Logan Square 4-Bedroom SFH Sells for $55,500 Under the 2005 Price: 2522 N. Rockwell
We last chattered about this 4-bedroom Victorian single family home at 2522 N. Rockwell in Logan Square in April 2011.
See our prior chatter here.
It became a heated discussion as to prices people would be willing to pay for a single family home in Logan Square versus a “nicer” neighborhood in the city.
Some of you thought this house was overpriced by $100,000 given its location. Others thought it would sell quickly near the ask as there simply aren’t enough single family homes in closer in neighborhoods listed under $500,000.
The house was listed at $489,000 in April and sold for $465,000, or $55,500 under the 2005 purchase price. (Thanks to the person who posted that it had sold!)
As you recall, it was built in 1889 on a standard lot and was located just a half a block south of Logan Boulevard.
3 of the 4 bedrooms were on the second floor with the 4th one on the main level.
The house also had a finished basement with 9 foot ceilings and new carpeting.
The house was somewhat unusual in this price point in that it had 3 full baths (instead of just 2) with one on each floor.
The kitchen had vaulted ceilings with white cabinets and appliances and Silestone counter tops.
There were new windows on the upper floor and the original pine floors had been restored.
There was also a new brick patio and plantation shutters throughout.
The house had central air and a 2-car garage.
Catherine Brennan at @Properties had the listing. You can still see the interior pictures here.
2522 N. Rockwell: 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, 2 car parking, no square footage listed
- Sold in July 2001 for $412,000 (according to Redfin- but public records don’t give an amount)
- Sold in June 2005 for $520,500
- Originally listed in March 2011 for $489,000
- Was listed in April 2011 at $489,000
- Sold in June 2011 for $465,000
- Taxes of $4407
- Central Air
- Bedroom #1: 14×12 (second level)
- Bedroom #2: 14×12 (second level)
- Bedroom #3: 11×9 (second level)
- Bedroom #4: 12×9 (main level)
- Family room: 18×13 (lower level)
Few other points of interest (to me at least) around the area:
–2555 W Logan, the large multi unit, is under contract.
–2734 W Altgeld, needs a gut, sold for $234K.
–One of the awesome graystones on south side of Logan, between Fairfield and Washtenaw, which I always assumed was single family, has a unit for rent. I can’t remember details fully, think it was 2bd/1ba for something under $2K, not sure how much under. V nice building from outside.
Yeah, I was looking in Logan for quite awhile but prices stayed high there and out of my range. Logan is hot. The only part of Logan where you find bargains is on the far Western edge by Central Park Avenue and I don’t even consider that area Logan. It’s like a different planet.
completely off topic, but does anyone know what kind of stone/color is in this fireplace surround?
http://www.dexknows.com/local/home_improvement/guides_and_videos/remodel-ideas-fireplaces-6179/
“Logan is hot.”
Not just Logan but all the green zone SFH. There’s SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much demand for single family homes in this price range and just SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO few of them actually listed. But who blames sellers? I don’t – they’re just waiting for a better market to return (right around the corner so to speak) And they won’t have to sell in this price range. They can sell for higher.
This is also under contract (so close to expressway and across from Brentano, yikes):
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/2730-N-Fairfield-Ave-60647/home/13450379
Yes, Logan is hot. People want to live there.
“Yes, Logan is hot. People want to live there.”
*certain people want to live there, i being one that would like to avoid it even though my parents grew up there and so did i.
I like it, but they do need more useful businesses like grocery stores, bakeries, butchers, drycleaners, shoe repair, etc. instead of overpriced boutiques and restaurants.
Things have been picking up. We live on Diversey near California on the border of Avondale, in a ghetto-yuppy condo near the Green Exchange. After some foreclosure activity last year, things look close to bottoming, but there is still some room to go. The Green Exchange is in full-build out mode, and I’ve noticed a lot more gentrificators moving (probably renting) in the neighborhood. There has been less gang activity as well. I don’t think we’ve bottomed out quite yet, but there are more deals to be had on SFHs and the such than other fully gentrificated neighborhoods. My indicator is that I see more 20 somethings with big-ten shirts walking around, so the whitey white breads are getting less scared of the hood. This will no doubt not sit well with the local pseudo hipsters, so maybe we’ll see some white on white violence in the future. Anyways, it’s not as bad as people make it out to be, but not as good either.
That should read “I look forward to seeing some white on white violence in the future”
“I like it, but they do need more useful businesses like grocery stores, bakeries, butchers, drycleaners, shoe repair, etc. instead of overpriced boutiques and restaurants.”
