Market Conditions: The Most Expensive Condos Ever Listed in Chicago Just Came on the Market
We’ve already chattered, briefly, in various comments about the two multi-million dollar condos that just came on the market in Chicago.
They are the most expensive condos to ever be listed- let alone to sell (IF they do so.)
The first is the $32 million penthouse at Trump Tower.
The second is the $18.4 million penthouse at The Palmolive at 159 E. Walton in the Gold Coast. This is Vince Vaughn’s Chicago penthouse which he bought in 2006 for $12 million (and which, back then, was the most expensive condo ever sold in Chicago.)
But Chicago isn’t alone in seeing luxury listing prices surpassing those of the housing boom.
In other major cities, these properties are actually selling and with multiple offers. In just the last week, there were three articles about luxury real estate in various major media publications
From Brooklyn:
“It is amazing,” said Jill Seligson Braver, an associate broker at Brown Harris Stevens. “It is a level of activity I have not seen since 2006-2007. There are so many people looking for brownstone buildings, and there is just no supply.”
Ms. Braver said that when it comes to brownstones, good bones can mean many things: striking period details, ornate moldings, gracious floor plans. But always, they offer a sense of solidity. “Brownstones signify stability,” she said. “Putting roots down in a neighborhood for the long haul.”
It is not uncommon for dozens of people to jam open houses or for bidding wars to leave the listing price in the dust. With so few single-family homes available, buyers have also been eagerly snatching up two- and three-family homes with the goal of converting them to single-family residences.
“There is a lot of money out there,” said Trish Martin, the director of sales in Brooklyn for Halstead Property. But people are cautious, looking to invest in areas that held their value even when times were tough. “We would love to point people to other burgeoning neighborhoods,” she said, “but people have it set in their head that they want a specific neighborhood.”
Brooklyn’s Gold Rush [New York Times, Marc Santora, June 1, 2012]
From the San Francisco Bay Area:
After several months of house-hunting in and around Cupertino, Sury and Suhasini Balasubramanian became disheartened.
“We were outbid quite a few times,” said Sury Balasubramanian. “They were all-cash deals with no contingencies, way over our budget.”
They decided to get aggressive.
“We realized that our budget of $600,000 would not cut the mustard,” he said. They found a three-bedroom Sunnyvale townhome listed at $649,000 and beat out 14 other buyers with a $725,000 bid.
Their experience is the story of the day in the Bay Area real estate market, especially in the tech-fueled swath from San Francisco to San Jose.
Buyers are battling over tight inventory, with for-sale homes in such short supply that they sell up to twice as fast as a year ago and draw multiple offers. In many areas, asking prices and sale prices are up significantly from this time last year.
The combination signals a shift to stability for the once-plummeting housing sector, experts say.
“The market has clearly turned,” said Christopher Thornberg, principal at Beacon Economics. “The question is: How high a bounce? Will it be a basketball or a bowling ball? The answer is more on the bowling ball end. While things have clearly (improved), it’s not like the problems are finished.”
Number of new homes on market down as prices pick up [San Francisco Chronicle, Carolyn Said, June 3, 2012]
From Beverly Hills:
Bidding wars are breaking out for luxury homes in such wealthy enclaves as Brentwood, Beverly Hills, and Bel Air as an increasing number of buyers bet on rising home prices and investors return to the market. Even properties in need of extensive renovation are being fought over by shoppers who expect to resell them for more after a remodel or rebuild. “The percentage of people who think prices are only going to go up is the greatest I have ever seen in my career,” says Syd Leibovitch, president of Rodeo Realty in Beverly Hills.
Bidding wars are back for Los Angeles luxury homes [Bloomberg Businessweek, Nadja Brandt, May 24, 2012]
From Chicago?
When will we see the media articles about how great the Chicago luxury market is?
And what are the odds that there isn’t just one buyer, but two, for these two trophy properties?
Chezi Rafaeli at Coldwell Banker has the Trump Tower listing. See the interior pics here.
