3-Bedroom In Crilly Court Sells For $50,000 Above The 2007 Price: 1708 N. Wells In Old Town
We last chattered about this 3-bedroom in Crilly Court at 1708 N. Wells in Old Town in January 2013.
See our prior chatter here.
Over the last few years, owners in Crilly Court have been some of the few that have either made money or broke even on their 2007 purchases. (The buildings were converted into condos in 2007.)
If you remember the listing pictures were, um, interesting.
Most of you thought it would sell for 10% off the list of $539,000.
Bob thought it would sell at list given the low inventory.
It sold for $511,000 or $50,000 above the 2007 price.
If you recall, at 1507 square feet, this unit had two fireplaces but none of the other original historic features.
The kitchen had cherry cabinets, granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances.
It had a balcony that faced the internal courtyard.
The unit has central air, washer/dryer in the unit but NO parking.
The lack of parking didn’t stop someone from paying over $500,000 for this unit.
Is this sale just another sign of the low inventory market (as Bob argued orginally)?
Mira Kovacevic at Coldwell Banker had the listing. You can still see the pictures here.
Unit #3: 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1507 square feet
- Sold in July 2007 for $461,000
- Was listed in January 2013 at $539,000
- Sold in March 2013 for $511,000
- Assessments of $310 a month
- Taxes of $4750
- Central Air
- Washer/Dryer in the unit
- No parking
- Bedroom #1: 12×17
- Bedroom #2: 11×13
- Bedroom #3: 10×15
“Is this sale just another sign of the low inventory market (as Bob argued orginally)?”
or is it because its crilly court and the old adage of location, location, location?
Are there recent sales to support this price? I wonder whether they were able to find comps to support this price for the appraisal or whether the buyer had to bring extra $$ to closing.
Maybe there’s actually a bit of strategic wisdom behind (some) brokers’ use of laughable listing pictures. Prospective buyers are prepared for the worst, and only agree to view the place based upon the location and sq footage. If the place actually shows better than the listing pics made it seem, let the bidding wars begin!
Speaking of bidding wars, if there was one for this Crilly Ct property, and the runners up are still bummed that their $510,999 offer was narrowly bested, perhaps you should consider our place, just up the street. It doesn’t have retail on the ground floor or those gorgeous fire escapes, is only slightly larger, and you’d have to park your car in a garage rather than availing yourself of the “easy permit parking” described in the Crilly listing, but you’ll have saved an entire dollar.
“, perhaps you should consider our place, just up the street.”
what? wait? what?
your moving?
why?
Where to?
Anonny talked about moving when the Cleveland place was posted too but that he’s in no rush. I don’t think this is that new of info…
It’s amazing how interest rates have really helped out pricing. If you did 20%, this place cost around $600 more a month in 2007, which is like a $100k reduction.
Anonny, I love a good conspiracy theory, and I believe yours regarding the poor photography being intentional has some merit. Personally though, I think it’s just laziness. For properties like this and others in great locations that occasionally pop up, they know it’s going to sell one way or another. It’s impossible to quantify the effect that good photography has on final listing price. If I could, then I’d be getting more work than I could handle.
Unless you and Mrs. Groove have determined to live out your lives in your current residence and then have your estate keep and maintain the home as some sort of Groove Museum, you’re moving and you’re place is for sale, even if it’s not yet listed.
We’re not looking to move for another one or two years. And there’s not really anything for us to buy right now anyways. But when I see sales activity like this one at Crilly Ct, it makes me want to shorten our time table.
It seems to me that the low inventory issue will be gone pretty soon. A lot of people I know are preparing to list their overpriced bubble purchases at what they paid, so there will be plenty of places to go around. I think that we’ll see a flight to quality. Bigger, nicer properties in good locations and good school districts will continue to sell quickly at relatively high prices, but more quality properties is just going to make the tired condos and crappy places look worse in comparison.
I believe the interior is such a mess because the unit was rented. The previous owners apparently took a chance on the interior pictures, which seems to have paid off. The renter has moved out, so I would suspect the unit showed better when empty than the pictures.
