A 2-Bedroom West Town Cottage Listed Under $400,000: 1835 W. Ohio
This 2-bedroom cottage at 1835 W. Ohio in West Town is currently listed for $399,900.
On the market since March 2011, it has been reduced $15,100.
It has some unique features including interesting exposed brick walls and 16-foot vaulted ceilings on the main level.
The kitchen has stainless steel appliances and tile counter tops.
There is a finished basement with a family room and a full bath.
The two bedrooms are on the main level.
Built on a smaller than normal 24×100 lot, there is one secured, gated parking spot.
Below is the house directly to the west of this cottage.
How well are prices holding up in this part of West Town?
Megan Ryan at @Properties has the listing. See the pictures here.
- Sold in January 1999 for $158,000
- Sold in June 2000 for $225,000
- Sold in July 2008 for $420,000
- Originally listed in March 2011 for $415,000
- Reduced in May 2011 to $399,900
- Currently still listed at $399,900
- Taxes of $3298
- Central Air
- 1-car parking in secured, gated spot
- Bedroom #1: 12×20 (main level)
- Bedroom #2: 10×15 (main level)
- Family room: 14×20 (lower level)
“Below is the house directly to the west of this cottage.”
AKA double lot! Or maybe quadruple with whatever that grassy area is.
This is a great area IMO, however lots South of Erie are less desirable since they are shorter. From what I have seen sale prices are around 2001-2002, so I wouldn’t say the area has held up as well as some GZ areas. OTH there are homes still selling for $1mil+ around here…
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/2340-W-Ohio-St-60612/home/14105274
what about the schools????
I’ve actually been searching in this area for myself for a while and I am shocked at how well prices have held up in the $700K+ range. In fact, I’m planning a blog post on it but this area has seen no more than a 15 – 20% drop from the peak and seem to be back to 2004 levels. Anything priced right moves very quickly and don’t think you can get a steal on a distressed property in decent shape.
West Town is one of the recent gentrifiers. Maybe the euphoria of it just recently not being a ghetto hasn’t worn off yet. Reasonable rents around here, too.
“Anything priced right moves very quickly and don’t think you can get a steal on a distressed property in decent shape.”
That is mostly true for properties ready to move into. However tear downs and gut rehabs have gone from $200k in 2002 up to $400k in 2005 and now back to around $200k. I think that is why there are still brand new developments going up in the area…
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/1848-W-Erie-St-60622/home/14104383
hah I always get a laugh from the west town dreamers
that neighborhood is still in fantasy land interms of valuations
“hah I always get a laugh from the west town dreamers ”
i do too, everytime i am there its like a sea of tight rolled up capri jeans, ON GUYS 😮
Gary, your thinking of leaving University Village?
I still am amazed that a house like this in a neighborhood like this would be considered suitable housing for a well-paid professional.
This house is Proletariat housing, built for relatively well-paid blue collar people. It is small, narrow, boring- the proverbial “decent house”, a couple of notches up from a flat, but nothing fabulous.
I remember when Bucktown and Wicker Park were just two more slummy, post-industrial West Side nabes and frankly, folks, they don’t look much better than 25 years ago even now.
I wouldn’t give more than $200K for this on the best day of the past 100 years, but that is just me.
“I remember when Bucktown and Wicker Park were just two more slummy, post-industrial West Side nabes and frankly, folks, they don’t look much better than 25 years ago even now. ”
Yea totally, barely any change there. wtf
Laura I agree. But apparently well to do people have an affinity for guys wearing Capri pants who were priced out of entry level rentals in more established hoods. This nabe is shuts & reminds me of Logan square: another nabe that’s a haven for poor white artists with equally ridiculous valuations in parts I just can’t seem to wrap my head around.
“I still am amazed that a house like this in a neighborhood like this would be considered suitable housing for a well-paid professional.
This house is Proletariat housing, built for relatively well-paid blue collar people. It is small, narrow, boring- the proverbial “decent house”, a couple of notches up from a flat, but nothing fabulous.
I remember when Bucktown and Wicker Park were just two more slummy, post-industrial West Side nabes and frankly, folks, they don’t look much better than 25 years ago even now.
I wouldn’t give more than $200K for this on the best day of the past 100 years, but that is just me.”
Did you miss a couple of decades?
err nabe is shyte. its a concrete jungle. a new organic grocery store does not a yuppie area make. this euphoria will flame out once financing is tightened.
vlajos are you a Russian Hispanic with a name like that?
Who cares, you’re an ass hat!
Ah, I love the constant West Town bashing on this site. I’m a recent transplant from Lincoln Square and I am enjoying UKV tremendously. Yes, this house isn’t great.
There’s a lot of growth in the hood and I’m doing my part to be an active homeowner who looks out for the neighborhood and encourages responsible economic development.
Not one of us knows exactly what will happen in the future.
“Not one of us knows exactly what will happen in the future.”
Come on now, Bob does.
My working theory is that given the ‘new’ nature of many of these homes, most of the owners are underwater or near zero equity, and are not in a position to sell right now and instead are waiting it out. The areas with the greatest price drops have the most foreclosures, or, long time owners with lots of equity. Desirable areas with few foreclosures and newish owners sell for higher prices simply bcause the supply is so restricted.