Tons of ethic grocery stores, such as Tony’s and Armitage Produce as well as Dill Pickle Co-Op.
Bakery…La Boulangerie. One of the best in the city.
No butcher that I’m aware of, but meat available at the grocery stores. I don’t think most neighbrhoods have a dedicated butcher. Best place to go is West Loop for fresh meat and seafood.
Plenty of dry cleaners…try Ruby on the square.
Shoe repair…do people really use these places? Isn’t it cheaper to just buy a new pair?
My main gripe is the grocery store thing, but it’s a quick drive down 94 to Stanelys and Trader Joe’s is not far either.
“I like it, but they do need more useful businesses like grocery stores, bakeries, butchers, drycleaners, shoe repair, etc. instead of overpriced boutiques and restaurants.”
Ummm, have you actually spent much time around there?
Within walking distance (and I’m a lazy walker), there’s a (highish end) food co op and couple mexican groceries; french and mexican bakeries, at least 2 drycleaners (I’d guess they’re set up to take shoes as many are but never had occasion to check, and that’s something easy enough to do around work); liquor store; citi bank, chase bank and many others; post office; and a target. And there’s all the stuff further down on elston that’s either a long walk or short drive. And farmers market on sundays.
No walkable dedicated butcher I’m aware of, but that’s true of many (most?) neighborhoods. Needs an ice cream shop perhaps (although there is miko’s and guys selling fresh cut mangoes).
Area has some shortcomings, but lack of walkable stuff is not among them.
“My main gripe is the grocery store thing, but it’s a quick drive down 94 to Stanelys and Trader Joe’s is not far either.”
Ha. Nice list Chris. I don’t know how many families in let’s say GZ SFHs live within walking distance of and actually walk to supermarkets for bulk of their shopping. Strack and van Til is a long walk and v short drive from here, and there are many other supermarkets that are easily drivable.
“Needs an ice cream shop perhaps ”
I think the Tasty Sleeze on Armitage and Mozart is still around. Technically that’s on the Humboldt Park side but its an option.
speaking of which, does anyone think the improvements, gentification, etc in Logan Square will have any positive influence on Humboldt Park?
“I think the Tasty Sleeze on Armitage and Mozart is still around. Technically that’s on the Humboldt Park side but its an option.”
Forgot about it. Certainly walking distance from this house, although I do not like the walk down California much.
“(Thanks to the person who posted that it had sold!)”
Damn, can’t a brother get a shoutout for putting a price prediction just a tap-in away from the pin?
“Shoe repair…do people really use these places? Isn’t it cheaper to just buy a new pair?”
women for sure do. the bottom part of our heels (the little plastic thing) needs to be changed much more often than the shoe, especially if one walks on concrete, asphalt or stone pavements with delicate shoes.
Also, costco is close driving distance. I know that’s not particularly on topic. I posted that just so I could post the following comment from everyblock in response to a question about whether costco carried a wide range of organic items:
“They have a Organic salad mix (I just know this one as i get 6 of them each week for my pets)”
“I think the Tasty Sleeze on Armitage and Mozart is still around. Technically that’s on the Humboldt Park side but its an option.
speaking of which, does anyone think the improvements, gentification, etc in Logan Square will have any positive influence on Humboldt Park?”
That’s officially in Logan Square (south border is Bloomingdale), but I generally think of south of Armitage as Humboldt as well…definitely changes south of Armitage.
Proximity to gentrified neighborhoods helps for sure, but without a train line I don’t see Humbodlt taking off like Logan…ever. Sad, because there used to be a train line in the alley north of North, which branched off just north of the Damen stop. It was torn down mid-century.
I am not a big fan of LS, a little too close to some serious gang activity for me, but I think this is a great pick up for someone.
It’s interesting because I know three separate people who rehabbed single families in Logan back in the late 90s to try and flip them and to a person they lost money. To me, Logan has never quite turned that corner, eventhough it’s close to the expressway, L train etc.
“I am not a big fan of LS, a little too close to some serious gang activity for me, but I think this is a great pick up for someone.”
That’s why it’s still reasonably affordable for people. And the same gang activity proximity is true for a lot of neighborhoods, such as Ukrainian Village, Wicker Park, Bucktown, etc. I still hear people talk about break-ins and shootings in Wicker Park pretty regularly.
“I am not a big fan of LS, a little too close to some serious gang activity for me”
That’s one of the shortcomings, school is the other, for us. On the other hand, as Chris M says, it is more affordable.
