Trying to Sell 2 Years Later: 1208 W. Webster in Lincoln Park
How long do you now have to hold onto a property to “make” money in this kind of market?
We’ve recently been chattering about quite a few sellers looking to sell after only two years. Take this condo at 1208 W. Webster in Lincoln Park.
It seems to have all the requirements (central air, w/d, 2 bathrooms), except it doesn’t have deeded parking.
Here’s the listing:
FANTASTIC LP PENTHOUSE PRICED TO SELL! OPEN FLOORPLAN W/EXPOSED BRICK, HWDFLRS THRU-OUT, GAS FP & HUGE WINDOWS. KITCHEN HAS A MAPLE CABINETS, SS APPLS & GRANITE COUNTERS. LARGE MASTER SUITE W/TONS OF STORAGE, PRIVATE MARBLE BATH W/DBL BOWL VANITY & WHIRLPOOL TUB.
UNIT ALSO INCLUDES IN-UNIT W/D, GREAT STORAGE, BRAND NEW BACK DECK & ROOF RIGHTS. LEASED PARKING IN SECURE GARAGE. A MUST SEE!
@Properties has the listing. See more pictures here.
Unit #4: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1325 square feet
- Sold in February 2002 for $355,000
- Sold in August 2006 for $460,000
- Currently listed for $499,900
- Assessments of $143 a month
- Taxes of $4,922
- Central air
- No parking- leased nearby
Overpriced by $100,000 minimum.
This is America and they are entitled to 10% appreciation per annum as a constitutional right.
Oh look it has granite countertops! Nnow that is a rareity that I like to see. It really helps differentiate this particular unit from others. I really love the stainless steel refrigerator too. I think that must be a Subzero. What a steal for 500k. It _won’t last long at this price_. 😉
I have noted that all listings are “must see” – I think it is a typo for “must seLL” – but not at this price.
Bob are you channeling Steve?
Why would anyone buy this place when you could have a townhouse with more square footage in decent shape in LP or Lakeview with deeded parking (maybe even garage parking) for under 500K? At this price point, you can have your pick of 2 beds 2 baths on the north side.
This is a really nice unit. From the pictures, the unit looks pretty wide (compared to others). However, the second bedroom looks extremely *tiny* … it’s essentially a den with a small window.
Who knows what this will go for, but I’d be willing to pay at max 425K.
a,
Obviously my sarcasm is lost on some..
“This is America and they are entitled to 10% appreciation per annum as a constitutional right.”
And yet these sellers are only asking for 5% annual appreciation — obviously a steal.
Wow, chairs from Ikea in a $500,000 condo?
5% appreciation and thats it? Wow its like they’re practically giving the place away!
This won’t sell until it drops to $280,000.
Another victim of the housing bubble.
I’d love to see this unit sell for $280k but
1) There are plenty of knifecatchers still out there;
2) The current owner will probably live there for 20 years until he gets at least get his money back. The market will literally freeze before solvent buyers sell $460k condos for $280k. The only way it will sell for $280 is if this buyer goes into foreclosure which is not likely.
John S and Homedelete–can I ask where you own your home? This condo is overpriced, but it is an asking price. There is value in location and this place, despite not having deeded parking, is in a prime spot for residential living. To suggest it’s worth $280K is more la-la land thinking than the asking price. Get real.
I don’t own a home. I rent and I get a great deal in a good building. I refused to participate in the mania 2003+. I wasn’t in a position to buy prior to that due to being a full time student. I’m waiting for prices to return to reality. And reality is what people can afford to pay based on debt/income ratios using fully amortizing 30 year mortgages (not IO balloons and high LTV and d/i ratios so common this decade). Between the spouse and I (both lawyers), we earn more than enough to income to purchase a lot of the homes posted here, but we don’t want to pay for someone else’s excesses of the mania. I’ve got plenty of time and plenty of cash to just wait this mess out. $280k is not la-la land. $280k is 2.8x a household income of $100k a year. Perfect for a husband making $100k a year and his stay at home wife – Granted may be less than the median for LP but this is a less than a median sort of place, and the brown line seriously destroys its value.
where is the brown line in relation to this unit? i thought it was over on Sheffield?
i would hate to see it’s value seriously destroyed lol
The K-street lobbyists of the Financial Services industry are trying their darndest to instead of having a rapid deflation of this bubble to instead make it slow, prolonged and drawn out.
