The Lincoln Park Market Over $500k: 2516 N. Halsted
We’ve chattered in the past about the difficulty in selling condos over $500k- even in prime locations like Lincoln Park.
This 3-bedroom unit at 2516 N. Halsted in Lincoln Park has a lis pendens filed against it.
The 6-unit building was built in 2005, at the height of the housing boom.
Stephanie Guerrero at Coldwell Banker has the listing (see more pictures there).
Unit #2N: 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, no square footage listed
- Sold in April 2006 for $567,500
- Lis pendens filed in January 2008
- Currently listed for $599,999 (includes the parking)
- Listing says “priced below market”
- Assessments of $190 a month
- Taxes of $4,630
There’s no Realtor phrase that makes me laugh harder than “priced below market”, especially when it is used in the description of properties that have languished on the market for a year or more.
Obviously, it’s priced ABOVE the market, or it wouldn’t be on the market, would it? If this place could fetch the posted price, it wouldn’t have gone into foreclosure to begin with, and it would have sold before now.
The market price is the max price a buyer is willing and able to pay, period.
Toting up the room areas, and looking at the aerial, this place *might* be 1300-1400 sq ft. They are definitely asking over $400/ft for a decent apartment with so-so finishes on a major-ish street. Crazy!! And it’s really a 2br + den as the 3d BR is small and has glass doors.
And it violates two of Stevo’s cardinal rules–new construction and on a major street. It’s probably too close to DePaul, too, so call it 2.5 rules broken.
Hah.
Gross, overpriced, on a major thoroughfare — what are the selling points again?
Oh right, it’s in Lincoln Park. Abandon all previously applicable metrics of price, value and affordability.
Craptastic.
I like the kitchen aside from the lights and the lone see through cupboard (wtf?). 3 bedrooms with parking? 350-400.
“so-so finishes”
I kinda have to laugh when people think granite, SS appliances, undermount sinks, crown moulding, HW floors, etc are only “so-so” It may be in the majority of new cons/recent rehabs, but I promise you if you go to any other market, these are defintely great finishes. I mean, if all that’s listed above is only “so-so” you leave a LOT to be considered “low grade” and not very much room for “high grade.” A Sub-Zero/Wolf kitchen isn’t the only standard of “high grade”
“I kinda have to laugh when people think granite, SS appliances, undermount sinks, crown moulding, HW floors, etc are only “so-so” It may be in the majority of new cons/recent rehabs, but I promise you if you go to any other market, these are defintely great finishes. I mean, if all that’s listed above is only “so-so” you leave a LOT to be considered “low grade” and not very much room for “high grade.” A Sub-Zero/Wolf kitchen isn’t the only standard of “high grade””
Those are all nice finishes, when they are quality products… Frigidare “fake” stainless appliances are just that, fake. Granite is nice, but the quality varies greatly and with many flippers/rehabers out their, the skimped on the quality, only to put in finishes that lookn nice.
I never understood how or why you would put $10K of granite on top of $2K cabinets…. in three years you’ll be replacing it all because the cabinets can handle the weight, etc…
sorry – “Can’t handle the weight”
ChiGuy:
The appliances you can see in the kitchen are definitely on the cheap end of all SS appliances; the kitchen sink is a drop in; the interior doors look cheap. And it’s got one of those damn fireplaces jutting out into the middle of the living room.
The master bath vanity looks nice, but they don’t show the 2d bath or the shower.
The lighting fixtures are a mixed bag–and if you don’t like the art glass (I don’t), pricey but in need of replacement.
It’s nice, but it’s not $400+/ft nice, especially sandwiched b/t the retail and your (2) upstairs neighbors.
And I just realized, looking at the photos again, that the 22×17 living/dining room includes the outdoor space–the kitchen picture shows the dining table, which doesn’t leave 17′ to the sliding door. I’d be shocked if this place measured over 1350.
This place is nothing special at all. Just one of many generic, boring, and overpriced McCondos which Lincoln Park is chock full of. Stainless and granite does not necessarily mean luxury.
I bet the builder tore down a well-crafted 100 year old Victorian house to build this pile of crap.
