3-Bedroom Lincoln Park Townhouse Sells: 1806 N. Larrabee
We last chattered about this 3-bedroom townhouse at 1806 N. Larrabee in Lincoln Park in February 2010.
See our prior chatter and pictures here.
We chattered about whether or not a 3-bedroom townhouse for under $530,000 was a deal for this location and square footage.
The townhouse, which was built in 1974, ended up selling for $21,000 under $500,000.
All 3 bedrooms were on the second floor.
It also had a large 28×11 family room on the lower level.
A private deck, central air and parking rounded out the picture.
Did someone get a deal?
Eric Rojas at Prudential Rubloff had the listing.
1806 N. Larrabee: 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 1 car parking
- Sold in March 1999 for $300,000
- Sold in September 2005 for $535,000
- Was listed in February 2010 for $529,900
- Sold in June 2010 for $479,000
- Assessments of $321
- Taxes of $5272
- Central Air
- Bedroom #1: 13×11
- Bedroom #2: 13×10
- Bedroom #3: 10×8
this had an epic thread associated with it; seems like ccers called it (Dave M). Deal? i dunno, too rich for me, but its better than most.
maybe G will come back and post numbers for 2010/09(attached/detached) and we can compare how the market is performing in LP
Fwwwwwww, i was worried Eric’s family wasnt going to eat this month 🙂 I kid, i Kid!
I still like this place and surprised it sold for so much less than i was thinking it would. (above 517k) Is it a Deal? i have know clue, but i do think the new owners will be very happy as it is a great place and is i needed or worked near buy i would have been a bidder on this. but after discovering my commute from LP i can say 100% that there is know way in heck i would buy in LP (unless my job changed)
If 1974 looked like the 1800 block of Larrabee, I’m glad it’s over.
For somebody uninterested in curb appeal, this seems like a decent price based on the size/location. That stretch of North Avenue is pretty unpleasant but at least there’s Halsted to walk on.
Not a great deal & I suspect the new bagholders anchored to the funny money 2005 price.
wow—ugly!
I guess “Pride of ownership” must include blindness in this case…
I actually think that it is a great deal! I used to own an equally ugly ( on the outside) townhome in the next developement over. We sold our 3 bedroom, 2400 Sq foot home for that price 13 years ago! You actually forget about the outside look after you live there…it is a very close, friendly complex…sort of a small town feeling in the big city; you know all your neighbors and feel very safe. Priceless, in my opinion. Close to EVERY wonderful thing our city has to offer, it’s a wonderful location SEVERAL blocks away from the grime of North Ave.
A near 10% price drop from the 2005 is a big OUCH, given than 2007 was the height of the market. Also keep in mind that the seller probably walked away with only 455K once they deducted %5 to pay for the Realtors. So in 5 years the seller lost 80K in value on this property, not including the near 20K they sunk in monthly assessments + 25K in taxes over that same time period.
Is this the trend we will be seeing for the rest of the year? In order to move a property you have to accept a 90% of asking offer.
Dan…
2007 was the height of a bubble that started in 2000(ish) so I would think that you will see continuing declines in values until the cost of housing is back in line with the median income for that part of the city
“Is this the trend we will be seeing for the rest of the year? In order to move a property you have to accept a 90% of asking offer.”
Only if the original ask is ~10% higher than market price. Stuff will sell above ask, below ask, at ask. The ask price is just about seeking the right price, and sometimes the initial ask guesses too high.
But, yes, we will be seeing a lot of this (10%+ off of 04/05/06/07 prices, ignoring the many, many borderline fraudulent or worse sale prices) over the next TWO years, at least.
Wow checked the old thread and lets give credit to where credit is due: Dave M got a hole in one on his guesstimate.
The realtor, as usual, was attacking the guesses of regulars here. Hey Eric, you should note that Laura’s guesstimate was closer than the initial ask price you listed it at. She guessed 450k, you initially listed at 530k, so it was you who was 51k off and Laura only 29k off. I consider that another win for CC regulars, even if slight.
I also think that in 5 years time if/when the new purchaser wants to move on this property will be worth less than 479k.