I’m not sure which is better at this point. The rapid scenario will surely result in more economic damage, the other scenario perhaps less so but stretched out over a long period of time.
Regardless, for some areas only the rapid scenario is feasible: due to the collapse in condo demand for Chicago in 2008, it is clear that Chicago is one of those areas. The contraction in credit will only further exacerbate this.
homedelete–thanks for taking the time to answer. i appreciate it.
“where is the brown line in relation to this unit? i thought it was over on Sheffield?
i would hate to see it’s value seriously destroyed lol”
Ha! I confused this with the Bissell property. Today was a crazy day at work. The more the economy slides into a recession the busier I get. I spent most of the afternoon in meetings. I left only to take a few phone calls and make a few posts while on hold.
Homedelete – I have to again say you are a tool. Congrats!
Did anyone notice the baby’s room in the listing? I bet they want more room or another baby is on the way. I wonder where they’re going to move?
One general trend I’ve noticed lately is a lot of young couples who bought in the LP, LV, loop, etc, areas are starting to have families and they want more space for their money. They also refuse to move to the suburbs. Unfortunately, not every couple with kids can afford a $1,000,000 SFH in their current neighborhood so they’re moving slightly more NW where prices are affordable. In the last few years I’ve seen a number of couples move to places like Avondale, Forest Glen, Edgebrook, Logan, Portgage Park, Albany Park, etc, where $600k (which is still a lot of money btw) can buy a decent SFH. Last weekend I was in Gompers Park in Mayfair and it was filled with hundreds of people for what I think was a catholic school pee wee football game. The parents looked mostly in their 30’s, professional, american born, etc. It made me think that 5 years ago many of these people may have lived in 2 bedroom condos in LP then sold and moved NW for quality of life issues. I think this is a population shift that’s underway. 10 years ago city couples with kids moved to naperville or schaumburg but now they’re staying in the city. It’s just a thought I had. What’s going to happen if the current LP/LV/WP dwellers cannot sell their inflated condos to the next round of knife dwellers? Will they actually stay and raise their elementary school children in the city? Will the private schools start opening new schools instead of closing them? Well, I’m off to the northwoods for the weekend. Since I’ll be in the area I’m going to tour the leinie’s brewery for the first time. have a good week/weekend everyone.
“Steven Heitman on October 1st, 2008 at 8:23 pm
Homedelete – I have to again say you are a tool. Congrats!”
Jesus, not this troglodyte again. Please go back to your cardboard shack underneath I-94 and sell your body for crack. Seriously.
Homedelete – I just read your post from above about Gompers Park. You are seriously troubled. The trend for families to stay downtown (including the areas you mentioned) started about 10 years ago and has been part of my rage on why Chicago neighborhoods have strong demand. Are you on crack or did you really just realize this flight to the city was under way? Seriously Homedelete, how can anyone take your comments seriously when you are this out of touch? And by the way, $1,000,000 does not buy you a SFH in Lincoln Park. It may get you a high end townhome, but just the standard chicago lot sells for $1,000,000.
Stay out of Gompers Park. That is a couple of blocks from My grandma’s house and she does not like trash in her neighborhood.
homedelete,
On demographic/gentrifying trends I think you are spot on. Roscoe Village/Roscoe Village/Ravenswood/Andersonville were the latest hot hoods. For a great posting of their entitlement mentality with regard to appreciation see mr aztecs posts:
http://www.city-data.com/forum/chicago/245385-raising-kids-city-possible-7.html
These idiot yuppies thought they could have it all and change it all. They were going to stay in the city and be ‘urban pioneers’ and still be able to walk to restaurants and use public transit, etc. The first wave got in when the going was good and things were affordable.
