$2 Million Ukranian Village Penthouse Under Contract: 1715 W. Ohio
We last chattered about this 3-bedroom luxury penthouse at 1715 W. Ohio in the Ukranian Village in May 2009.
There was a heated discussion about the price of this property with some saying it shouldn’t sell for anything over $950,000 and others saying they would eat their words when it sold “in a few months” for $1.8 million to $1.9 million.
See our prior chatter here.
Since May, the unit has been reduced by $200,000.
It’s now under contract.
It’s no ordinary penthouse. The 6000 square foot home has 14 to 17 foot high ceilings and a private elevator to take you to your unit.
The master suite is 30×25.
It also has a 1700 square foot cedar rooftop deck with gas fire pit (not clear if that is included in the 6000 square foot total- but it appears to be.)
Chaz Walters at Sudler Sotheby’s International still has the listing.
You can see the pictures here.
Unit #PH: 3 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, 6000 square feet, 2 car garage, duplex
- Sold in August 2004 for $1.2 million
- Was listed in May 2009 for $1,999,000
- Reduced
- Currently listed at $1.799 million
- Under contract
- Assessments are $900 a month
- Taxes are $8,000
- Gourmet kitchen with Brazilian granite island
All the pics are gone. :-/
I don’t remember Chaz being the original listing agent; I spoke with a female when I inquired about it before. Maybe she was just an associate…
In any event, I’m really looking forward to seeing the purchase price.
Oops I lied – the pics are up at the baird and warner site, still:
http://www.bairdwarner.com/07223076
I think this is under a mile from me. w00t! A desperately needed comp!
A mile west of here would require a significant price adjustment. That appears to be the fate of that unit with the pool in the Bodine Building at Ohio & Oakley.
“G on November 27th, 2009 at 8:56 am
A mile west of here would require a significant price adjustment. ”
Of course, but finding high end condo comps in West Town/Smith Park/Ukie Village is difficult. Anything is welcome…
Again…it goes to show that large 3000+ sq foot units with high end finishes are moving…it just has to be unique….non-cookie cutter.
And if by ‘moving’ you mean ‘a handful of 3,000 sq ft lofts with high end finishes sitting on the market for 190+ days are slowly going under contract for significantly less than the initial listing price’, then you would be correct.
“A Local on November 27th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
Again…it goes to show that large 3000+ sq foot units with high end finishes are moving…it just has to be unique….non-cookie cutter.”
“laker on May 27th, 2009 at 4:15 pm
Only worth $950K? I encourage you to revisit your post when this place sells for $1.8 – $1.9M in a few months and explain why you were off by a million dollars.”
Again people like laker seem to appear out of the woodwork for certain properties and seem to be especially bullish. Unfortunately laker you have no credibility on here whatsoever. And you’ll likely pop up under a different moniker when the sites features another of your listings being equally bullish.
When it comes to the pulse of RE laker you are clearly bested by even a blindfolded monkey throwing darts at a board.
a comp? bwhahaha. Comps on properties that expensive never pan out for other properties since finishes can differ by so much. And the fact that it’s a penthouse, private elevator, and everything is top of the line, and before the end all be all “damen” border, is huge for this property.
That being said, I’m guessing it went for closer to $1.5mm
I don’t believe it. I am calling real estate agent trickery and games. You really need to see this whole mess of a development to fully appreciate it. Why anyone with the resources to purchase a $2M place would even consider this is beyond me. If the development was great, maybe, but a big maybe for this area. There are just so many many other options at this price point.
Do the taxes on this 1.8M property seem a little low?
Homedelete….Actually, that’s not necessarily the case. For example, 154 Hubbard #503 — approximately 2300-2400 sq foot, nicely finished, unique loft. Friends bought it in 2007 for 805K, listed it for 899K, and sold it for 845K in just 16 days. They could have held out and gotten 899K, but why bother. They came close to breaking even,(didn’t use a broker when they bought, and did the closing themselves as he was an attorney)..maybe a little short of break even if you figure agent commission. They are smart to sell quickly b/c they are upsizing and will make more on the buy. Nonetheless…it didn’t sit long…contrary to your opinion.