Haywood actually Chicagoland valuations for Single Family Homes (of which I am not sure townhouses are included) peaked in September 2006 at a CS Index of 168.6.
The latest Chicagoland CSI is 119.71 as of 3/31/2010, which is comparable to May, 2002 prices.
This buyer certainly ignored the broader CS index for Chicagoland unless they really thought all the appreciation the previous owner had built up happened between April 1999 and May 2002.
Given the space, I bet you could rent this place for 3k easy, which makes it a good deal at this price on the rent/buy equation. Further support that most of LP below the SFH level is at or below rent/buy parity.
You could easily rent it for $3k for sure–I’m sure the owner would be pleased as punch with that offer. You could also easily rent this place for 10% less which happens to be updated:
http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/apa/1780464343.html
I can’t wait for someone to tell me the locations aren’t comparable because the other location isn’t 1806 N Larrabee. lol
Bob- You got me – I was wondering if the Larrabee location was in the Lincoln Park HS district but not the southport & wrightwood condo, but it is. Though with the layout I’d say it’s probably better to have the townhouse with kids (and especially high school aged kids) than the condo. Perhaps that’s a bias showing but kids have a lot of stuff. Overall between two locations I’d personally call it a toss up on neighborhood amenities – might even lean towards the southport/wrightwood location (could always send the kids to terrorize Webster theater).
Wicker,
While I don’t have kids I agree that a townhouse is a big improvement over a condo, if only for that you own all spaces below and you won’t be pissing off downstairs neighbors (nor having to deal with your neighbors kids making a lot of noise above you).
I do know that rents in Lakeview are coming way down, however upon cursory searches that doesn’t appear to be the case as much in LP (at least in magnitude)..yet.
Then again there are short sales starting to pop up on entry level properties even in Lincoln Park (and not Invsco scammed highrises, either).
Basically you can now get a 1/1 in LP with parking for between 150-250k (but bring your own granite trend followers). Which ones do you think the yup grads are going to go for even with easy financing? Also now top floor lofts with 14′ ceilings in Bridgeport can be had for 110k. Cracks are appearing all over the Chicago RE market as of lately.
I think this year is going to be very interesting, particularly as we move beyond those months influenced by the rush for the tax credit.
Interesting how certain individuals attacked what i said would be the sale price. I wonder if there were any incentives thrown in as well, which would make it even worse. these people really took a hit, but at the end of the day, they are probably happy they didn’t lose more.
“Wicker on June 7th, 2010 at 8:41 pm
Perhaps that’s a bias showing but kids have a lot of stuff. ”
(an aside, but this bugged me a little…)
KIDS don’t have jack. If they have a lot of “stuff”, it’s whatever their parents gave them/allowed them to have. Truly, they only have as much stuff as they’re given.
As I am turning more curmudgeonly as I age, I think kids have way too much “stuff”, and parents are way over-indulging their precious little snowflakes. Of course, when I was a kid, we WALKED to school and back, uphill both ways…
“KIDS don’t have jack. If they have a lot of “stuff”, it’s whatever their parents gave them/allowed them to have. Truly, they only have as much stuff as they’re given.”
I think when people say they have alot of stuff its more as they have a lot of big plastic contraptions. I know my living room at one time was renamed the “plastic fantastic”. We had his playard which took the most floor space, a large exersaucer/bouncer, Swing, a travel swing, a plastic piano, a stander upper thing to teach him to stand, a little car to pull him around the house, plus all the little toys and stuffed animals.
so by the size of each of these plastic monstrosities it adds up to “kids have a lot of crap/stuff”. which is why the lower level area here is a huge plus.
“As I am turning more curmudgeonly as I age, I think kids have way too much “stuff”, and parents are way over-indulging their precious little snowflakes.”
Totally agree. My little nephews have more toys and clothes and random other BS than they know what to do with and it really irks me for some reason. I’ve never bought them anything other than T-Bills for birthdays/christmas/christening/every other excuse for parents to drag money out of other people for their children.
“I also think that in 5 years time if/when the new purchaser wants to move on this property will be worth less than 479k.”
And what drives you to think this would be the case? It is hard to predict what is going to happen over the next year….6 months even so to speculate seems to be nothing more than your doom and gloom outlook.