“Gary Lucido on August 16th, 2011 at 1:42 pm
I’ve actually been searching in this area for myself for a while and I am shocked at how well prices have held up in the $700K+ range. In fact, I’m planning a blog post on it but this area has seen no more than a 15 – 20% drop from the peak and seem to be back to 2004 levels. Anything priced right moves very quickly and don’t think you can get a steal on a distressed property in decent shape.”
“Gary, your thinking of leaving University Village?”
Yes, reluctantly. There is nothing of an appropriate size for sale here at a reasonable price. If you are looking below like 2700 sq ft it’s a different story.
Vlajos, you call it “missing a couple of decades” and I call it having a memory stream.
Nabes like Bucktown remind me of other similarly overrated and overpriced “hip” neighborhoods in other cities I have lived in since growing up, like Soulard in my native St. Louis, an area which is still considered “hip” and STILL a mangy slum too close to the working areas of the riverfront with their industrial smells and sights, and too far from real services.
I notice that after all this time, Bucktown is still woefully under-served in retail and transportation. Metra is the only option for commuters- bus and CTA rail service is slow to non-existent. You have to drive to the grocery stores like Dominick’s and Whole Foods. Where is the nearest Dominick’s, the nearest dry cleaners? You also can’t walk around there at night.
Bucktown and Wicker Park were absolute slums in the late 70s and though they have improved greatly since (mostly in price) they are still under-serviced and relatively lacking in the kind of convenience and urban amenity I would expect in a “green zone” neighborhood and get in truly fine areas like Lakeview and Lincoln Park.
I continue to be astonished by what people value and what they de-value and disrespect. I’ll go with the devalued nabes like Rogers Park and Edgewater, thank you. I live in the 6800 block north,Sheridan & Pratt in Rogers Park, and I have 2 Dominick’s, two CVS, two Chicago Public Library branches, about 20 decent restaurants, and two red line el stations within 6 blocks of my place. It’s a beautiful, walkable neighborhood with dense trees, the beach a block away, great transit that runs 24/7, and a reasonable degree of public safety, but according to the “hippoisie”, it’s a mess of a neighborhood.
I’m with Mimi. You guys don’t know what you’re talking about. Not shyte, not concrete jungle. Have you ever actually taken a drive over here? Sheesh.
Seriously, it’s like Lincoln Park in the 1980s. It’s got some great housing stock and big old trees that shade the streets. Stretches of Grand and Chicago are coming up, though have more to go. The residential streets between them are lovely.
Typical house is 1949 W. Huron, which just sold. But there also have been 19 sales over $500K in the past six months, per Zillow. A lot of the less beautiful properties are being replaced with modern-esque places – not all to my taste, but some are beautiful.
Example: It looks like 1612 W. Huron has a pending sale — 899K? – not the million plus they wanted a couple of years ago, but not bad.
Get with it! East Village, Ukie Village, West Town — if you don’t know these neighborhoods, you owe it to yourself.
Ok Laura, you don’t like Bucktown/Wicker Park and prefer RP and Edgewater.
The market has spoken and it prefers Bucktown/Wicker Park. FYI, I live in Edgewater and love it.
I’ve long since given up trying to predict the migratory patterns of the hipsters. So long as they don’t swarm my hood & don’t shit on my lawn while doing their v-shaped groupthink migrations I could care less. I dunno what this house is worth but I wouldn’t pay a dime over 200k for it. I would need some sort of compensatory discount baked into the price to deal with & see neighbors that are there to save 40-200$ on rent vs other hoods.
It’s ok Bob, we don’t want you here anyway. 🙂
“It’s ok Bob, we don’t want you here anyway.”
Pretty much
Don’t feed the trolls.
Nice enough place, but for $400k I’d want to be much closer to the L, more of a yard and a garage (not a parking pad).
Still, easy walk to Dominick’s and all the bars and restaurants on Chicago.
I wouldn’t be surprised if this gets sold when it moves closer to $350k.
many, many years ago my european grandparents/relatives settled in this neighborhood. As a lifelong chicago resident, it is fascinating to see these neighborhoods become trendy. When we were young, my cop dad would NEVER let us go along to pick up the elderly relatives; it was just too dicey. But we just couldn’t get them to move to a dif. hood; it was their home. Once in a while I drive around to their old brownstone two flats and check out how much/little it has changed. Also had elderly relatives who settled in humboldt park, same thing.
This area is much better than Oriole Park area. At least for me. Who needs a 4 year commute into the loop when you can jump on your bike and be on Wacker and Washington in under 10 minutes.
Yes, things change. I think proximity to downtown has been a big factor in the change of this neighborhood. It takes me 7 minutes to get downtown, 12 minutes to get to work. As someone who has done some hefty commutes in the past, that’s big.
Laura Louzader on August 16th, 2011 at 3:17 pm
“I notice that after all this time, Bucktown is still woefully under-served in retail and transportation. Metra is the only option for commuters- bus and CTA rail service is slow to non-existent. You have to drive to the grocery stores like Dominick’s and Whole Foods. Where is the nearest Dominick’s, the nearest dry cleaners? You also can’t walk around there at night.
