Is This a Hot Spring Market? A Renovated 2/1 at 547 W. Addison in Lakeview

This vintage 2-bedroom at 547 W. Addison in Lakeview just came on the market at the end of last week.

Within 3 days, it was already under contract.

Yes, this is a rare property I’m highlighting anyway even though it is already under contract.

This is one of the vintage courtyard buildings near the lake. It has 28 units and no parking.

The listing says this unit has had a “gorgeous renovation.”

It has a new kitchen with white shaker cabinets, quartz counter tops and stainless steel appliances.

There’s new bathroom tile and a Kohler vanity in the bathroom.

It looks like there are new closet doors.

The listing says there are new Restoration Hardware and Rejuvenation light fixtures.

The hardwood floors have been refinished.

The unit has a new washer/dryer in the unit, but no central air, only window units, and no parking. It’s available for rent in the neighborhood ranging from $150 to $250.

While there’s no square footage listed with this unit, the previous listing from last summer, listed it at 925 square feet.

It was also a 1-bedroom with a dining room and now it’s a two bedroom without a formal dining room.

I was able to find the prior listing pictures from the last sale, before the current renovation, here.

It’s worth checking out to see how a 1-bedroom was transformed into a 2-bedroom.

You might think the market is red hot since this unit went under contract in just 3 days but it was on the market in September and October last year at the same price.

Are more people simply looking to buy this spring than last fall?

How hot is the market?

Cadey O’Leary at Jameson Sotheby’s has the listing. Last fall, it was listed with Select a Fee and there are no pictures available.

You can see the current pictures here.

Unit #2S: 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, no square footage listed (but in August 2018 it was a 925 square feet 1/1)

  • Sold in August 1990 for $70,000
  • Sold in September 1997 for $102,000
  • Sold in June 2004 for $200,000
  • Sold in August 2018 for $198,000
  • Originally listed in September 2018 for $299,900
  • Reduced
  • Withdrawn in October 2018 at $279,000
  • Re-listed in February 2019 at $279,000
  • Under contract within 3 days
  • Assessments of $332 a month (includes heat, gas, exterior, lawn care, scavenger, snow removal)
  • Taxes of $3866
  • No central air- window units only
  • Washer/dryer in the unit
  • No parking but it can be rented in the neighborhood between $150 and $250 a month
  • Bedroom #1: 15×13
  • Bedroom #2: 14×10
  • Living/dining: 19×13
  • Kitchen: 13×12

19 Responses to “Is This a Hot Spring Market? A Renovated 2/1 at 547 W. Addison in Lakeview”

  1. too much HDR on the photos… yikes!

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  2. Sonies, what do you think of this new development going in Cabrini?https://www.parksideoldtown.com/

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  3. For a tiny unit with no parking and no central air on a busy street, the seller got a good price. The W/D in unit might have helped, as it’s not always seen in units like this. Still, more of a rental IMO.

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  4. “this new development going in Cabrini”

    I am amused by their list of schools:

    SCHOOLS
    British International School of Chicago

    Catherine Cook School

    Chicago Grammar School

    Francis W Parker School

    Jenner Elementary Academy of the Arts

    Latin School of Chicago

    Skinner North Classical School

    Walter Payton College Prep

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  5. anon (tfo) – – it is in fact near all of those schools and for example, if someone had kids enrolled in one of those schools, they might consider moving closer. What am I missing? I have a lot of friends who missed out on Basecamp. My guess is these sell decently quick AND that they tamp down price appreciation within Basecamp.

    As to the Subject listing, my guess is the buyer:
    1) Isn’t from around here, but is from somewhere with higher housing costs.
    2) Has a tight relocation time frame.

    In short, I think the seller got lucky. I do not think this points to a hot spring housing market. Sellers do sometimes get lucky, especially when it comes to people relocated from someplace that is not the midwest.

    One could do so much better in Chicago for that kind of money.

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  6. “Sonies, what do you think of this new development going in Cabrini?”

    I wouldn’t buy an 700k+ townhome there for one I think they are hideous looking on the outside and then out of the 88 townhomes slated to be built, 32 will be CHA

    https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10666939/PSOT3.jpg

    I’d be kind of pissed if I bought an 800k townhouse to have my neighbor be a CHA 4br family

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  7. “it is in fact near all of those schools”

    1. Near-ish. Latin school isn’t actually close; Parker def not close, other than in a citywide perspective.
    2. It’s similar to common realtor nonsense about attendance area schools, and is intended to be misleading.
    3. Jenner is not a separate school anymore, but rather is the Ogden middle school campus. Author didn’t bother to check, clearly.

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  8. Not to mention Pain Quotidien closed….and has been playing the “under renovation” game for some time (meanwhile it appears nothing is happening in that space) LOL.

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  9. It really annoys me that CHA leeches are given $700k townhomes (with nice luxury finished) to live in for free, while many middle class and even upper middle class working folk who have actual jobs downtown aren’t able to afford to live near downtown and will have to instead commute 30 minutes to 1 hour on the “L” to reach their jobs downtown.

    ““Sonies, what do you think of this new development going in Cabrini?”