“Is this the trend we will be seeing for the rest of the year? In order to move a property you have to accept a 90% of asking offer.”
I chopped 20% on many of my places and was successful at moving a number of them. That coupled with the Government’s $8000 pot stirrer did make a huge difference in sales numbers.
“Totally agree. My little nephews have more toys and clothes and random other BS than they know what to do with and it really irks me for some reason. I’ve never bought them anything other than T-Bills for birthdays/christmas/christening/every other excuse for parents to drag money out of other people for their children.”
tell me about it… my inlaws have a basement full of toys… i’m not kidding its insane. I’m not going any more!
“Bob- You got me – I was wondering if the Larrabee location was in the Lincoln Park HS district but not the southport & wrightwood condo, but it is”
Yeah, but ELEMENTARY school is different. This one is in Lincoln, SP/WW is Prescott. Big difference, tho Prescott’s not run-away scary.
1. You have to consider elementary school districts in pricing. So, ask most parents if they want their kids in Prescott or Abraham Lincoln and see what they say.
2. What the Internets can’t tell you: We had three other written offers early on. One for $490K, another for $485K. Then, the association decides to send a memo outlining $13K a unit in roof/exterior replacements after we priced the home that’s “not a special yet”… we disclose this and $490K people back out.
So, game changer and it sells for $479K to another party that knows they will pay for a new roof.
3. In terms of showings, this was extremely busy compared to most of my listings in the last couple years and there have been many comparable townhome sales in the immediate area (two and three bed models on Larrabee, Dayton, etc…). People must feel there are values in the townhome market and location.
4. I will continue to “attack” (look out!) readers here on their sale price predictions, so stop crying.
“You have to consider elementary school districts in pricing. So, ask most parents if they want their kids in Prescott or Abraham Lincoln and see what they say.”
Not if you’re Bob you don’t. Bob don’t play that.
I just want to say it is nice that Eric Rojas comes on here to give his view after a property closes.
Many a Realtor wouldn’t have the guts to step into the CC fire.
“And what drives you to think this would be the case? It is hard to predict what is going to happen over the next year….6 months even so to speculate seems to be nothing more than your doom and gloom outlook.”
Bob has enumerated many times why he believes this will be so, whether you think his reasons are sound or not.
westloopelo, i believe you are a gambling man. How about this: I bet you the Chicagoland C-S for October (home or condo, SA or not, you choose) will be lower than the March number recently released, even with the recent drop. Loser donates $25 to winner’s charity. Deal?
Low inventory contributed to this price anomaly. There’s not much inventory out there and lower priced turn key properties are hot hot hot. I (reluctantly) agree with JMM that there sometimes exists rental parity in LP … but … as the shadow inventory and ARM reset/recast wave hits prices will get even better. and by better I mean lower. I just find it so difficult to believe that outlying neighborhoods and suburbs can experience a straight up crash in prices but small select elite pockets of the city hold their value, creating a huge chasm in price differences. A lowering tide lowers all RE values….But hey, people drink the LP kool-aid like none other, including plenty of renters I know in LP, and it’s going to take some time for the market to detox even the most hardcore LP freaks.
Thanks for the info Eric. It’s always appreciated.
I don’t think people realize how popular Lincoln Park townhouses can be- in general. Even for those that aren’t as updated as this one.
I totally agree with this statement. I’ve looked at many in person and many more online. If they are in the right school district, have three bedrooms (preferably on the same level) and are in decent shape, they seem to sell.
I looked at a very tiny one with nice finishes, without roof access, looking at the ugly parking lot, but on a great street that sold in a day in January or February.
“I don’t think people realize how popular Lincoln Park townhouses can be- in general. Even for those that aren’t as updated as this one.”
1852 N Larrabee had some Home Depot renovations (nice hardwood, low end stainless appliances, recessed lighting was nice) and was in better condition in general. Closed for $500,000 a couple weeks prior to my sale.
Who got the better deal? And I’d like to hear from people who were actually in both of these if possible.
We had a lot of people going back and forth to these deciding if they wanted to do their own improvements or not.