5-Bedroom Queen Anne Now $225K Under 2008 Price in Lakewood Balmoral: 5344 N. Lakewood
Roma recently pointed out a 6-bedroom Lakewood Balmoral home at 5459 N. Lakewood in Andersonville listed at $1.3 million that went under contract in a day.
But this 5-bedroom Queen Anne, just a block away, at 5344 N. Lakewood has been on the market 9 months.
It has been reduced $225,000 in that time.
It is now listed for $225,000 under the 2008 purchase price.
The listing says the house was featured in Better Homes & Gardens.
It has many of its vintage features, including hardwood floors, wood moldings and fireplaces.
The kitchen is an eat-in kitchen with sitting nook. It has white cabinets and appliances.
It’s unclear from all the listing info, but either 2 or 3 of the bedrooms are on the second level, a bedroom is also on the third level (along with a family room) and one bedroom is in the lower level.
It has a front sunroom and a back veranda that overlooks an oversized Chicago lot of 37.5×123.
It has central air and a 2-car garage.
Located just a few blocks from the restaurants/shops of Andersonville in a historic area, what will this house ultimatly sell for?
India Tougne at @Properties has the listing. See the pictures here.
5344 N. Lakewood: 5 bedrooms, 4 baths, no square footage listed, 2 car garage
- Sold in September 1992 for $320,000
- Sold in September 2008 for $1.2 million
- Originally listed in September 2010 for $1.2 million
- Reduced several times
- Currently listed for $975,000
- Taxes of $18,092
- Central Air
- Bedroom #1: 18×10 (second floor)
- Bedroom #2: 13×13 (second floor)
- Bedroom #3: 11×11 (second or third floor?)
- Bedroom #4: 17×10 (lower level)
- Bedroom #5: 11×10 (attic? or third floor?)
Wow, your pic looks *so* much better than the listing pic, Sabrina.
Is yours just flattering, or does it look that good in person, rather than pieced together like in the listing pic?
ps:
“It’s unclear from all the listing info, but either 2 or 3 of the bedrooms are on the second level”
The virtual tour link is to a smartfloorplan, which shows 3 brs on the 2d floor.
I like the gimp bedroom. More of a closet.
These older home layouts are almost always funky, challenged and not well suited to families.
School here isn’t great. Crime is higher than average, esp off Broadway.
Good for childless couple or something. Draw your own conclusions based on the neighborhood.
Finally what a 900k home should be/look like.
It is all about pricing. The one Roma posted
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/5459-N-Lakewood-Ave-60640/home/13402886
has a nice brick exterior and is nicer and has less weird angles so no surprise this one has been sitting on the market.
BTW, if you go on redfin, there are so many lovely properties near by. These houses are beautiful.
Lovely couple of blocks of homes. The condos in the area are nice too. A’ville is the most underrated hood in the city imho.
@JMM, crime isn’t an issue. East of Broadway is an entirely different hood. Kind of like being west of Western in Bucktown. Close, but might as well be miles away.
“The one Roma posted”
Also has 1/3 more land. The interior *spaces* are way better in that one, but do not love the exterior style, nor the “side” entrance and the way it relates to the lot b/c of that..
A’Ville is the gayest neighborhood in the city, trust me when I say that most families don’t want to live there nor will even consider it
“A’Ville is the gayest neighborhood in the city”
Then this place should go fast. Very nice. For some reason it reminds me very much of a friends old home in Annapolis.
$850,000. Look at those taxes! Nicely staged in photos, and I like Lakewood/Balmoral. Have friends who raised their kids here in 80s and 90s; back then parents did need to watch their kids when playing outside and sort out their friends. This was once a middle-class enclave of college-educated professionals in city, university, and lower-paying (architect) professions. A little hard-edged and underserved still to compete nose-to-nose with LP LV and St Ben’s areas, but asking prices have been high for past decade.
Frame house; without a quality home inspection it’s hard to determine condition of mech/elec. Roof shingles look like they’re curling. House will need to be scraped and painted every 7 years or so; unclear whether current paint is alligatoring but that’s a common problem with older wood-sided houses.