“It’s interesting because I know three separate people who rehabbed single families in Logan back in the late 90s to try and flip them and to a person they lost money. To me, Logan has never quite turned that corner, eventhough it’s close to the expressway, L train etc.”
The area around this house has improved a *lot* since say 10 years ago.
“That’s one of the shortcomings, school is the other, for us. On the other hand, as Chris M says, it is more affordable.”
Yep, I think that sums it up. Otherwise, it’s a quite liveable neighborhood with good transportation access, solid and reasonably affordable housing stock, and good (and growing/improving) retail options.
“Damn, can’t a brother get a shoutout for putting a price prediction just a tap-in away from the pin?”
How about for sending it in the first place? I thought this looked like a good deal when I first saw it, and obviously someone else did for not too far from asking price. Congrats to both the seller and buyer!
“It’s interesting because I know three separate people who rehabbed single families in Logan back in the late 90s to try and flip them and to a person they lost money. ”
That doesn’t tell the complete story. How much did they pay for the building, how much money did they put into them and when did they try to sell?
Icarus…Two were rehabs, one was a teardown, new build. Prices varied greatly, but they all bought in 1996 and tried to sell in 97 or 98. So, yes it was a long time ago and things have changed, but I was suprised that they all lost on the deals. And, these were experienced project people, none of them ever went back to LS to do any projects after that.
BTW, this all came about at a dinner party conversation a few years back when all these people shared a common bond over failed LS developments.
“So, yes it was a long time ago and things have changed, but I was suprised that they all lost on the deals. And, these were experienced project people, none of them ever went back to LS to do any projects after that.”
From what I understand of the neighborhood in the early 2000s, it would have been a non-starter for me with family. As of today, there are still the shortcomings discussed that may be determinative, but it has been in the running. That said, some of our neighbors w/kids have been around since at least the early 2000s, so it worked for some people.
No ice cream shops? Um, hello? Margie’s? We’ve got that goofy Cherubs place on Fullerton, and we do have a Baskin-Robbins or two w/ ice cream…
Strack & VanTil is a fine supermarket, with good prices. Tony’s and some of the small independents are good as well. Dill Pickle Co-op is swell, and the weekly Logan Square Farmers Market has some good stuff as well.
Oddly, I bought the house I’m in in the late 1990’s, and I’ve done fine. But I didn’t over-improve or try to make a silk purse from a sow’s ear. And, our rental property was the second gut rehab on the block back in 1989, and we’ll make a profit on that as well, if we sell. I realize developers are out for the profits, but clearly there were some miscalculations, or misconceptions on the part of those who failed to make it work.
I dunno, for me, it’s a highly livable area. I think you need to not have any illusions about it, though.
@logansquarean — does Logan Square extend to Western? I always thought of Margie’s as belonging to us in Humboldt Park but I guess not. Funny thing is, I never went there until years after I moved away from the hood.
Congrats on the wise rehabbing decisions. Timing is often just as important as Location and perhaps if Trudi’s friends had been able to wait a few years, the crazy market of the early 2000 would have paid off?
“@logansquarean — does Logan Square extend to Western? I always thought of Margie’s as belonging to us in Humboldt Park but I guess not. Funny thing is, I never went there until years after I moved away from the hood.”
Yep, Logan Square, though most would say Bucktown (sub-hood).
Sorry, Icarus. You can claim Cemitas Puebla, though.
Whatever area/neighborhood Margie’s is in (Logan Sq community area, yes; Logan Sq neighborhood, I think no but some don’t believe there even is such a thing; Bucktown neighborhood, no but close; Humboldt Park, hard to see as it’s not in the community area), it’s a long and not particularly nice walk from this house or me. Also a little dusty. Also if I am around there, prefer soft serve with fancy toppings from belly shack.
“@logansquarean — does Logan Square extend to Western? I always thought of Margie’s as belonging to us in Humboldt Park but I guess not. Funny thing is, I never went there until years after I moved away from the hood.”
Yep, Logan Square, though most would say Bucktown (sub-hood).
Sorry, Icarus. You can claim Cemitas Puebla, though.
I live right down the street from Cemitas, delish.
I’ve always held the opinion that the less money down, the better. It helps buyers enter the market and it helps keep property values up.
Executed Recorded Document Type Amount
06/24/2011 07/12/2011 MORTGAGE $404,000.00
HD:
The mortgage info you’re providing on some of these sales we’ve chattered about isn’t that bad to me.
I’ve seen some lately where they’re still only putting down about 3%. At least on these it’s closer to 10%.
61k isn’t a small downpayment…maybe not 20% but more than 10…