@nonny
yes the original plan was to stay out our current place till old age. that situation did change, so our next place will be our grow old in home. and we will still keep our current place (just not as a groove museum) but as a rental.
why is your time table two years? and why did you decided to move? are you planning to stay close or is that evanston thing really on the table? your not going back out east are you?
“Unless you and Mrs. Groove have determined to live out your lives in your current residence and then have your estate keep and maintain the home as some sort of Groove Museum, you’re moving and you’re place is for sale, even if it’s not yet listed.”
“JJJ (March 11, 2013, 11:07 am)
It seems to me that the low inventory issue will be gone pretty soon. A lot of people I know are preparing to list their overpriced bubble purchases at what they paid, so there will be plenty of places to go around. I think that we’ll see a flight to quality. Bigger, nicer properties in good locations and good school districts will continue to sell quickly at relatively high prices, but more quality properties is just going to make the tired condos and crappy places look worse in comparison.”
talking one’s position often puts a person in a near permanent state of denial. by all observations, the real estate market is starting to really pick up. rates are near zero, cash earns you negative returns, rents keep going up, the stock market is making new highs, etc, etc.
people keep talking about a correction in stocks, just as you are in real estate…..
guess what, it aint coming. at least not until nobody expects it. RE, stocks, credit sprds, etc. are going to keep improving and are going to go a lot farther than anyone expects. weve had 4 years of easy money…..
inflation is coming….
“inflation is coming….”
it has been here!
“people keep talking about a correction in stocks, just as you are in real estate…..”
I don’t think that we’re anywhere near what I would consider a “correction.” I’m just saying that there will be higher supply of desirable and less desirable properties, and that should start to get rid of this frenzy of multiple offers shortly after listing. Prices will still rise, I just don’t think that they’re going to be jumping 20% YOY or more like the low-inventory frenzy would imply. I also think that it you’re buying an SFH in a nice part of the city now, you’ve missed the boat and are likely paying at least 25% more than you would have had to during 2011 or 2012.
“I also think that it you’re buying an SFH in a nice part of the city now, you’ve missed the boat and are likely paying at least 25% more than you would have had to during 2011 or 2012.”
Do you have any basis for this? A pair of similar (not even same) homes sales, w a 25 percent increase?
Excepting short sales, although I don’t think even short sales (other than ones that needed work) were selling at that much of a discount in GZ.
“inflation is coming….”
I’m not sure about that. I think the economy needs to really get going before inflation takes off.
http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/inflation/current-inflation-rates/
“Do you have any basis for this?”
No, just anecdote and conjecture, and I’m too lazy to find any examples, so take my guess for the effort that went into it. My perception in the SFH market is that there were a lot of places that could barely be given away in 2010 or early 2011 – selling for at or below 2001-2003 prices. Now, the sale prices (which arise out of very short market times, generally) are reflecting appreciation from 2006-2008 prices and there are people lining up to pay significantly more than what is was hard to find a single buyer to pay a couple of years ago. I think that part of it may be that more of these buyers have managed to get our from under an existing underwater property, or found a way to make it work carrying both, and the years of absurdly low interest rates have resulting in more people being able to afford properties that cost a lot more to carry at the same purchase price in 2004 – 2009. And also people are sheep and were scared to buy in 2010 and 2011, as no one else was, but now they feel comfortable buying since everyone is saying that the market is hot and prices are going up.
i like this for inflation data rather than the CPI, although both exclude some necessities
http://bpp.mit.edu/usa/
“And also people are sheep and were scared to buy in 2010 and 2011, as no one else was, but now they feel comfortable buying since everyone is saying that the market is hot and prices are going up.”
That’s the better bet…
“Prices will still rise, I just don’t think that they’re going to be jumping 20% YOY or more like the low-inventory frenzy would imply. I also think that it you’re buying an SFH in a nice part of the city now, you’ve missed the boat and are likely paying at least 25% more than you would have had to during 2011 or 2012.”
20% YOY?
25% more than a few years ago?
What are you smoking? People are still taking LOSSES! Yes- they’re getting more than just a year or two ago (in some cases.) But not THAT much more. The things selling fast are those priced “right” and totally move in ready. If it’s not either of those things- it’s sitting on the market like in years past.
