Parade of Homes in the city of Chicago (the prior Parades had all been in the suburbs.)
They were built in no-man’s land in 1991. Now, they’re near the hub of restaurants and grocery stores of the South Loop.
What would you pay for it now?
Deborah Thomas of Coldwell Banker has the listing. See more pictures and the virtual tour here.
1247 S. Plymouth: 4 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, 2 car garage, 3300 square feet
- Sold in October 1991 for $446,500
- Sold in May 1997 for $520,000
- Currently listed for $1.25 million
- Taxes of $9,319
Thanks for posting this, Sabrina!
I would have expected 900k for this tops, given the location, though I have to admit I have never checked what these have sold for in recent years. Lots going on here these days, but not a nice neighborhood by any stretch of the imagination, IMO. I can’t see any outdoor space.
I am looking forward to seeing what others will say.
Depends on the zoning, because if I were buying it I would tear it down. Poor land use at such a great location.
I think the ask is fair given the amenities. No the neighborhood isn’t Lincoln Park, but this place would probably run 2MM there. And the hood is much, much better than it was in 1991. As goes the neighborhood so goes the home values and the South Loop circa 2008 is definitely not the South Loop of 17 years ago.
There were some odd records in the recorder’s office data. The mortgages also seemed to list another address. Can anyone comment? Also, there appears to be a prior sale 4/07 for $980 but again the CCRD records seem mixed up with another address.
Looked at the property. Newly, but not particularly tastefully, renovated. Doubt they are going to get this. Location is not bad (leaving aside that recent incident in the South Loop) but house is nothing special.
Other houses along that block seem to have sold in the high $800K to high $900K in last couple years, but don’t know what condition those houses were in. These guys bought at the peak, sunk a bunch of money in, and I think are now screwed.
I agree this price seems a tad high, but I love this area. True its not Lincoln Park but this particular little neighborhood is great. If you have ever been back in there that little park is filled with families all the time. As a young couple that can not afford Lincoln Park sfh’s I would love to “settle” for something like this.
I’m somewhat familiar with that area and those homes, having worked for awhile in the old police headquarters at 1121 s state in the mid-90s, and having owned a bit farther south since the late 90s.
The equivalent homes along State have long been among my favorites in the neighborhood. The problems in the neighborhood (besides the obvious) used to be the SROs on Wabash, but those were gone by 2000 or so. Indeed, there were years where the only murders in the 1st police district were in the SROs at 12th and Wabash.
No green space? At that location you are perhaps 2.5 to 3 blocks from Grant Park.
In terms of pricing, I think 1.25 million is a bit steep, but not by much. Somewhere between 1.00 million and 1.10 million for that much space and parking, that location, and the fact alone that these are perhaps the closest single family homes to downtown on the south side. Not perfect, but quite good.
I show it sold in January 2007 for 980K. Were they trying to flip it in this market?
Anyway, I’ve always liked this area and these homes. Median income 150K. Really close to red, orange, green lines. Tons of shopping within walking distance. Close to museums, soldier field, parks, restaurants, soon to have a movie theater. I think the area is underappreciated. Now, the glut of condos in the area is another story but this is not a condo.
As for the recorder’s office…their data is such a mess I can’t figure out how they stay in business. Oh wait…they’re the government.
One caveat…I need to check sometime to see how you walk out of that area. You may not be able to get to Roosevelt or State street directly.
Gary:
It’s very easy to walk out of that area. You just take the footpath that hugs the roosevelt road overpass to the south. Now driving out of there is a bit annoying: have to go down to 14th street.
The Dearborn Park developers deliberately did that to limit auto traffic. As commented above, the area was a bit rough back when it was old rail yards.
“One caveat…I need to check sometime to see how you walk out of that area. You may not be able to get to Roosevelt or State street directly.”
Looks like you need to cut across your neighbors’ property–there’s no direct access to Roosevelt. There may be a semi-public way at 13th, but the access is still gated on State. The closest sure thing is 14th.
All the houses on that block are gated. You can’t cut through your neighbor’s yard. There is a little alley on the side (down below the main part of Roosevelt) that connects State and Plymouth.
man i dig that kitchen.
I agree that sfr in this location seems a little odd these days. The sfr’s on State (or is it Clark?) in that hood look really out of place, and my guess would get a lot less money than the ones located on one of the side streets.
the assessor has the pin for this property as 17-21-214-049
It shows a warranty deed for $980k on 3/30/2007.
The current owner has not one, but two mortgages for $500,000.
ABN Amro is the first and National City is the second.
This property was purchased with more than 100% financing.
That is of course assuming that the CCRD info is correct; but someone above mentioned that the ccrd was confusing another property with 1247.
Regardless, how many of us here (other than SH and DB) could afford two $500,000 mortgages? And now the owner wants $1.25 million less than 18 months later! Looks to me like someone got in over their head. “Real estate only goes up” was the owner’s mantra and they leveraged themselves to $1,000,000 on a $980k property. Crash and burn baby, crash and burn.
There are two PINs listed for the mortgages. And the other PIN seems to be for another address (on State on the other side of that development). That’s what I don’t understand.
If that’s just an error, then I think they got the $1 million loans to help fund their renovations. They did put a bunch of money into the property. Kitchen is nicely appointed but not at all to my tastes.
As ridiculous as 100% financing is, I cannot help but laugh when I hear stories about > 100% LTV financing. Its fantastic–the bank is paying you to gamble with their money!
JP: “In terms of pricing, I think 1.25 million is a bit steep, but not by much. Somewhere between 1.00 million and 1.10 million for that much space and parking, that location, and the fact alone that these are perhaps the closest single family homes to downtown on the south side. Not perfect, but quite good.”
I tend to agree with this. I think the unrenovated house is now worth about $800-850K. They claim they’ve put $350K in the house (I’m sure that’s inflated, but they have done some real work in the house). Discount their claim a bit, and discount a bit for not paying for their taste, and I think you’re in the $1.00 million range. If I could get this for $950K, I would do it. Not hypothetically, but actually. But I think it will take a while for them to get there.
I owned the same home at 1244 S State and sold it about 5 years ago for almost $700,000. Its was no where near as nice as this one. But really the differece is location. Plymouth Ct is very quite and almost no traffic. Yes the small school is across the street but it was a great to have the green space . The surrounding area offers many home and townhomes over $500,000.
I do agree that its over priced but think It would move fast at $999,000.
Dearborn park / Printers Row is still one of my favorite areas to live
This place seems to have sold for $1.0 million recently. Given what they put into the place, they lost a bunch of money. I think they actually got lucky. I think the price will go down a bit more.
Yes, it closed 4/24/09 for $1,000,000.
Also, the extra PIN on the 2007 acquisition represented the private alley that accesses the garages. The PIN was likely put on the deed in error and represents the common area of the HOA with taxes and upkeep paid from monthly assessment. It is not on the recent deed.
1249 S Plymouth is for sale now, list $980K. Doesn’t seem to have had nearly the renovations as at the 1247 house. Has anyone been inside 1249?
We were really interested in Dearborn Park for a while, but having second thoughts. Still not sure about S. Loop Elem, among other things.