The listing says it’s the highest residence in the Western Hemisphere. (higher than the top floors of the Hancock???) The new buyer will have to finish the interior.
401 N. Wabash #PH89A: 5 bedrooms, 7 baths, 2 half baths, 14,260 square feet
- Never sold from the developer
- Currently listed at $32 million
- Assessments of $12,150 a month
- Taxes are “new”
- Central Air
- Will have to finish out the interior
Susan Miner at Premier Relocation Inc. has the Palmolive listing. See the listing here (sorry all you lookie-loos- NO interior pics).
The penthouse is on the top 3 floors. It has a gameroom and a terrace as well as Hefner’s “restored” Playboy office.
159 E. Walton #PH: 5 bedrooms, 6 baths, 3 floors, 12,000 square feet
- Sold in September 2006 for $12 million
- Currently listed for $18.4 million
- Assessments of $11,595 a month
- Taxes of $42,772
- Central Air
- 3 car parking
The Palmolive Unit is the ultimate in luxury. It is set up perfectly with entertaining floors and private family quarters. I wish I could buy it!
Vince – “You are so money and you don’t even know it.”
Nice place in an awesome location. Hope that it sells for close to ask!
Donald – If it took this long to be listed I suspect that it will be a very hard sell. I’m sure that this space was passed over by the many athletes and other high flyers that considered the space. Perhaps once Ty Warner gets his deposit money back fom the Spire he will settle for your glass penthouse but somehow I suspect not.
Since these are both just a few million out of my price range, I’m gonna thread jack slightly and share this piece that pertains to a topic we often chat/argue about here: Square Footage
http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/buy/ct-home-0601-square-footage-20120531,0,5219726.story
Chicago is NOT New York, San Francisco, or LA. Sure, it has all of the amenities/attractions/conveniences of those cities – but it will NEVER mimic or attract the prices of those other cities.
The main reasons are:
1. Land/size. New York is an island – no room. Boston – same story. San Francisco – tiny and no room. LA DOES have room, but also has a much larger population. Area-wise, Chicago is HUGE compared to these other places.
2. Foreign money. Europeans/Asians with a lot of money often buy 2nd homes in LA, NY (?SF) and Boston. There are enough of these foreigners to gobble up most of the most expensive houses/coops/condos. Americans can’t compete!! Chicago will NEVER attract Europeans/Asians to live here bc we are way to “Midwestern” and “backwards” (it’s also not “sexy” to have a second home in Chicago when you can have one in New York.
Bottom line – it ain’t gonna happen in chicago
The interesting thing about the Trump isn’t this PH; it’s that there are numerous condos there that are reasonably priced. For less than $900,000, one can buy a decent pied-a-terre in the Trump with stunning views. Even a decent-sized 2/2 there can be had in the $1 million range with very affordable assessments. I’m keeping it in mind for sometime in the future, because I love the building.
Clio, its less about lack of room than of the regulatory barriers the Bay Area, and to a lesser extent New York, have that prevent supply from meeting the demand. The story about the family purchasing a house in Sunnyvale does not show a healthy housing market as much as the unhealthy zoning and land use regulations that cause so much of the tech boom to be absorbed by increased lane/housing costs.
Chicago may not be perfect, but one reason it has remained affordable, especially compared to the coasts, is it has allowed developers to develop. I’ll take a few years of the market absorbing the exess supply over the chronic housing shortage in Silicon Valley.
the 1% are doing fine, lets just move on.
JM is right. The Bay Area has prevented housing constrution for decades, and therefore the high prices their houses sell for are a reflection of a very low inventory compared to increasing population. The same is true for rentals. Many people earning over 100K are sharing apartments in San Francisco because nothing is available. (I am glad I got to enjoy living in San Francisco for 10 years before it became this expensive. At current prices, I have NO desire to move back and much prefer Chicago and its lower cost of living)
All true, but regardless of the reasons, the fact remains that Chicago will never see the prices or real estate activity of New York, San Francisco, LA, Boston, etc. Once people realize this, they should be more reasonable in the types of places they build/buy and should be more realistic in their sale price expectations.
