3 Months Later: Rental Still Available in One Museum Park
We chattered about rental “deals” in One Museum Park, at 1211 S. Prairie, on Grant Park in the South Loop in November 2008.
At that time, you could either buy a 1460 square foot 2/2 for $890,000 (including the parking) or you could rent it for a list price of $2700 a month (including the parking.)
Apparently, someone did run over there because that deal is no longer available.
See our prior chatter and the pictures here.
But the high-floor 1-bedroom unit we chattered about is still on the market- and it has the same list price.
Unit #4502: 1 bedroom, 1 bath, den, 987 square feet
- Was available in November 2008 for rent for $2200 a month plus $200 for parking
- Still available for rent for $2200 a month plus $200 for parking
- Anita Constant at Coldwell Banker has the listing. See the pictures here.
For a rent-versus-buy comparison- this high-floor 1-bedroom is available:
Unit #4205: 1 bedroom, 1 bath, 955 square feet
- Can’t find an original sales price
- Currently listed for $534,900 plus $29,995 for parking
- OR you can rent it for $2250 a month plus $150 for parking
- Assessments of $255 a month
- Taxes are “new”
- Maura Vrabel at Coldwell Banker has the listing and the rental listing. See the pictures here.
Obviously a lesson can be learned from the person who successfully renter their unit. They likely underpriced the rent for their unit or priced it right. Obviously these owners have overpriced the rent for their respective units. Too bad specvestor you lose, 3k/month obviously.
These people must be bleeding cash. I can’t imagine being tied to such a financial black hole.
Talk to me in 1.5 years when this place has been bank owned for about 8 months and the bank settles for 500k. That entire museum park is a rip off: we provide cheap, shady financing as long as you agree to buy a unit that’s overpriced by a good 30%. That area has Vegas and Miami market written all over it.
The Museum Park/South Michigan area is going to continue to crash through the floor. That area literally appeared over the last 5-8 years, it didn’t exist before. Therefore everything there is tremendously overpriced. It’s mind boggling why anyone would be a buyer in that area unless the unit was under severe distress.
I love the commentary on this site, but Seanzee’s & Lauren’s comments have to be some of the most unintelligent thought I have yet to read. If I was looking strictly at value and price 3-4 years back, I was recommending Lakeshore East for value.
But as to this area, not all the pricing is as rediculous as these units. While I like the original plans for Central Station that did not get built (Parisian block face along Roosevelt), this area still has a a lot to offer in location with many ameneties still coming.
In one Museum tower, I toured a 2Br+den, with two parking spots, upgraded with top of the line finishes bought original for $820K, above the 40th floor. It has hands down some of the best views I have yet to see (other than say Trumps views down the River).
I’m with Buster. Those who come here with blanket negative characterizations on the South Loop/near South Side don’t really have anything useful, or even true, to say.
5 or 8 year? Daley was living in a townhouse on Indiana well before 2000. There were developments as far south as 18th street in 1997, and in Dearborn Village I’m hearing that some people with kids are actually staying now instead of moving to the suburbs.
Anywhere else in the city except for the eastern part of the loop itself, you cannot walk to Lolla or Movies in the Park or Chinatown. You have quick access to the lakefront and soldier field. You have 4 red line stops and 2 orange line and 2 green line stops, plus likely (my guess) one more for the Orange and one more for the Green if Obama starts kicking money back to the CTA for new stations and/or lines.
Sure you might have to drive to a grocery store, but that is true of just about anywhere else in the city that isn’t within two blocks of a grocery store.
And for the market, you have 2/3rd of the population in the Chicago area living south of Madison.
Than there is that thing about a crime rate in the 1st district that is somewhat lower than the near north districts.
If some don’t want to buy there, so be it. But the blanket characterizations of the entire area as being somehow undesirable are ridiculous.
I think the Museum Park area is as close to Vegas/Miami overbuilt/disaster as you get in Chicago, reality check: the area is going to experience significant depreciation over the next few years, more than any other area in Chicago.
“with many amenities still coming”
Yeah Buster I’ve been hearing that line for the past several years. Let me know when they arrive. I’m no longer naieve enough to buy that line–my friends that live in the S Loop are always up on the northside on weekends.
Maybe the S Loop would be a much more viable neighborhood if most of the condo developments weren’t purchased by investors and flippers who don’t live there. Much of it is a ghost town as these investors come to grips with the fact that they can’t rent it out to cover their carry (as this post shows).
Also this developer seems more interested in working on One Museum Park West than even finishing the glass paneling on this one. They really don’t appear to be in any hurry to finish this one.
November to January are terrible months to find renters. You have to take that in consideration. However, if a unit is vacant from spring to fall, it’s because the units aren’t being market correctly (very likely) and/or overpriced (very likely).
And I happen to like Museum Park as a neighborhood. It’s beautiful!
I do think the South Loop / Museum Park area will be a very desirable neighborhood going forward, but prices will fall and stagnate for a long time before then. The reason is because there is simply too much inventory. And prices got unsustainably high.
“November to January are terrible months to find renters. You have to take that in consideration. However, if a unit is vacant from spring to fall, it’s because the units aren’t being market correctly (very likely) and/or overpriced (very likely).”
