A Vintage 2/2 with Parking in Old Town for $425,000: 1500 N. Orleans
This 2-bedroom in Carriage Place on Orleans at 1500 N. Orleans in Old Town came on the market in July 2022.
Built in 1892, Carriage Place on Orleans was converted to condos in 1999. This building has 12 units and attached heated garage parking.
It has bike and individual unit private storage in the basement.
The listing says this vintage unit has been “beautifully renovated.”
This unit has an extra wide floor plan with original 1890s exposed brick walls and a wood burning fireplace.
It has a bay window in the living/dining room which has skyline views.
The hardwood floors were refinished in April 2022 and there are new ceiling lights.
The kitchen has also been “renovated” and has white cabinets and new stainless steel appliances as of May 2022.
The bedrooms have new flooring, closet doors and window treatments.
The unit has 2 bathrooms and those have been “completely rehabbed” with new vanities, tile and toilets.
This property has the features that buyers look for including central air, washer/dryer in the unit and indoor heated garage parking which is $25,000 extra.
It has a large common deck outside the back door that is shared with several units and a 6×8 storage unit in the basement.
This building is near the shops and restaurants of Old Town and Lincoln Park as well as the Brown Line stop at Sedgwick.
Originally listed in July 2022 at $450,000, it has been reduced to $400,000 plus $25,000 for the parking.
Unit #2N, also a 2/2 with parking, sold in May 2022 for $425,000. You can see those pictures here.
Is the $400,000 2/2 still a good starter home for many buyers?
Steven Kehoe at Compass has the listing. You can see the pictures here (sorry, no floor plan).
Or you can visit it at the Open House on Saturday, October 29 from 2:30 to 4:30 PM.
Unit #3S: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1300 square feet
- Sold in May 1999 for $228,000
- Sold in June 2017 for $395,000
- Originally listed in July 2022 for $450,000
- Reduced
- Currently listed at $400,000 plus $25,000 for parking
- Assessments of $360 a month includes DirectTV plus HBO package, exterior maintenance, scavenger and snow removal)
- Taxes of $8361
- Central Air
- Washer/dryer in the unit
- Wood burning fireplace
- Bedroom #1: 13×12
- Bedroom #2: 13×10
- Living/dining room combo: 22×18
- Kitchen: 8×8
- Storage in the basement: 6×8
- Shared balcony: 24×9
nice view off the back porch lol
Big miss not updating the counter tops. No one wants a laminate counter top.
You guys are harsh. It is a $400k 2/2. not a $750k unit. I think it shows nicely. Countertops are an easy fix. The back view looks fine imho. Probably quiet. It could be looking at a gas station, power lines, etc.
“May 1999 for $228,000” + CPI = $407k; + C-S (Condo, SA) = $406k
“June 2017 for $395,000” + CPI = $478k; + C-S (Condo, SA) = $466
Oooof.
It’s a decent looking place for what it is, but the building really should have remained a rental.
“Probably quiet.”
Nah. The el noise totally echoes off that storage building.
Where’s MuH 20% increase
A 2/2 is a terrible investment. Example # 2,472 of why to ignore Sabrina’s recommendations
20 days after the cut an no offers? Time for another cut and losing more money. WTF were they thinking starting at $450
Russ – those Plam tops look bad, like really bad. They reaslly should have went for the HD $35/sf SS tops Would have made a big difference to those in this market. Wonder how bad the el is here?
As a side – Is this Clio’s place? – https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/37W756-Woodgate-Rd-Saint-Charles-IL-60175/4656462_zpid/?utm_source=zillowgonewild&utm_medium=zillowgonewild&utm_campaign=zillowgonewild
Think he was a Rosso Vik guy, but the purple seems to fit
So the payment on this all in would be around $3600-$3750/mo. How does this place compare to a luxury rental at that price point or even slightly more.
I guess why buy this over renting?
” It could be looking at a gas station, power lines, etc.”
probably watching drug deals from the patrons of the nearby marshall field homes
this place would be a good deal a few blocks east, but here? yikes…
They just missed it, right? If they had listed just 3 months earlier, it would have sold quickly close to full ask.
But that’s the difference between 4% rates and now 7% rates.
And this is happening across every city, and state. That’s why so many sellers are just withdrawing. Market is pretty dead. Why not wait until the spring selling season? Rates may be lower. More buyers will be out.
I was shocked by how few sales this unit has had since conversion. Usually 5+ by now. But no. This will be just the third sale in 23 years.
“So the payment on this all in would be around $3600-$3750/mo. How does this place compare to a luxury rental at that price point or even slightly more.”
Depends on what kind of building you’re talking about Russ.