Shouldn’t places priced right and totally move in ready always move quickly? Shouldn’t overpriced pieces of crap always linger on the market? Isn’t the spring market always hotter than the winter?
I’ll agree the market is “hot” at the moment but I think jumping to conclusions that the bubble is back is as wrong as the earlier prediction that prices were always going to fall.
As always, ignore the extreme views and the truth is probably somewhere in the middle. Neither is the world ending nor can you make 30% on the house you bought a year ago (except in rare cases).
Sabrina, did you even read what I wrote? Might want to roll a smaller one next time!
“I’ll agree the market is “hot” at the moment but I think jumping to conclusions that the bubble is back is as wrong as the earlier prediction that prices were always going to fall.”
Are you out there looking? If not then you really don’t get it. It’s not like anything I’ve EVER seen in Chicago. Even in the midst of the boom it wasn’t like this. There weren’t 20 people trying to buy the same house in the boom. There were few bidding wars. There weren’t “final and best offer within 24 hours.”
It’s madness out there. Literally. I’m getting e-mails from people completely distraught who just want to buy a normal house and can’t.
In the GZ too many underwater homeowners with little equity, or unable to sell; combined with the huge reduction in numbers of SFH that were torn down and replaced with luxury SFH or 3/6 flats between 2000-2008 it’s no surprise that reasonably priced SFH’s in the GZ will sell quickly. there just aren’t that many of them left.
Outside of the GZ there is still a large spread between the bid and the ask, even though inventory remains low compared to a year ago…
which means that the number of homes realistically priced for sale is as low as it’s ever been and demand is higher than it’s been in years.
http://www.redfin.com/city/11358/IL/Long-Grove
Median List $700, median sale $404. yeah I know the median ‘issue’ but that’s pretty wide regardless.
http://www.redfin.com/city/15005/IL/Park-Ridge
Inventory is down 16% from last year, and when I bought last year I felt like there was ‘nothing’ for sale, and it’s even worse this year!
So, it’s consensus that the marginal increase in price is due to low supply, not excessive demand. You never read a RE article in the press that explains, or attempts to explain why supply is down. Why is it?
Demand is up too. Sales are up 25% or more. Areas like Roscoe Village have 70 properties listed for sale and 93 properties under contract!
If demand is up, and supply is down, then we’d be seeing price increases….which I guess properties selling for less of a discount to ask represents. I don’t think we’ve established that asking prices have skyrocketed since the crash, and we cover the market with more transparency than a yochicago sponsor-supported advertising-site does.
“If demand is up, and supply is down, then we’d be seeing price increases…”
Sure, in some areas, prices have increased off their lows, they have in most of the country…for now.
It is still cheaper to buy than rent in Chicago. It is one of the few markets in the country like that. Yes – prices are slightly higher but rents are even higher (although its hard to see rents rising much from here). As far as I can tell we are pretty close to bubble pricing in the GZ for SFH’s (with some exceptions for properties that were grossly overvalued at that time) but I think it will take a very long time to get there in the 2/2s across the city due to supply. I don’t know much about the gentrifying hoods (Ravenswood / Logan Sqr / etc). I think this return to bubble pricing has shocked some people but if you look at the income data the 5% are still doing well while the other 95% are struggling (especially the 75%). I mean the stock market is basically at historic highs only 4 years after hitting 666 and everyone worrying about JPM and Citi being nationalized! Why should we be surprised housing prices have started to follow suit?
Is Ravenswood gentrifying?
Hi Vla-jayjay 🙂
I moved to Ravenswood from Edgewater recently.
Ravenswood is fully gentrified.
My mom hasn’t seen my new place yet and she asked if it was a similar neighborhood to my old one with nice families and lots of dogs.
What she meant was UMC and educated.
There’s no difference except it’s not on the Lake and it doesn’t have as much nice retail.
What an ugly ass place…over 500,000 for this? And I am saying that and it has TWO fireplaces and it still wouldn’t do anything for me.
Milkster, sorry my comment was sarcasm. I thought the idea of Ravenwood currently “gentrifying” was funny.