    I wouldn’t buy an 700k+ townhome there for one I think they are hideous looking on the outside and then out of the 88 townhomes slated to be built, 32 will be CHA

    https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10666939/PSOT3.jpg

    I’d be kind of pissed if I bought an 800k townhouse to have my neighbor be a CHA 4br family”

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  10. “How hot is the market?” I don’t know about ‘hot’, but it’s definitely heating up after a cold winter for the housing market.

    There has been a notable shift in activity and selling prices since mid-February. And this is way beyond the traditional ‘post super-bowl’ selling season. I expect prices to continue to appreciate. This in spite of a slowing market nationwide from peak exuberance in certain cities.

    It will take a while for this to materialize in market reports such as case shiller which is a lagging and a 3-month average. December and January were VERY slow. So it won’t be until May or June where the impact of these hot few weeks and beyond is shown in the data.

    As an aside, Sabrina, I’m surprised this site hasn’t done a recent summary of Noah Properties. For years they were building and rehabbing some of the nicest new properties in Chicago. I had heard warnings from others in the industry that everything looked nice, but the workmanship was a disaster. Turns out that was the case an they are mired in lawsuits and have lost their building licence:

    https://therealdeal.com/chicago/2018/08/08/wicker-park-condo-building-under-legal-siege-amid-claims-of-hazardous-conditions/

    https://therealdeal.com/chicago/2018/08/24/noah-properties-city-building-license-yanked-for-electrical-violations/

    Now homeowners are taking a bath on their properties from Noah:

    1931 W Erie.
    Purchased for $1.465
    Sold for $1.333

    https://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/1931-W-Erie-St-60622/home/14103967

    2328 N Leavitt
    Purchased for $1.425
    Listed at $1.6
    Reduced to $1.4 and still no takers

    https://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/2328-N-Leavitt-St-60647/home/13357730

    2163 Oakley also has been relisted quickly:
    https://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/2163-N-Oakley-Ave-60647/home/45481489

    Quite the story and I feel bad for some of these owners. It’s easy to put on blinders to risks and issues when everything looks so sleek and modern.

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  11. “I’d be kind of pissed if I bought an 800k townhouse to have my neighbor be a CHA 4br family”

    But this is happening all over your old neighborhood Sonies. That family might not be right next door, but special set-asides were done in numerous buildings in that area including in townhouses and condos just up the street and in the luxury condo building Domain.

    Did it bother you when you were living there?

    That being said, there have been studies of some of these developments now that they’ve been around for about 10 years and they’ve found the mixing of the former CHA families with the new buyers didn’t offer the opportunities they thought.

    It didn’t provide community because, even though they may live next to each other, their worlds were still very different in terms of jobs, education etc. so there wasn’t much mingling.

    But these set-asides in the new agreement were agreed to years ago probably.

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  12. We talked about this townhouse on North Cambridge in the Parkside development in 2017.

    How is this any different from the new townhouses they are building nearby?

    And why do they have to build them with such ugly architecture. Sorry, but I feel like Basecamp will look tired in only a few more years too.

    http://cribchatter.com/?p=24009

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  13. “Quite the story and I feel bad for some of these owners. It’s easy to put on blinders to risks and issues when everything looks so sleek and modern.”
    ———————-
    They shoulda bought in Bucktown instead of Wicker Park.

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  14. “a recent summary of Noah Properties”

    Weren’t they a Joe Zekas client??

    Yes, yes they were (“sponsored post”):

    http://yochicago.com/noah-properties-builds-a-stunning-home-in-wicker-park/31597/

    johnc should enjoy JZ’s comment in that link.

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  15. “Did it bother you when you were living there?”

    no not at all because with Basecamp, the townhomes were 100% market rate, they had 5 small condos built on oak st. that were CHA, and also some 5 affordable condos built on the same side… the townhomes that abutted the units were waaaaay cheaper (like starting at 525k vs the 700k for the others, they had different layouts as well though)

    Its one thing to be buying a townhome for 500k to live like that but 800k? come on, there are a LOT of places in town where you aren’t sharing walls with CHA residents for 700-800k — not saying that all poor people are bad neighbors or anything but your chances for abuses like friends and other unwanted relatives crashing at the place greatly increase with a 4br house

    Also to your comment about lack of community, yes I remember reading about the parkside condo buildings, and while most folks were nice in my old neighborhood, I wouldn’t say the communities were integrated. I remember a ‘neighborhood’ barbeque going on outside jenner one afternoon… not a white person in sight other than my wife and I, it was kind of fun until some crazy person yelled at my dogs, then I was like ooook going home now… same with the block parties, both very segregated… kind of sad really

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  16. “johnc should enjoy JZ’s comment in that link.”
    ——————
    I do! I do! LOL

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  17. JoeZ is a very good shill for very poor craftsmanship

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  18. Count me in as another person appalled that we subsidize people to live in luxury developments when we could buy and rehab entire single family homes that are double the size in more affordable neighborhoods for 1/2 the cost. What a shameful patronage system that exists to benefit Alderman burnett’s political army.

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  19. The Addison condo is near buses, shopping, park, golf course, schools, nice walking/running neighborhood…oh, and…walking distance to Beautiful Wrigley Field!

    For THAT privilege, folks have been paying bigger bucks than this over the last 10 years!

    Cub Love…it’s more than just a game…

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