This 982 sq ft 2/2 on North Avenue nearby in a new building is $3895. Yikes.
https://www.apartments.com/159-w-north-ave-chicago-il-unit-306/71jn05z/
“They just missed it, right? If they had listed just 3 months earlier, it would have sold quickly close to full ask.”
No. You even noted that 2N sold for $25k less, LOL
“And this is happening across every city, and state. That’s why so many sellers are just withdrawing. Market is pretty dead. Why not wait until the spring selling season? Rates may be lower. More buyers will be out.”
This is where your doublespeak gets you into trouble. According to you, buyers would just move down. Thats not happening
The market is dead in the sense that theres a serious $ disconnect between sellers and buyers. If sellers adjusted pricing to match HMAM @ 4% sales would jump
“This 982 sq ft 2/2 on North Avenue nearby in a new building is $3895. Yikes.
https://www.apartments.com/159-w-north-ave-chicago-il-unit-306/71jn05z/”
The place on North is an order of magnitude nicer in terms of finishes, including the vaunted waterfall edge bar
That’s my point. That new rental is exponentially nicer. What is the point of buying a unit like this now? Chicago real estate is a dog so it isn’t even a smart bet on leveraged appreciation.
“That new rental is exponentially nicer. What is the point of buying a unit like this now?”
And the rental doesn’t lock up $40k+ to move in, nor will it cost $25k to move out.
Altho I would argue about “exponentially” nicer, unless we’re talking about an exponent ~1.1, where featured unit=100. The rental is boring, and looks to be a fair amount smaller.
“What is the point of buying a unit like this now? Chicago real estate is a dog so it isn’t even a smart bet on leveraged appreciation.
There’s never been one
Other than being an intrepid gentrifier and choosing wisely or hoping for a greater fool, there isnt
Juice has already been squeezed.
Still blows me away that there’s still people out there like Sabrina and JoeZ
“Altho I would argue about “exponentially” nicer, unless we’re talking about an exponent ~1.1, where featured unit=100. The rental is boring, and looks to be a fair amount smaller.”
While its boring as fuck, its what Chad and Trixie want
I dont think its even close
“What is the point of buying a unit like this now? Chicago real estate is a dog so it isn’t even a smart bet on leveraged appreciation.”
This is someone who has only been in a low inflation environment. Owning wins easily when there is high inflation and rents are going up 5% a year. Eventually, you want to lock in your housing costs.
“There’s never been one”
Oh…it was a reasonable buy in ’99, with hindsight applied.
Got to chase rates down, there was the prospect (yes, foolishly held) of the MFHs going off lease and switching to market rate, available rentals mainly weren’t nicer than this, etc. And 23 years later it’s been a near perfect inflation hedge. Could have rented it for a bit more than the carry for most of that time, too.
Still would have been better for almost everyone if it had remained a rental building.
“What is the point of buying a unit like this now?”
Rental costs continuing to rise will really make many want to buy. And they have been.
Additionally, there’s a big difference between living in a rental building and living in a condo building. Less transient. More of a community. Building taken better care of because people who own don’t leave trash in the hallways etc.
I can’t imagine living in one of these new luxury rental towers for 5 to 10 years. But I can imagine living in a condo building for that long.
This is why the West Loop/Fulton Market will ultimately build some tall condo towers, instead of apartments. Or maybe there will be some conversions into condos. They are only building 3 or 4 bedroom multi-million condos. But there is a market for the lower priced condo high rise in that neighborhood too. Because everyone doesn’t want to live in that rental building for a decade.
But I have always said, for as long as I’ve run this blog, that no one should be buying real estate if they only have a 1 to 3 year time period. Even 5 years isn’t long enough in a slow market. Should really be prepared to stay 10 years.
But I recommend checking out the differences between buying and renting on the NYT rent calculator.
“This is where your doublespeak gets you into trouble. According to you, buyers would just move down. Thats not happening”
Sure it is. That doesn’t happen overnight. People are in shock at the rate of the increase. They have decided to move to the sidelines and wait until the spring because they think rates will be lower. Every rate increase in the last 30 years has resulted in the rates ultimately going lower so why not this time?
But if, by next year, they don’t come down significantly (back under 5%) then buyers will start to make different decisions. They will move down in price point to qualify for that monthly payment. But rates have to stay elevated for longer than 3 months to change buyers behavior.
Prices are being cut by some sellers right now because of the complete collapse of sales. That’s it.
The mistake people make is thinking that their buyer at 7% is the same as their buyer at 3%. They aren’t. BUT- higher rates will definitely narrow the market of people who now fit into the buyer pool at certain price points, slowing the market further. This is why expensive markets like California are toast with the higher rates. The buyer pool is nearly non-existent at the “median” price now. And no homes to trade down to. Those sellers HAVE to cut price to find a buyer.
“If sellers adjusted pricing to match HMAM @ 4% sales would jump”
Sellers don’t have to do any such thing.