Look at those taxes! And an appeal won’t bring them down, given its own prior sale comp at $1.2 million.
“A’Ville is the gayest neighborhood in the city, trust me when I say that most families don’t want to live there nor will even consider it”
Oh gawd, this has potential to be ugly.
btw, I realized what I don’t like about the front of the house–the turning of the porch into a sun room. Front porch should have stayed open with the back being enclosed, if anything.
Absolutely STUNNING!
The perfect home,
The buyer will be fortunate.
JMM & Sonies, both completely out to lunch.
Lotsa strollers around here, lots of elem. kids walking to Peirce, lots of HS kids walking to Senn. Those schools aren’t great; L-B families likely have the dough for private.
These blocks are an idyllic urban environment (lots of well-priced rentals too).
“A’Ville is the gayest neighborhood in the city, trust me when I say that most families don’t want to live there nor will even consider it”
Wow. Just wow.
A’ville is a lovely neighborhood with little violence, an improving school with a very strong parent group, a great restaurant/social scene, close to el on the east side of the neighborhood and metra west and a half mile from the lakefront. I have a family and lust after a house on Wayne. Would move in a heartbeat without reservations if I could.
Please make your assumptions for yourself and not for others and leave your bigotry hidey-holed in your black crusty heart.
“the turning of the porch into a sun room. Front porch should have stayed open with the back being enclosed, if anything.”
huge pet-peeve of mine, next to fake wood paneling the enclosed front porch makes groove angry. groove smash, groove hungry, arrrrrrr
I’m just saying in general anon, I don’t necessarily think that way, but a TON of wasps & christians do. I don’t even like vintage but think this house is beautiful, I just think its going to have a hard time selling for this kind of $$$, especially when other more family established locations are smiliarily priced.
and let me reiterate… Me, personally, I don’t think that way, but a large percentage of the population still does and might be a factor in selling this great home
I think this is a nice house and shows well. Would have to look closely at the clapboard as painting can be expensive if never properly redone. I don’t mind too much the enclosed front porch as it looks more integral to the structure than some “befuddling” jobs one can see. And yes Sonies that was a particularly bad comment knowing that gay ghettos generally help improve the urban landscape, add to neighborhood street life, lead to improved safety, etc. I do agree that families may not like the lack of closets and bathroom arrangements. I would consider 800-850 more realistic.
“a TON of wasps & christians do”
How many of those sorts who live around Chicago who can afford $1mm+ homes *don’t* move to DuPage? I just don’t see a meaningful overlap b/t people who would consider this neighborhood–even if tehgays weren’t there–and people who are concerned about tehgays as neighbors.
I for one rather raise my kid in a gay neighborhood any day rather than close by church fanatics. They have taste, bring in good restaurants and businesses, are nice and friendly to women, and understand the value of a nice handbag…QED
“Wow, your pic looks *so* much better than the listing pic, Sabrina.”
Listing agent made sure not to show the poorly maintained front lawn.
JMM- Lakewood Balmoral is full of families. Perhaps a few send their kids to Peirce and many send their kids to private schools in the area.
Andersonville does have a relatively large gay population and lots of straight families too.
Well duh anon, the groupthinkers always move to the same spot, which further emphasizes my point. Most successful big ten graduate wasps/christian family units won’t even consider a place like this, so the demand is less and therefore, the price drops you see even on a great place like this one
btw, if you ever make it up to Hamburger Mary’s on clark… try their Gangster Ale and “gouda morning burger”
really good stuff
I don’t think the closets and bathrooms look so bad here. Powder on main, 2 full on 2nd (3 bedrooms) and 1.5 in basement. Don’t think I have ever seen 2 baths in a basement before!
“Well duh anon, the groupthinkers always move to the same spot, which further emphasizes my point. Most successful big ten graduate wasps/christian family units won’t even consider a place like this”
They also wouldn’t consider my ‘hood, and it isn’t b/c of tehgays. I just thought that reference was unnecessary and likely to turn the convo to something else.
