Foreclosure Update: Some Sell Within Days While Others Get Stale

Some bank-owned units seem to sell like hotcakes and others sit on the market for months. 

Why?

Unit #406, the 2/2 in The Sterling at 345 N. LaSalle that is bank-owned has been on the market for several months at $285,000.  See the pictures below:

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The two bedroom foreclosure at 212 W. Washington that I chattered about in March 2008, Unit #1902, is apparently now under contract after being on the market for several months. 

It was a 2/2 with the parking- listed at $299,000– far cheaper than  anything in the building. See pictures below:

212-w-washington-_1902-livingroom.jpg

212-w-washington-_1902-kitchen.jpg

This distressed property in 523 S. Plymouth in Printers Row, a two bedroom loft with washer/dryer in the unit, apparently went under contract within days of hitting the market. It is cheaper than the one bedrooms currently for sale in the building.

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Unit #705: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1240 square feet

  • Sold in March 2004 for $290,500
  • Listed for $229,900 – parking available in the building for around $30,000
  • Assessments of $418 a month
  • Listed as “as is where is”
  • @Properties has the listing

The two bedroom bank-owned unit in Michael’s Terrace, at 1309 N. Wells in Old Town is apparently still available after several days on the market. (Sorry- no interior pictures available.)

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Unit #607: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, w/d in the unit, parking included

  • Currently listed for $279,900
  • Assessments of $390 a month
  • The Lake Shore Drive Group has the listing

The other two bedrooms for sale in the building are currently listed in the mid-$300,000s. The $279,000 price is closer to what units in this building were going for in 2003-2004.

15 Responses to “Foreclosure Update: Some Sell Within Days While Others Get Stale”

  1. I look stricly at foreclosures all of the time. Some are just plain ugly. The Sterling is clearly nothing special. That loft was a pretty good deal I think.

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  2. I like the look of this Michael’s Terrace building, but I can’t help but wonder how much natural light makes it through those tinted windows.

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  3. How do you get visiblity on the bank-owned properties in Chicago land area and even nationally? What is a good website that gives that information?

    Appreciate the response.

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  4. I know of a site called RealtyTrac.com that has this information, however it is not a cheap subscription at $50/month. If you were serious about buying soon it would be worth it.

    Trulia now includes Realtrac foreclosures, but you need to subscribe to get any kind of detail on them.

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  5. Much like individual sellers, some banks will price their foreclosures to sell (ie under the market), while others will chase the market down. It all depends on their market knowledge and willingness to face reality.

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  6. You can check out Chase’s website under mortgage and they have a link to all of there bank owned properties and who they have them listed with.Maybe other financial institutions offer that as well.I just haven’t checked.

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  7. This website has links to REO departments of major financial institutions.

    http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/wiki/REO_Database_List.asp

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  8. Nobody should worry that they are missing a great deal today because the didn’t know about a foreclosed property. They will be a big percentage of all sales soon enough, at which time they will set all future pricing as the new comps.

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  9. I think I saw a three bed in The Sterling 345 N LaSalle #3802 listed at $384,900, for about three days and then gone. I hope there would be more of such lists coming.

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  10. G: I agree with you. One of the reasons I wrote this post was because six months ago the foreclosures seemed to be selling quickly as investors and others “jumped” on them.

    Today- not so much. They are selling at a much slower rate. Some move fast- especially if there haven’t been many in that particular building before. But once there has been more than one- they are slower to sell.

    Six more months from now- who knows? But I would assume we’ll continue to see more of them. There hasn’t been a slowdown in the listings I’ve seen.

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  11. I dunno….bankrate.com has an article heavily quoting the NAR, here are some snippets, at least the article also quotes bankrate analysts that don’t have spin:

    “the NAR attributes a large part of the decline to difficulties in obtaining mortgage financing due to the recent credit crunch”

    Oh yes. The drop isn’t due to a return to sane lending standards but rather the difficulty of those who got loans who never should’ve during a brief period of time can no longer get them anymore!

    “Patty Kelley, president of the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors… expects short sales and foreclosure sales to keep prices artificially low for the next couple of months. As a result, “sellers can’t expect the same kind of appreciation they would have seen in 2004,”

    Oh I think we can Kelley! All we need to do is put a little minus, some call it a hyphen, in front of those appreciation rates. Afterall prices are now “artifically low”, they must be bound to turn a corner any day now. I need to strike while the embers are hot!

    “However, Kelley sees a silver lining for buyers sitting on the sidelines. “The good news is that there are great deals out there for people to buy,” she says.”

    Yes I can’t wait to buy Kelley. Owning now is about 1.8x my rent as opposed to double which is what it would’ve been at the peak. This 10% price drop is the perfect buying opportunity! Las Vegas is the _perfect_ market to buy! 😀

    http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/mortgages/home-values1.asp?caret=1

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  12. forrealestate on May 14th, 2008 at 8:10 am

    i would say that another factor that is very impt in sale-time is whether a property is “distressed,” subject to a short sale/bank-approval, or a foreclosure. 3 very diff’t situations, in my experience.

    this listing at 523 Plymouth, per the mls, is NOT a bank-owned property and doesn’t state that it is subject to bank approval.

    again, based on what i’m seeing on the mls, this particular property at 523 Plymouth did sell for 290.5k in ’04 to an individual owner. the property was then transferred into a trust in the same person’s name in ’06, but the only mortgage listed is for 130,500, in ’04. looks like this one faces east, so, perhaps the distress comes from the ridiculous highrise going up 12 feet (yes, Library Tower is ONLY 12 FEET from 523 Plymouth — a historical/landmark building) behind it and blocking the entire view of each east-facing unit. maybe the owner — or an estate? — just wants out and decided not to screw around.

    from what i’ve experienced in this market, every transaction is still super case-by-case. some short sales are marketed before the owners even have a pay-off/short-sale approval. so, if an offer is made, the offeror then gets to sit and wait while the bank takes up to 6 weeks to approve a number. but, many banks will NOT negotiate a short sale with an owner until the owner DOES procure and produce an offer.

    and then there are the agents representing the banks — like the one to whose reputation i alluded with regard to 1234 Dearborn. if an agent won’t even return calls or emails or faxes, . . . well, that puts a damper on the sale time. of course!

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  13. forrealestate on May 14th, 2008 at 8:23 am

    also, . . . the agent who represents the seller for 523 Plymouth is a very experienced agent who has made his home in Printer’s Row for years and years. trans: he knows what he’s doing and listed it to sell and sold. good stuff.

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  14. forealestate on May 15th, 2008 at 3:36 pm

    ya, whoever that realtor is IS either ill-informed or stupid — you’re absolutely right.
    i don’t know what the motivation might be for misleading a seller like that. a property sells when it is priced reasonably to fit the market. if the owners don’t KNOW the market, they don’t have the information to price appropriately.
    and, if it is not priced appropriately, it doesn’t sell, and the realtor gets to make a hobby out of showing it.
    doesn’t make sense to me either!
    good luck to you and your parents!

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