Looks nice, but not worth $400/sq ft. Not sure how loud Halsted is (its not a truck route and isn’t usually gridlocked, so I don’t think cabbies are leaning on the horn all day), but there are some bars nearby so you’d probably have to periodically deal with the various 2AM bullshit.
Great location for a younger person (near transit, near bars, near restaurants, plentiful cabs, etc.) but an odd place for a quasi-luxury 3/2.
Oh, and I’ll second the bit about cheap appliances (though I can’t tell for sure what are in this particular unit). My stainless steel Frigidaire stuff has been crappy. The fridge cover scratches if you so much as look at it funny, and the microwave makes this horrifying buzzing sound. The dishwasher has a slight leak near the top which then drips down and streaks the front everytime, causing some slight rust if you don’t wipe it off.
At least my granite is real nice…
I mean, it’s the fault of Frigidaire making crap, not inherent to stainless steel. I do not think the granite/SS combo is bad or boring – good granite is highly functional (being sturdy, unscratchable, easy to clean and sanitize) as well as attractive, and I think some nice stainless steel also just looks oh so good. After this experience, though, I’d advise either going el-cheapo-maximo or getting the real deal, rather than paying a premium to get el-cheapo dressed up with an outfit he doesn’t deserve.
In fairness, the fridge has been a reliable and quiet workhorse, except for the EZ-Scratch front.
“you’d probably have to periodically deal with the various 2AM bullshit”
In that couple of blocks, it’s more often the 4am (5am on Sat) bs. BLUES is right across the street and Kingston Mines in one block north. Taco Burrito Palace #2 is half a block south. As to the traffic, I take it you haven’t driven that stretch of Halsted recently–I suggest you don’t, at least not Wed-Sat evening or daytime on the weekend. It’s pretty bad much of the time.
It’s all rather appealing to many people, but not for $600k.
Housing Rebound in Cleveland Means Bad News for U.S.
By Brian Louis and Kathleen M. Howley
Aug. 14 (Bloomberg) — The good news in the worst housing slump since the Great Depression is that the market in Cleveland is recovering. That’s also the bad news.
The Cleveland area led the nation for home price gains in April and May with an 18 percent jump in the lowest price tier of the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index after values fell to levels last seen in 2000. The median home price was $117,500 in the second quarter, 15 percent higher than the prior three months, the National Association of Realtors said in a report today.
A housing revival in this city of 438,000 on the shore of Lake Erie may portend deeper drops in U.S. markets. Prices for entry level homes in Cleveland had to tumble 37 percent from a September 2005 peak to an almost 11-year low in March before enticing first- time buyers. That may be a sign that U.S. markets with the biggest price increases during the 2000 to 2005 boom have much further to fall before stabilizing, said David Blitzer, chairman of Standard & Poor’s Index Committee.
“The areas of the country that saw prices go through the roof and then fall into the basement won’t be the first ones to see an upturn,” Blitzer said in an interview. “It’s more likely to come in a place like Cleveland or other Midwestern cities that largely missed the boom.”
Cleveland never experienced the big home-price gains of its coastal counterparts such as New York or San Francisco. Gains were more modest as Cleveland, like other cities in the Midwest, saw jobs in steel, automotive and manufacturing shipped overseas.
Foreclosure Crisis
Prices in the Cleveland area rose an average of 3 percent a year from 2000 to 2005, according to S&P/Case-Shiller data. Prices in the metropolitan New York and Los Angeles areas gained 15 percent and 23 percent, respectively, in that period.
Now that Cleveland is starting to recover, it may be leading other areas of the country on their way to finding a housing bottom, said Robin Dubin, an economics professor at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.
“Cleveland was hit first with the foreclosure crisis,” Dubin said. “Other communities are just behind Cleveland and they will start to come out of it pretty soon.”
The May S&P/Case-Shiller index put Cleveland’s highest priced homes, properties that sold for more than $182,000, back to 2003 prices, and the overall market back to 2002 levels. Minneapolis gained 0.6 percent in May from the prior month, its biggest gain in two years. The latest reading puts home prices in Minnesota’s largest city back to 2003.