“They are smart to sell quickly b/c they are upsizing and will make more on the buy.”
Why will they make more “on the buy”? Because they’re getting the new property cheaper than it was listed for a year or two ago?
You aren’t making any money. They still lost what they lost on their prior transaction. The only thing the price declines are allowing is for people to get MORE for their money (or to upgrade to a different neighborhood.) It won’t get them back to what they lost on the prior house.
This is the biggest myth being told by realtors out there right now. I hear it all the time.
It does make buyers feel better about buying another property, however. Which is, of course, why realtors are telling people that.
Once we hit the bottom of this crash, housing prices will do what they’ve always done in Chicago: go up about 1-3% a year. I don’t see how they’ll make more money “on the buy.”
The people perfectly situated for this market are the renters- who will not lose anything on their prior sale and can upgrade to more space and nicer neighborhoods for far less money.
By the way- those sellers of the loft on Hubbard paid $10500 just in the transfer tax alone to live there 2 years.
But yes- that unit did sell quickly. I’ve seen a few of the larger upgraded lofts in River North selling over the past month or so. There are still buyers for that type of property if it has new finishes.
A local, your comment that “They could have held out and gotten 899K, but why bother. ” is wishful thinking. In a declining market the first offer is always the best offer, the sellers on Hubbard took it and ran all the way to the bank and they’re probably thankful they didn’t lose even more. They lost a good chunk of change if you consider the transfer taxes, the amount they paid in excess of comparable rent (especially since they lived there ONLY two years!), taxes, and assoc fees. They flushed all that money down the toilet, I hope that attorney feels ultra-secure in his job because a lot of lawyers I know say that things have been slow, slow slow for going on two years now, and even the ones that are busy are that way only because they’re working 50% harder for the same amount of money.
This is a declining market and will be for years to come. The only markets that are going up in price are the bottom feeder markets buoyed by the tax credits and all-cash investors. The rest of the market is still declining.
When I said “make more on the buy” I meant they would get more house for the $$$ and will stand to gain more in the long term by upsizing in a down market than holding this place for another year or so. Sure, they would have been better off renting from 2007 until now, but that is hindsight and in 2007 there were not many large, high end units for large families to rent (and to the extent they existed they rented for far more than today). Do you think they would be better off staying in this loft with three children or buying the house with the yard that they plan to own for the next 20 years? I think they will be better off investing in a home now that they plan to live in for the long haul.
Renters will benefit in the short term, but historically your still better off owning than renting in the long term.
The problem with much of the analysis on the site is that eveyone (1) assumes that current sellers bought high and never profited off a prior sell and (2) wants to take a snapshop of 2006-until now and discuss losses. Many of these folks who are selling now at losses (like my friends) made good money on their former properties when they sold in 2007. Our friends sold their first home at a nice profit in 2007 so from 2004 until now they still are on the plus side for their overall real estate investments (especially when you figure in tax breaks). How much have renters made during this time????? Nothing! Sabrina is correct that the “perfect” buyers are those that are renting and are not losing money on a sell, but that’s only if they are young twenty somethings who are first time buyers…thirty year olds plus who rented for decades have lost just as much money renting as many who are selling now.
Making money whether it be in real estate vs the stock market is not a two year process…its a long term results. So many sellers are wise to sell now and buy… By the way, Homedelete’s off topic comments about lawyers sounds bitter… perhaps you can’t afford to take advantage of this market.
You know there’s still a little kool-aid left in the pitcher when posters like A Local are still spewing the same irrational and illogical nonsense.
“So many sellers are wise to sell now and buy”
A local,
Please tell me that was sarcasim? a joke? or just tugging the leg (as my Romanian friend says it).
there is no possible situation where it would be wise for me to sell. (unless i wanted a better hood)
“there is no possible situation … (unless i wanted a better hood)”
Seems like a possible situation, no?