Madfly- that’s correct. Winter months are not the prime time to find renters in Chicago.
But the reality is that these landlords have empty units that are bleeding income for months and months while they wait for “renters season”.
Your titles have a biased tone to them nearly all the time. Saying “3 months later: rental still available” emphasizes the vacancy but realistically, it shouldn’t be a surprise should it? Saying something is selling under it’s 2004 price… and then seeing the details that the 2008 price was only $20k over it’s 2004 price, gives a different perspective. But hey, it’s your blog. I hope you keep this going when the market rebounds. I wonder if it will be the same crowd (the blue birds of bad news).
If it’s listed UNDER the 2004 price, it’s going to sell for under the 2004 price. It doesn’t matter that they originally listed it only $20k over the 2004 price and had to reduce it under that, does it? It’s still selling under the 2004 price.
I have written about plenty of properties that sold quickly and where the seller made money.
In fact, there are plenty of properties where I just chatter about them because they’re gorgeous.
Unfortunately, at the moment, many of the listings on the market are older listings that have been hanging out awhile and have been reduced. And we’ve already chattered about them. That’s the reality right now- as this is the “slow” period in the market.
We just bought in SL. I think there is some truth to what every ones is saying. It is somewhat a less mature neighborhood than the north side. Nonetheless it is very conveniently located with respects to the lake and the park. I like the buildings way better than high rises up north with tired finishes and high assessments. As for prices going down: if the unemployment rate keeps soaring, the prices will plunge no matter in SL or gold coast or any where else for that matter. However, once the economy bounces back, the prices will go up (hopefully not in the same craze of the bubble). It is Chicago we are talking about people (assuming it won’t become Detroit lol)
i lived in tower iv for a year (inexpensive rental). say what you want but i loved the building, the views, and the easy access to work downtown. i like to bike and getting on the lakefront trail was 5 minutes and frankly the southern trail to hyde park was much more enjoyable than the meat market ride through LP/LV. One thing that I noticed living there was that it was a pretty diverse group – not a lot of the Yuppie crowd that frequent LP watering holes. at 700K the place I was living in was overpriced and the owner was taking a bath but at 450/500K this would be a decent place to live.
one persons opinion [/flamesuit on]
Bob, you and your frat friends from Theta Chi like Chad and Biff better stay in Lincoln park if you can’t handle it.
Also, do a little research on One Museum Place; the curvature of the building caused them to go back and redo the glass panels. This is the reason for the delay.
Ghost Town? What the hell are you talking about. The place is crawling with people. Take it you have never been to new restaurants in the last year, been to area like the Prairie District, etc. The neighborhood is filling in still.
Buster,
Well noted. Chad, Biff and I spent the weekdays acting corporate behind a desk, we have no desire to relive the charade on weekends.
And yea ghost town. I don’t see too many lights on in a lot of these developments on any random weeknight. And I did enough basic research on OMP to know its One Museum Park. The developer doesn’t seem interested in finishing the building but rather working on One Museum Park West instead. I don’t care whatever reason or excuse they haven’t added a panel in months. Sounds like an incompetent or disinterested developer to me.
The difference between LP & SL couldn’t be greater. South Loop is gonna crash hard and Biff, Chad and I have the popcorn and kegs ready. Apparently the ‘urbane sophistication’ that applies to SL owners doesn’t extend to personal finances. Us fratboys up in LP/LV laugh about that one back at the house 🙂
Buster- you are completely right. Not wanting to buy a condo that’s overvalued is completely unintelligent. Had more people sat down and really thought before signing on the dotted line, we wouldn’t have this real estate mess. Back to the point I am trying to make. It has nothing to do with the area, hell some of the 1211 units can probably see directly into a bears game, which is an immediate plus for someone like me. Add just a few more amenities to the area and it would be perfect.The area is great but I just don’t think it’s “800k for 1400 sq ft during a s*** market great”. Look at how many buildings in the South Loop went up during a time where even a homeless person could get a mortgage. I just think it’s better to at least wait until the end of this year before buying new construction in that area.
“As for prices going down: if the unemployment rate keeps soaring, the prices will plunge no matter in SL or gold coast or any where else for that matter. However, once the economy bounces back, the prices will go up”
If unemployment didn’t rise, the SL was still going to see price declines due to supply and demand. More precisely, it is oversupplied (look around) in a time of demand destruction (no more easy credit.) Even IF the economy does not continue down the crapper (yeah, right) SL prices will drop to rental value. With higher unemployment, rents will fall faster and push the bottom lower. This uncertainty will insure an overcorrection below rental values.
Will they eventually go up again? Sure, but only in response to rental market increases.
The days of speculative premiums are over for good.
Didn’t they just approve 4 new highrise condo buildings on Roosevelt? That was just insanity to me.
I agree that south loop is a very cool area, but I also agree that the condo market there looks like it is in trouble. One Museum Park is a great building, but the oversupply is trouble.
“Didn’t they just approve 4 new highrise condo buildings on Roosevelt? That was just insanity to me.”
It isn’t the city’s job to stop people from making bad investments–indeed denying them approval b/c of the market would undoubtedly lead to litigation and teh city would likely lose.
Yes, but lets face reality. The alderman must have his fingers in the deal somehow.