Bucktown and Wicker Park were absolute slums in the late 70s and though they have improved greatly since (mostly in price) they are still under-serviced and relatively lacking in the kind of convenience and urban amenity I would expect in a “green zone” neighborhood and get in truly fine areas like Lakeview and Lincoln Park. ”
under-served in retail and other amenities? have you walked down damen or division or western? millions of restaurants/bars/clothing shops. dom’s on chicago and jewel on ashland and a million tiny neighborhood groceries littered in between. can’t walk around at night?? huh?
Agreed PC. If people want to spend half their life in a car or on a train, let them. Maybe they have a bad family life and want to take a long time to get home. Some of these CC posters are so miserable, there is no way they are wanted at home.
if you have dogs you are always welcomed warmly on the way in.
Betty what size packages do you deliver for a living? Personally I only really tip the Roly Poly & Jimmy John’s guys myself as I’m not worried about them spitting on my corporate paperwork parcels. who cares about ink blotches! 😀
“Stretches of Grand and Chicago are coming up…”
Grand today still looks like Clybourn did in 1987, a bunch of brick warehouses, no retail. Some thought that Grand would develop west, and Clybourn north, in tandem from late 80’s onward. Well, it’s 2011 now and Grand hasn’t developed west of Ashland at all. No national retailers, etc. (I do miss II Jacks restaurant though, a great Italian restaurant. Had a great bone-in ribe-eye, great pastas and yuppies were too afraid to go in there.)
“Bucktown and Wicker Park were absolute slums in the late 70s ”
check out the book Lords of Lawndale, about the Gaylords street gang. covers this topic and time period.
“Yes, things change. I think proximity to downtown has been a big factor in the change of this neighborhood.”
I think there’s a big difference between south of Chicago and north of Chicago.
Grand and Damen is the coolest place to find mid century modern stuff for your home though, there’s a whole strip of super cool furniture stores around there, go check it out some time, great waste of a few hours on a sunny saturday afternoon 8)
I don’t know how much longer appraisers can go with not getting sued and having their insurance skyrocket for appraising turnkey places at X and foreclosures going for .33X in Chicago city proper.
People 5 years into a 30-year mortgage who are getting foreclosed can rip out the cabinets and sink and the thing is instantly worth 66% less?
This market disconnect can’t go on forever. Its already went on for far longer than I thought possible, though.
Sonies- I’ve been to some of those. Yes, good furniture stores. But as far as Grand goes- that’s about it. Chicago is much, much better. But it’s still nowhere near as gentrified as the area north of Chicago and South of Division.
agreed – although some of the real estate prices there are still wishing prices, I have a lot of friends who rent around chicago ave, and their landlords are trying to sell their places to them and they are like hell no!
Where does West Town start?
I like coalfire pizza at 1300 w. grand
I have said it before… the general lack of knowledge about this area is the exact reason why it appeals to me. Its hard to put a label on it, and people who do are usually uninformed.
Is there still the CTA bus that picks up inbound Metra commuters at Western Ave. stop (1st stop outside of Union Station) and goes down Grand then to Water Tower/Hancock area?
I rode this bus in the mid 1990’s and Grand, west of Ashland, has barely changed since that time. Obviously, there’s been some gentrification of the neighborhoods to the north however, but let’s face it, not every neighborhood in Chicago like this one can be a feeder for future Oak Brook or Lake Forest residents. How could anyone want to buy a SFH and there is no school option?
Wasn’t there a big controversy not too long ago about a “neighborhood” school in the area turning into a “magnet” school? Can’t think of the name/address but it was in this general location.
“the general lack of knowledge about this area is the exact reason why it appeals to me.”
Agreed. Keeps out the riff raff 😉 I ride my bike fairly often through these blocks. It has a good vibe and I find it all very attractive and somewhat serene.
I live in the area, near Grand and Western. It has hit and miss blocks. Grand Ave itself has become better between Ashland and Western in the past five years that I’ve moved there. Grand is also an extremely efficient East-West thoroughfare.
The Dominick’s at Chicago and Damen was the most important addition to the area, in terms of retail servicing. I think the West Town / Ukie Village area is still one of the best values in the city due to its proximity to the Loop and Bucktown/WickerPark and the Division/Damen areas.
I’m currently in a condo, but I’d buy a SFR in West Town at some point if my wife and I remain DINKs.
Laura, your bashing of West Town is completely unwarranted. No retail?? Only Lincoln Park and Michigan Ave offer more upscale retail.
Having said that, I have to agree with you when it comes to Edgewater / RP. These neighborhoods have a lot to offer in terms of natural beauty. I personally feel every bit as safe in them as I would in most of West Town (as long as you’re south of Howard). And call me old fashioned – but I still think it’s most desirable to be on the Red Line. So I’ll agree with you that they offer the most value – perhaps in the entire city. But if you can’t at least see the appeal of West Town – you’re just being intentionally obtuse.
Just wanted to let all of the doubters know that the house sold for 385K. HA!!!