Now condos are 400k+ for 2/2s in these areas and the CPS schools are shit and even dual income couples realize they can’t stretch their 160k combined income budgets to cover the mortgage, lifestyle, nanny and private school tuition for kid #1 (zero savings at this point) and impossible at kid#2. They finally realize its not worth it at this point. F____d b____rds ndeed.
I can’t wait to watch them lose a BOATLOAD of money for their hipster mindset on their move to Schaumburg. Reality trumps un-thoughtout idealism every time.
Err second Roscoe Village reference should’ve read “Lincoln Square”.
homedelete–the din of the moving trucks from the suburbs to the city has been deafening for more than a decade. what planet do you reside on?
“homedelete–the din of the moving trucks from the suburbs to the city has been deafening for more than a decade. what planet do you reside on?”
CCRD shows that the previous owner of this unit now lives in a big house in Riverside. Steven, you failed. You should have sold him a multi-million dollar house on Orchard St. Why did you let him move to the suburbs? Oh the horror of moving to the burbs…
ROTFLMAO. We have a new one from the shills.
“The suburbanites will save us.”
How many of those movers have families? How many were not buying a primary residence? How will the crashing suburban markets affect this trend when they can no longer sell at bubble prices?
Lastly (and I know this will be unlikely from the shills – as it always is around here,) any data to confirm this theory?
Shills, how do you like those September sales numbers for condo/TH in Lincoln Park? Looks like a 40 pct YOY drop in sales and 10 pct drop in YOY median (which you shills hold so dear, although I predict that will change very soon.)
The price declines always follow the volume declines as I have been telling you for some time now. Denial will work no longer.
Please be sure to tell all those suburbanites, foreigners, immune rich people, and new law firm recruits to keep the moving trucks parked.
Now the real fun starts. I would say to you shills to “polish up those resumes” but the taint of your current career will follow you everywhere.
“Now the real fun starts. I would say to you shills to “polish up those resumes” but the taint of your current career will follow you everywhere.”
Realtor and mortgage broker synonymous on a resume! Your resume goes straight into the garbage!
G.. “taint” way too polite for these whores, don’t you mean “STINK”
“the CPS schools are shit”
Not this again. Go ahead and raise your not-quite-lake-wobegon kids in Schaumburg–you clearly have a seriously stilted view of what constitutes a “good” school.
anon,
I don’t know a lot about CPS schools having never set foot in one. Without opening up a box of worms I was trying to mimic the thought process of these parents to highlight their dilemma.
I don’t know if its true or not, but it seems to be their perception. I could also comment about demographics but that would quickly delve into a heated discussion well beyond the scope of this blog.
Read like a statement of fact, rather than a imagined part of a hypothetical person’s thought process. You are certainly correct that there are many who think that–they don’t live in my neighborhood.
Go spend a day at Crane or Clemente and then spend a day at Schaumburg and then you tell me which public high school you want to send you kid to. There are a handful of fantastic cps schools and but the majority of schools are terrible. This is pretty much common knowledge. I don’t know why anyone even bothers to debate this issue.
Why not spend a day at the local school for this property? It’s Oscar Mayer Elem. and it is great. The local HS is Lincoln Park HS, which has made the top 100 high schools in the country for years now (US News and World Report).
“Go spend a day at Crane or Clemente”
Why not spend a night in a crackhouse on the westside? Or live in west englewood?
I don’t–and won’t–live in a neighborhood where those are the high school options, so it’s extermely irrelevant. Besides, it’s the elementary schools that have been the focus here. It’s been noted–consistently–that there is a real issue with CPS at the high school level, but there are LOTS of fine elementary schools in lots of different parts of the city. Secondary education is a problem, and probably will remain a problem outside of the (six, currently) selective enrollment schools + LPHS.
