Looking for a 2/2 in the Loop Under $320K? 208 W. Washington
This 2-bedroom in Concord at City Center at 208 W. Washington in the Loop came on the market in June 2014.
It is a north-west corner unit with a wall of windows and hardwood floors through out.
Neither bedroom appears to have windows, however.
The kitchen has maple cabinets, granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances.
It has central air, washer/dryer in the unit and parking is available for $30,000.
The unit has been reduced $50,000 to $319,000 since June.
Is this a deal for a loop location that is walkable to everything?
Deborah Thomas at KoenigRubloff has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #1210: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1265 square feet
- Sold in November 2001 for $346,500
- Sold in May 2002 for $337,000
- Sold in August 2006 for $357,000
- Originally listed in June 2014 for $369,000 (did not include the parking)
- Reduced
- Currently listed at $319,000 (parking is $30,000 extra)
- Assessments of $746 a month (includes c/a, gas, cable, doorman)
- Taxes of $4933
- Central Air
- Washer/Dryer in the unit
- Bedroom #1: 17×10
- Bedroom #2: 10×10
Looks like this one just went under contract listed at 300k:
https://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/208-W-Washington-St-60606/unit-1111/home/12695729
Appears that 2 parking spaces are included. Layout seems very odd.
There are a lot of different layouts in this building. The 2/2 in this post is one of the larger layouts. Many of the 2/2s are under 1000 square feet. This one also benefits from being on a corner.
These units were selling like hotcakes in 2013. That’s what’s weird. It’s like suddenly everything just stopped.
I thought it might be because the kitchen and baths aren’t remodeled but I looked at some of the ones that sold in 2013 and those didn’t have a remodeled kitchen/baths either.
To me, if this seller does some minor cosmetic changes, it would go a long way.
Paint the unit a neutral gray. Have the wood floors stained dark walnut (this is “in” and makes it look new.)
Have the kitchen cabinets painted white.
Sure, this will all cost you some money but it’s still cheaper than reducing another $10k.
The one I linked to at least claims to be fairly large for a 2/2. Your link is 1,265 and mine is listed at 1,380. However, yours looks much bigger than mine, probably due to the combo of horrible kitchen/living room layout in mine and “creative” listing photos in yours.
If the one Chuk posted did sell for $300M w/ 2 parking spots, its going to crush comps in the building for a long time
The finishes look extremely cheap
What if this unit were to simply paint the entire thing gray, stain the floors dark and paint those kitchen cabinets white?
It doesn’t cost THAT much to make those changes.
It would become a cave, it doesn’t look like it gets a lot of sunlight
IMO, paining 13 year old cheap cabinets is like putting lipstick on a pig.
From a “glass half full” perspective, not common here, I know, it’s a great location between downtown and West Loop. The wall of windows makes me wonder about the cave reference – this place may not have direct sunlight beating in to cook the residents, but it will have lots of indirect light all year round, especially since there are no adjacent buildings blocking that natural light. It’s got a nice urban view – very dynamic at night! The place has wood floors, a balcony and a fireplace. If you don’t mind windowless bedrooms (I do, but lots of younger folks who stay out much later than I do don’t seem to mind at all) this looks like a very workable option either for a couple with a spare room/home office or for roommates.
Yes, finishes are dated. Not everyone needs Snaidero cabinets or waterfall granite on their island to be content.
There are no grocery stores in the Loop. I think the new Target on State St. might sell some groceries, etc. but there’s no supermarket in the sense of a Jewel. Weird place to live full time. Fail.
“There are no grocery stores in the Loop. I think the new Target on State St. might sell some groceries, etc. but there’s no supermarket in the sense of a Jewel. Weird place to live full time. Fail.”
The Target is a super target with a supermarket. There’s also a Walmart grocery store in the Presidential Towers building. So there’s plenty of groceries in the neighborhood now.
From here you are approximately equidistant to the Lakeshore East Mariano’s and the Jewel, Mariano’s, and future Whole Foods on Halsted. Plus the baby Jewel in River North, the Walmart Express at Presidential Towers and there’s decent produce at the French Market. Hard to exactly call this location a grocery desert.
Dated finishes are a real challenge these days (if you want to use that as evidence of a slow market….meh). Also, the assessments are really high in this building and the one next door. Never got to the bottom of why though. And I think the location is a bit of a tough sell. It’s not what people think of when they think of living in the Loop.
“Lakeshore East Mariano’s and the Jewel, Mariano’s, and future Whole Foods on Halsted. Plus the baby Jewel in River North, the Walmart Express at Presidential Towers and there’s decent produce at the French Market. Hard to exactly call this location a grocery desert.”
Cross Michigan Ave. to Lakeshore East to shop? Cross Wacker Drive, the Chicago River, and then the Kennedy to Halsted? Cross over the Chicago River all the way north to Ohio Street?
Carrying grocery bags??? you’d need a car, and fight the worst traffic, just to go get a fresh chicken breast. French Market isn’t that close either, again across the river. Urban living in the Loop is supposed to be urban, not suburban style driving.
There’s literally zero traffic in the loop on weekends though!
“Carrying grocery bags??? you’d need a car, and fight the worst traffic, just to go get a fresh chicken breast. French Market isn’t that close either, again across the river. Urban living in the Loop is supposed to be urban, not suburban style driving.”
You’re not carrying anything. All of those grocery stores deliver and if you don’t want that, just do peapod. People who choose to live in the Loop are NOT suburbanites. Most don’t even have cars.
“Dated finishes are a real challenge these days (if you want to use that as evidence of a slow market….meh). Also, the assessments are really high in this building and the one next door.”
Gary- this isn’t an argument for this building. These same “dated” units were selling like hotcakes in 2012 and 2013 (at least the first half of 2013.) I checked. They had the same cabinets and outdated appliances.
So why the sudden slowdown? Why aren’t they selling? Rates have come down again. The economy is even better than in 2012. Inventories are still pretty low.
It’s like buyers have suddenly gone away.
“It’s like buyers have suddenly gone away.”
You are greatly exaggerating. There are still plenty of properties that go under contract within days. Properties that start off overpriced are doomed. If you have a place worth 310k and you price it at 370k, you may have to cut all the way down to 300k before it sells. However, if you priced it at 310k to start, you may have had a multiple offer situation and got 315-320k for it.
“If you have a place worth 310k and you price it at 370k, you may have to cut all the way down to 300k before it sells. However, if you priced it at 310k to start, you may have had a multiple offer situation and got 315-320k for it.”
You know…realtors make this kind of claim all the time but you can’t really prove it. I’m not sure it’s true. Well, starting at 370K might cause you to rack up a lot of market time but if people are willing to pay 315K when it’s priced at 310K I have to believe they’ll pay the same amount when it’s priced at 325K.
“if people are willing to pay 315K when it’s priced at 310K I have to believe they’ll pay the same amount when it’s priced at 325K.”
Well, 325k is not 370k. Everyone has access to price history. No one likes a stale listing. Sure they could price at 325k and negotiate down to 315k or they can price at 310k and maybe get a bidding war to 315k. I consider those 2 strategies to be basically equal. But pricing something at 370k and then lowering it 10k a month for 6 months is an immediate turn off to me.
“These same “dated” units were selling like hotcakes in 2012 and 2013 (at least the first half of 2013.)”
Finally got around to checking on this building a lot more carefully. First of all, they sold way more units in 2014 than 2013. In addition, I see no evidence that prices have declined in 2014.