“Seems like a possible situation, no?”
missed you too anon 🙂
“missed you too anon”
You know it’s all love, man.
“You know it’s all love, man.”
that why i love the crib chatter, some good fun ribbing and useful information as a bonus 🙂
“You know there’s still a little kool-aid left in the pitcher when posters like A Local are still spewing the same irrational and illogical nonsense.”
“there is no possible situation where it would be wise for me to sell.”
Possible situation: I feel secure in my job, my wife feels secure in her job. We would like more space than we currently have and are willing to sell our condo for approximately break even (purchase price, not cash flow, I understand the difference) to buy a place that we could not afford 5+ years ago (due more to changes in income than property values). We are planning to stay in the next house for a relatively long period of time to raise a family (at least 10 years). Would I have been better off renting than buying my current condo, absolutely. Can I go back and change that decision? Not without my Delorean. Would I be better off renting for the next 10 years? Maybe, but because I belive my time horizon is sufficiently long to get me through the trough, I am willing to make an investment that has the potential the provide a return. I understand there is no guarantee, but I’m willing to take the risk. Why should I be persecuted for such a decision?
“Why should I be persecuted for such a decision?”
The ramblings of imaginary nudniks on the intertubez = persecution? Are you sure you can afford a house with your therapy bill?
I think it’s a capital idea (seriously). But only if you’re picky, picky, and make sure you’re not compromising on the selected house, imo, as there are so many quality options and likely to remain so for a while, so if you are *sure* it’s right, there’s decent likelihood of a better alternative popping up, which would suck if you compromised on something just to make the move.
“Would I have been better off renting than buying my current condo, absolutely. Can I go back and change that decision? Not without my Delorean. Would I be better off renting for the next 10 years? Maybe, but because I belive my time horizon is sufficiently long to get me through the trough, I am willing to make an investment that has the potential the provide a return. I understand there is no guarantee, but I’m willing to take the risk. Why should I be persecuted for such a decision?”
Some people see every real estate purchase as a pure investment, even their primary residence. I personally get value – as in quality of life – out of owning a home. People buy expensive assets that are *definitely* going to depreciate all the time – cars. They know for a fact that every year they own it it’s going to be worth less and less, but they get utility and enjoyment out of it in the meantime. Houses stand a much better chance of maintaining value over the long run. I don’t expect my house to make money for me – that is why I work. I expect my house to be an enjoyable place to live, which it is.
Marko, your claim of persecution is a tad bit exaggerated. There is nothing wrong with buying in your situation. Unless you get an FHA loan, you will probably be required to put down 20% and the purchase price will be between 3 and 4 times income. That’s a normal market and that’s OK to buy.
i state this over and over and over, and peg bundy hit on it also.
if you bought in the bubble, at the end of 2008, or last week to PURCHASE A PLACE TO “LIVE” you will be fine, if you were looking to flip or “invest” your screwed and deserve a kick in the special place for driving prices up.
Exactly Groove 77…apparently homedelete doesn’t get it. Some of us live in houses that we enjoy and its still a better investment than the shit that most people buy (cars, clothes, expensive dinners, etc…) This year is the perfect time to buy if your family circumstances/income suggest you should upsize. I would gladly sell my condo at a 100K loss to buy the lincoln park SFH at 500K-1 million less than in boom years since I will be raising a family there for 10 plus years. Apparently, homedelete is a renter for life (losing nothing but gaining nothing) or is going to wait to sell his current place when the market goes back up and then buy his next place at a higher price just so he can say he didn’t lose any money.
“I would gladly sell my condo at a 100K loss”
i cant say “gladly” but we will sell for a loss if it was the right circumstances cause i know the next place we buy we will be in for a good 10+ years (maybe be our last home we buy).
“This year is the perfect time to buy”
this year and next is great for renters looking for their first place, but still any time is a good time to buy a HOME.
anyone know what happened to this unit? Is it still under contract or in limbo ? No records of a sale
does anyone know anything?
I heard it is being rented