HD: “Between the spouse and I”
Hey, congratuations (or is it best wishes?)!
Yes but how hard is it to get your kid into these acclaimed highschools? From I’ve heard you need the blessing of Dictator Daley and The Machine.
“From I’ve heard you need the blessing of Dictator Daley and The Machine.”
You’ve admitted not knowing “a lot”, so “what you hear” has to be judged on that basis. In other words, the second hand BS proferred by someone who doesn’t know anything about the subject should just be ignored.
I have a number of high school kids/recent grads on my block–not one of them doesn’t/didn’t go to one of the selective enrollment HS’s, and our block is on our alderman’s sh!t list. Is it *really* competitive to get into Northside & Payton? Yeah, but there are 4 other schools, too, including Lane which has about 900 kids/class. And before you say anything about it being too big, New Trier HS is about the same size.
how many of the elementary schools are good? I know there’s blaine, burley, bell, lincoln, and now coonley is going to be added to the list. I’m probably missing 1 or 2 more (not counting wildwood/sauganash and areas further out). Still, there do seem to be a lot of good areas on the north side, near the lake, with sub-par elementary schools.
Bob – Anon has it down. You take the selective enrollment test and hope your kid does well enough to get in. Then you apply to the Selective Enrollment schools, etc. Yes, it is an added hoop to jump through, but, I don’t think Mayor Daley has much input into the process.
There are other good elementary schools, and as far as I know some of them run lottery systems as well (e.g. LaSalle Language Academy) and gifted programs (http://www.cpsgifted.org/schools/?dir=Regional%20Gifted%20Centers&rn=6019742).
CH —
Ogden serves basically all of Streeterville, Gold Coast, and the eastern part of River North. It isn’t subpar by any measure. Next year, it’s turning into a Pre-K – 12 school focused on some sort of global curriculum that I assume is an outgrowth of the IB program.
It’s not nearly as hard as you might think to find a good neighborhood school in a nice part of town. It’s also not nearly as hard as you might think to get accepted to a selected enrollment program or find a private school that doesn’t cost $20,000 per year, but people seem more content to accept suburban mediocrity than spend the time to research these subjects on their own.
“people seem more content to accept suburban mediocrity than spend the time to research these subjects on their own”
Or just make up crap. Oh, sorry, repeat what “some guy told me” without applying any critical thought to the matter.
btw, school locater–with attendance boundaries–is at: schoollocator DOT cps DOT k12 DOT il DOT us You can find all the test info, etc. from there.
This unit, like many others, will go to foreclosure because the seller would rather screw up his/her credit than face a huge loss. They can’t ‘wait it out’ because the unit is cash flow negative.
Once in foreclosure two things can happen: 1) the bank drops the price to $280,000 and unit sells. Or 2) the bank lets the unit sit on the market for months, allowing it deteriorate (e.g. mold, frozen pipes, etc.) while hoping a greater fool comes around.
In either case, prices will fall drastically and positive feedback loop that is comparative sales will go into reverse. The only doubt I have, is whether $280,000 is still too high considering the severe recession and credit contraction spreading across the country.
CH: It’s also somewhat easier to get your kids into a good magnet school at the preschool/kindergarten level; the people who have the real trouble are the people moving into the city with middle-schoolers and definitely HS age kids; the competition for ALL of the college-prep and magnet High Schools in every area of the city is fast and furious. Jones College Prep had something like 15,000 applications for 150 slots for their freshman class, and Brooks (a college prep on the Far South Side) had applications in the thousands as well. Note that these numbers do not include the students who simply filled out the initial application form; these are the kids who actually got invited to take the entrance exams based on their test scores.
*cough* There’s certain elementary schools that are “feeder schools” for certain neighborhood magnet High Schools; this is NOT a fact that they advertise (or will tell you over the phone) but enterprising individuals can find out from talking to neighborhood parents who have children who attend those schools.