“Listing agent made sure not to show the poorly maintained front lawn.”
Really hard to get that strip of grass to grow with certain trees and the amount of snow we had. Mine looks like crap right now, too, even if other grass is doing well.
“2 full on 2nd (3 bedrooms)”
Kind of a weird 2, tho, with apparently sliding doors between.
Seems affordable.
not my style at all, but great oversized lot and I love Andersonville. It’s truly one of the few neighborhoods left that have not been overun by vanilla chain stores. There’s a few up there, but by and large it is local.
I think this may go closer to 900k.
Agree with anon (tfo). Anyone with a problem with the population of the immediate area, took off for Dupage county decades ago. Good riddance!
“a TON of wasps & christians do”
Lol. WASPs and Christians. As if they are mutually exclusive.
“@JMM, crime isn’t an issue. East of Broadway is an entirely different hood. Kind of like being west of Western in Bucktown. Close, but might as well be miles away.”
The census tract across broadway is in the top 15% worst in the entire city from an index crime perspective. True the home in question is in a statistically safer though not great tract (about equal to lake view’s more criminally active tracts). Personally, I consider that stretch of broadway to be not so family friendly from a crime perspective.
“They also wouldn’t consider my ‘hood, and it isn’t b/c of tehgays.”
Why wouldn’t they consider North Center?
““the turning of the porch into a sun room. Front porch should have stayed open with the back being enclosed, if anything.”
agreed. I love Old Victorians and Queen Annes..wish there were a way to search exclusively on house architecture style
Totally wrote off the Uptown/Andersonville/gawd awful stretch of area after seeing a guy get shot in broad daylight at Lawrence and Sheridan. Gunfire on the way home from the hospital with an infant is never a fun thing to hear…
This place is georgous the surrounding blocks are too, the problem though is that the surrounding area is just not so great and there are such better options for vintage lovers out there. This is a turnoff for many famlies (not all). Price should come down a bit to compensate for the area.
@formerroscoevillager — Please, Lakewood Balmoral and Andersonville proper are a world away from Lawrence and Sheridan. (And btw I agree with you re that area). I’ve lived in A’ville for years now and I’m never anywhere near that area.
“Totally wrote off the Uptown/Andersonville/gawd awful stretch of area after seeing a guy get shot in broad daylight at Lawrence and Sheridan. Gunfire on the way home from the hospital with an infant is never a fun thing to hear…”
This is a great house and I’m surprised it hasn’t sold yet, unless it needs some major work. Tons of families and gorgeous streets.
Andersonville and Lakewood-Balmoral are both wonderful neighborhoods with no violence, and are diverse and tolerant. Parents who don’t want a white-bread neighborhood love raising their kids in these areas.
Featured house is beautiful, huge, and well-maintained. Have walked past it and yes, it looks this good. I think the asking price is not too out-of-line, but it might have to be reduced because of the difficulty in obtaining jumbo financing these days.
“Why wouldn’t they consider North Center?”
The hypothetical people who are afraid of living next to gay people? Because it’s in the city, and you can buy a bigger house for less money in [suburb X in Dupage]?
Next door, 5340 was for sale for a year (last listing price I believe was 800k).
http://www.urbanrealestate.com/property/5340-N-Lakewood-Chicago-IL-60640-5RMXRDWXNSFAI.html
“Really hard to get that strip of grass to grow with certain trees and the amount of snow we had. Mine looks like crap right now, too, even if other grass is doing well.”
My grass is greener than green and doing too good. the fight with dandelions i have lost due to the rain and a neighbors unfertilized lawn.
my rose-of-sharron (sp) bushes/trees (what are they classed as?) have taken a beating from the wind and rain. my tulips are all jacked up, asian lilly are smacked around.
but gosh darn the grass/lawn is doin too good
Not able to sell. Rented instead. $3700/month.
http://www.urbanrealestate.com/property/5340-N-Lakewood-CHICAGO-IL-60640-NC55HRAQ3GTTU.html
“but gosh darn the grass/lawn is doin too good”
Everything but the parking strip. Tree plus clay under the topsoil plus snow/salt damage is, I think, the culprit.