Price Rollback
“If you look at Cleveland or Minneapolis, they’re almost back to where they started,” said Justin Walters, co-founder of Bespoke Investment Group, a Harrison, New York-based firm that manages money for wealthy investors and provides financial research to institutions. “Most other parts of the country have a ways to go before they can say that.”
Its an undermount sink… Look again.
looper–you’re right. it’s a terrible photo. But then you have to explain the single cabinet with a glass door.
i actually think this is a nice-looking kitchen. stainless in general seems like a crock – can’t believe they’ve been able to price it so high for so long.
I have a wolf (or viking – honestly i can never remember, but it has red knobs) and it is really loud. very annoying. flame is flame – how much better can these loud overpriced things be?
is there realy much difference in quality between granite types? i’ve seen very little variance over the years in terms of pricing – never have found it cheap, unless it’s a remnant for a small job.
I don’t care if it’s granite peppered with flecks of gold and it costs $1000 per square foot. When every hack developer from here to Seattle is doing granite countertops and even your friend who works for a nonprofit and makes 26K a year lives in a place with granite countertops, it’s time to recognize that granite is no longer a luxury finish. It, along with maple and cherry cabinets, have had their day in the sun. Kitchens with these hideous leopard-print looking granites and cheap stainless appliances are going to one day be the avocado and mustard kitchens of our time. In 15 years, they will disgust our children and look like quaint time capsules of bygone era. Open up a copy of Metropolitan Home or Cottage Living or Domino or Dwell and you won’t find photos of homes with granite. Good designers are much more likely to use quartz, carerra marble, concrete, zinc, or maybe butcher block if you’re on an Ikea budget.
“butcher block if you’re on an Ikea budget”
Ha. Only really crappy butcher block. Good butcher block counters are ‘spensive.
So, Danny, you’ve answered the countertop question, but what the hell is the stand-in for SS on appliances. Again, don’t say “cabinet front” as that isn’t mass-market-friendly enough.
Danny,
Your post made me lol. Prolly true! I also would like to know what will replace the ss apps.
Hmm…good question. Personally, I still love nice stainless appliances as long as they’re stainless all around. And anything that’s super boxy and industrial looking (like wolf or subzero fridges) makes me swoon. I have seen ads for appliances with a Copper/Bronzey finish…I think they’re made by Jenn Air. But I doubt that’s going to become the new thing everyone buys. Maybe the next big thing will be all glass? Think of how much fun that would be at Thanksgiving…although I never clean my oven so mine would probably look more like grease-spatter-frosted glass. I do like the 50s style fridges and stoves like the ones made by Big Chill (http://bigchillfridge.com/site/), but they’re overpriced. Personally, I’d like to see manufacturers start to come out with appliances that are designed to be customized with panels that are easy to switch out. Maybe that’s the wave of the future…everyone customizing their appliances in the same way they trick out their cell phones with hideous face plates and lights. Maybe the fridge of the future will look a lot like the entrance to a carnival ride.
Soooo, everyone says stainless is “done”, but no one has any idea what’s next. Guess it’s safe to continue using stainless.
I lived a couple doors down from this place in my younger life. Good Bar with its rooftop deck and its 21 year old outdoor smokers is directly next door (the dark building on the left in the picture). There are two 5AM blues places and three 5AM buriito places on the block. This also doesn’t take into account the other 2AM bars, the halsted bus, the bar delivery trucks that sit and idle on the street at 4AM or the crazy busy fire station just down the street. To say this area of Halsted is really loud would be an understatement.
Lincoln Parker – I though it was not selling because the lincoln Park market has returned to 1950 pricing? That is what everyone has been saying.
Steve, you forget that this is the Great Depression 2 so we are returning to 1929 prices.
D
The median income for Lincoln Park is $85,000. Assuming a couple is buying this unit, the price that would make their mortgage 30% of their net pay check ( i.e. pay after taxes, 401K, SS, etc) is $450,000.
As seen in other condos, the price of this property needs to fall 25%.
Unless there is a fool out there who is willing to forgo his/her savings for retirement and is willing to use more than 50% of his/her net pay for housing costs, than I doubt this unit will sell @ $599,000. It looks like alot of those fools have already bought homes in 2004-2007.