Do Stainless Steel Appliances Matter? 2512 N. Bosworth in Lincoln Park
This 2-bedroom loft at 2512 N. Bosworth in Lincoln Park advertises in its listing that it has “new SS APL”.
Do the color of the appliances matter when you’re buying a property?
The listing also says the loft has been reduced by $20,000.
Susan Johnson at Baird and Warner has the listing. See the pictures here (including a nice one of the new stainless steel appliances.)
Unit #404: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1430 square feet
- Sold in July 1998 for $284,000
- Sold in March 2005 for $400,000
- Originally listed in December 2008 for $450,000
- Reduced
- Currently listed for $445,000 (parking included- I’m assuming the parking was extra before and hence the $20K reduction mentioned in the listing)
- Assessments of $291 a month
- Taxes of $5090
- Skylight
- W/D
- Central Air
I like the discreetly mounted bookshelf speakers on the wall….nice touch!
I could understand trying to sell this overpriced condo with the kitchen if we were talking about Bosch or Electrolux icon appliances. But does this agent really think her bottom of the barrel appliances, which happen to be shiny, will sell this place? Between the huge, visible speakers, lack of real decor and dorm room sized kitchen, this place looks like a college apartment.
Dishwasher is decent. Rest is junk.
IF there are two identical properties at the same price and one has decent stainless appliance and one has crappy ugly white appliances of course it matters! That place is hideous though. Talk about lacking any kind of charm whatsoever!
How did someone ever spend 400k on this place. It is nasty.
Nothing would make me buy a place with this kitchen layout, not even the top of the line professional appliances.
OTOH, a condo that has a good-sized, separate kitchen, would interest me it even if it had the harvest gold or avocado stove and fridge.
Stainless steel used to apply an expectation of higher grade appliances (Wolf/ Viking/ etc). Now the baseline expectation is mediocre at best appliances wrapped in stainless finish to imply a level of quality that isn’t there.
It comes from the same reference as granite countertops when they first started to appear in Arch Digest (and similar) in the 70s/ 80s. Back when you actually went to the quarry to choose your stone, not Home Depot.
There is a romantic connotation attached to both stainless and granite.
I’ve never understood how appliances could sell a place (especially some “contractor pack”). They are some of the the easiest items to replace in a house. Neighborhood is the most difficult.
We’ve devalued everything around us, yet demanded a higher price for it. The general public is becoming more aware of this after what has happened the over the last 8 yrs.
Considering all of the nicer places (but perhaps cookie cutter place) with better finishes, layout, decor, why would I pay $450,000 or even $400,000 for this?
“agent related to owner” Apparently a realtor won’t even tell their own relative they’ve massively overpriced their place.