“Everything but the parking strip. Tree plus clay under the topsoil plus snow/salt damage is, I think, the culprit.”
oh the parking stip, gotcha. that ALWAYS will take the worse abuse with heavy rains and peoples feet. i dont think anybodys in the dense part of the city doesnt look like a mud puddle or a teenager trying to grow a beard.
seen people try to brick pave the strip but in a few years ends up uneven and crappy. seen people try to do little mini iron gates around thier patch only to see the curb side of it bent up.
the best i seen stand up to the abuse is the wood chip or garden rocks with a nice brick circle around the tree.
“Not able to sell. Rented instead. $3700/month.”
Hmmm, I though $7300 was the norm? Must be a typo.
“the best i seen stand up to the abuse is the wood chip or garden rocks with a nice brick circle around the tree.”
I like the *concept* of the shrubbery/prairie grass strips, but wouldn’t really want one, unless I get the 100′ lot.
And I focused on that, because the rest of the front yard here looks okay–not my preference for planting, etc. but not *bad*, except that strip, which is worse than average.
“Not able to sell. Rented instead. $3700/month.”
wow..I was never in that place, but seems like a heck of a deal at 3700 per month for rent. Given the size alone I would think it would go for at least another 1,000. Similar to Rahm’s house in size,which was renting for 5,000.
“Similar to Rahm’s house in size,which was renting for 5,000.”
Rahm’s house has a much larger kitchen. But these folks probably get to use all the storage areas, so I’d call that a wash and agree that $3700 seems cheap, especially as the MLS ask price.
Yeah, but Rahm’s tenant seemed to have beens motivated by a desire to leverage the rent into something more.
“But these folks probably get to use all the storage areas…”
Hahahahahaah!
This place has a nice parkway if you have ever walked by it. They have a stainless steel fence with some nice landscaping. At 4.7mil they obviously blew some coin on it…
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/1744-W-Cortland-St-60622/home/39556954
AOB, i recognize that, the problem is that there are better insulated parts of the city.
“I like the *concept* of the shrubbery/prairie grass strips, but wouldn’t really want one, unless I get the 100? lot.
And I focused on that, because the rest of the front yard here looks okay–not my preference for planting, etc. but not *bad*, except that strip, which is worse than average.”
i thought about doing the strip up but i leave my jeep parked out front all the time so i just leave it as grass. I did when i first moved into the house we rock annuals along the drivway between the grass and paved part. Sounded good in theory, its now just a strip of pavers that dont match the driveway.
my buddy who rents in Jeff Park the strip by his building the landlord put down 2×6’s as it banks to the street and becomes a huge puddle. sad thing it the 2×6’s bend and you still get a shoefull if not paying attention
Because living near big ten north-side, north-face, cubs-fan
douche bags
is awesome?
What is the real competition for this house and hood? Where else in the city would you find a house like this with the same level of walkability, public transportation, and depth of neighborhood amenities (restaurants, etc)? You can find a similar house in Ravenswood, but you don’t have nearly the same amount of shopping amenities. Maybe Lincoln Square?
Further south GZ hoods are more expensive and the housing stock seems to be more bland new construction.
Oak Park and Evanston offer similar houses at the same price point and would have largely the same amenities. But that isn’t Chicago proper…
“I for one rather raise my kid in a gay neighborhood any day rather than close by church fanatics. They have taste, bring in good restaurants and businesses, are nice and friendly to women, and understand the value of a nice handbag…”
Couldn’t agree more!
This house is gorgeous and I love love the neighborhood. If we could afford it it would be sold tomorrow.
“agreed. I love Old Victorians and Queen Annes..wish there were a way to search exclusively on house architecture style”
Icarus – The MLS is a database and the search query can be as broad or narrow as desired. “Style Of House” is one of the search fields. Assuming the listing agent completed this field and properly classified the home’s architectural style, a home search can be narrowed by these styles:
A American 4-Sq.
B Bi-Level
C Brownstone
D Bungalow
E Cape Cod
F Colonial
G Contemporary
H Cottage
I English
J Farmhouse
K French Provincial
L Georgian
M Greystone
N Log
O Mediter./Spanish
P Prairie
Q Quad Level
R Queen Anne
S Ranch
T Row House
U Step Ranch
V Traditional
W Tri-Level
X Tudor
Y Victorian
Z Other
AA Mid Level
A federal judge whose name was unfortunately put into headlines around the world lived in this neighborhood; and I mention this only to show that the residents of the area are generally wealthier, older and urban, and want privacy away from typical drunken big ten extravaganza that is most of lincoln park, lakeview and west of there.
“Hmmm, I though $7300 was the norm? Must be a typo.”
For a newer SFH house in a good school district it is, apparently. Priced by people who are scared to buy.
From the pictures, I certainly like this home more than the $1.3M place! Under a million seems like a more reasonable price for the nieghborhood too. I think it should go for around asking if the right buyer comes along soon, or may have to be reduced to widen the pool of buyers.
I even like the rented house Roma posted more than the 1.3M house…..maybe I am just weird.
Thanks Chris M
“Assuming the listing agent completed this field and properly classified the home’s architectural style”
Considering the board range of listing agents out there, I’m not going to rely on any assumptions.
How long does it take to get to say Washington & State by the red line from here? With Wilson routinely derided as a ‘bad place’ – would anyone use the Red Line say at 9 pm to come home from work to get to here?
I’ve taken the red line up to howard or lawrence only randomly and usually with friends, and always socially so never was paying too much attention to the timing. Google says ~ 30 mins – is that accurate?
“With Wilson routinely derided as a ‘bad place’ – would anyone use the Red Line say at 9 pm to come home from work to get to here?”
Why is Wilson relevant when you’d get off at Berwyn? Maybe I’m missing something.
“Google says ~ 30 mins – is that accurate?”
On those days when everything is working right, sure, once you’re on the train. Supposed schedule run time is 26 minutes, but I doubt that happens very often. Add five for normal delays, and that’ll be about right.
I never felt unsafe when commuting on the Redline to the Berwyn and Argyle stops. I took the train pretty late some nights after work (after 10pm). I actually feel less safe on the Green line. The Redline has it’s share of wack jobs (deranged and smelly homeless folks). Most just drool on themselves and leave you alone. The green line has more of a thug element. My commute down to Lake Street was around 30 mins give or take a few, including stopping to get coffee.
I grew up in East Lakeview in the 70s and 80s. It wasn’t gay when I first lived there but it was very gay by the time I was a teen. It never bothered me much. The gay people really revitalized the area, and many of the best stores on Broadway were opened by gay people.
You’d use the Berwyn stop on the Red Line here, just a few blocks east, not the Wilson. The Berwyn stop is MOSTLY (not always) pretty calm and the surrounding neighborhood is quiet.
And regarding gays, there is only one thing i have to say about them, which is that you want to buy into a neighborhood BEFORE they come, and not after. Gays have this way of improving every nabe they move into and making it into a “trendy” area. So you definitely want to get in ahead of them, as prices tend to start ramping up rapidly following an influx.
“And regarding gays, there is only one thing i have to say about them, which is that you want to buy into a neighborhood BEFORE they come, and not after. Gays have this way of improving every nabe they move into and making it into a “trendy” area. So you definitely want to get in ahead of them, as prices tend to start ramping up rapidly following an influx.”
So which neighborhoods do you think are likely to see the next influx?
“So which neighborhoods do you think are likely to see the next influx?”
Chris, I see them staying in the current areas, or spreading out instead of concentrating in a new area. This is particularly true in this market.
While this is a positive stereotype too, I’d like to remind people it is a huge oversimplification too. I know plenty of gay slobs and many that don’t live in gay neighborhoods. Although, wherever they are thier houses do tend to be nice…even if messy as some are. 🙂
I read this article late last year about Berwyn trying to attract gays and lesbians to the community to help turn its reputation around: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-09-02/news/ct-met-gay-berwyn-0903-20100902_1_mayor-robert-lovero-berwyn-development-corp-lesbian
I remember that article well! I found it surprising at first, but I’m sure many are priced out of Oak Park. However, I have a feeling as prices continue to drop Berwyn will be a less likely neighborhood for gays and lesbians, as well as others.
Berwyn would have a lot more appeal if the Pink Line continued into town. At one time that branch of the L terminated at Oak Park Ave: http://www.chicago-l.org/maps/route/maps/1925guidemap.jpg
You can walk to the Blue Line stop on Oak Park Ave from most of Berwyn, so it isn’t really necessary for the Pink to run into town..though CTA plans for it to, eventually.
Berwyn and even poor beaten-up Cicero could be revitalized easily. The commercial district in Cicero along Cermak Road has ideal small commercial buildings and is within a block of the Pink line (the old Douglas line) that was totally rebuilt a few years ago. I predict that these old small-town-style inner suburbs will become very popular and will rebuild as fuels become more expensive.
I think I just broke my wrist from furiously fanning myself over this house. Too cute by half; fabulous vintage features. That floor inlay! That star runner! Even that attic!
You can walk to the blue line from SOME of Berwyn, far from most. Berwyn goes far south. The people I know in Berwyn didn’t want to go past 16th and no one would even look at places towards Cermak and Berwyn goes way south of Cermak still. It would be nice though if the Pink line did keep going. I’ve accidentally ended up at the end of the Pink line before trying to get to Berwyn. (Far from my best night…)
Thanks for the responses. I was definitely thinking along the lines of personal & family safety issues for riding the red line, but admit some of my perception comes from Russ’ experience on the green line w/ the ipod getting ripped off.
“You can walk to the Blue Line stop on Oak Park Ave from most of Berwyn, so it isn’t really necessary for the Pink to run into town..though CTA plans for it to, eventually.”
That’s at stretch. I don’t think most people would consider a mile or more to an L station walkable, and only the very north section of Berwyn, north of 16th street, might be considered walkable to the Blue Line. Berwyn stretches south to 39th (Pershing), so really only about 10-15% of Berwyn is walking distance to the Blue Line. I would think that the 3 Metra stops in Berwyn are the best means of public transit into the city for most of the people that live there.
“I was definitely thinking along the lines of personal & family safety issues for riding the red line”
Not much different from riding the red line at off hours anywhere on the northside. Getting off at the Wilson stop and, especially, walking east, at off hours, is the concern. Nothing diff from standard “you’re in a city, watch your surroundings” at the Berwyn stop (rather than *in* Berwyn (the center of it all!!), with which I have minimal experience).
Also – amazingly pretty place and while I’m not a vintage fan could envision living here until I couldn’t deal with stairs.
anon – fair enough, just my ignorance of the area. I do like walking in this area when visiting with friends who live there – but I’ve only driven or cabbed there thus far. One set of friends are the mythical couple with kids who, on purpose, bought a condo with the intent to stay.
ouch on the taxes. That is so F’d up that taxes on this place would be 18K.
Seems priced right and nicely staged.
Lake View is Boys Town ane Aville is Girls Town – at least that’s how it’s been explained to me.
I love how the Xmas lights are so abundant on the houses in this area that the light “spills out” into the street, so it’s easy for a driver to forget to turn on the headlights!
The address on Lakewood is NOT in Andersonville; this is in the Historic Lakewood Balmoral District which is to the east of Andersonville which is a separate historic district.
Love the house and the location. The price seems fair. If I were in the market for a house in the city, this would be up near the top on my list. Main issue is schools. Our two kids are in grade school now, and I wouldn’t want to pay for private school in the city. That’s probably what we’d have to do if we bought this place.
I saw this listing today, and while it is further north in Edgewater Glen, it immediately reminded me of these homes in L-B. Such a beautiful house!
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/6222-N-Lakewood-Ave-60660/home/13414024