“[Icarus’ TJ]”
My favorite line:
“Many shoppers blindly trust that the size of a new home featured in an ad or brochure is accurate.”
Except at CC, where we blindly doubt the accuracy of every square footage.
Also, I think we’ve seen this:
“some builders take a home’s base and double it for the second story”
more than a few times in duplex condos with “volume” living rooms.
Interestingly Chezi also just listed 87A in the Trump Tower. It’s 1/2 the other unit at 1/4 the price.
I have to agree with CLIO. If I could drop $32 million or heck even $15 million on a condo, it won’t be in Chicago. Chicago is a nice city, but it is not NYC. Not even close. In NY, developers can’t build these massive palaces in the sky fast enough now. However, I just can’t see a market here for places like these.
Something off topic – but I really need some helps here. I am thinking of submitting an offer very soon but not sure about how much. In addition, the agent mentioned that there was a flood last year on the first floor but it is all fixed now. Should I pass? Thanks a lot,
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/1439-S-Prairie-Ave-60605/unit-H/home/12712912
OT – someone once posted about a company that restores old windows (as opposed to installing new). Does anyone have the link? I could google it but I recall that someone had actually used this company and I’m interested if they thought it was worth it…
“there was a flood last year on the first floor but it is all fixed now”
What caused the flood? *big* question, with important answer.
OP_Lurker–I posted about restoring windows a while back. I’ve met with the owners of both of these companies and either would be a good choice:
http://chicagogreenwindows.com/
http://www.tmcwindows.com/
OP_Lurker–I posted about restoring windows a while back. I’ve met with the owners of both of these companies and either would be a good choice:
Chicago Green Windows
TMC Windows
I tried to post the links to their websites but that post is in moderation due to the two links.
OP_Lurker–I posted about restoring windows a while back. I’ve met with the owners of both of these companies and either would be a good choice:
Thanks, Chris! We’re exploring options & aren’t sure if we want to go new or not.
I’d rather save a few mill and buy this instead
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/460-W-Huron-St-60654/home/12751691
“If I could drop $32 million or heck even $15 million on a condo”
Why would anyone do that. I think the Alhambra just got listed yesterday for $25 million. That’s with a fully staffed concubine room and a year of upkeep on the fountains thrown in for free.
anon (tfo),
the flood was caused by the heavy storm we experienced here last summer. the rain water got into the main floor from the the deck. thanks,
“I’d rather save a few mill and buy this instead”
That’s terrible. The stairs look like they were designed by M.C.Escher and that room in the first picture looks like someones bad acid trip.
I like mc escher, plus its a conversation piece…
These places would be at least 3x as much in NY so I’m not sure why some of you are even bringing it up.
OP Lurker, we recently used this company
http://www.rhrestore.com/
We are very happy with the results.
“the flood was caused by the heavy storm we experienced here last summer. the rain water got into the main floor from the the deck.”
How did they fix that? Did they just make it so it won’t happen again?
How much of a flood? floor got damp, or 3″ of water? If the latter, did they cut out, dry behind and replace any dry wall that got wet? Pull out the cabinets to dry under/behind and inspect for drywall damage? Replace all carpet, padding and affected wooden subfloors (if any)?
If there was just a little infiltration, they replaced the patio door that leaked (and the framing/drywall/insulation around it), and remedied the exterior floow issue, should be okay.
If you take away the newsworthy foreign heiress/hedge fund/celebrity trophy sales on the coasts, I can guarantee you that the typical upper 5% professional who can afford a $1M+ house in say LP, doesn’t make that much more money per year than other upper 5% professionals who live in NY (Brooklyn per the Times piece). The difference between here and there is one of expectations, as is evident in the couple of years of reading CC posts: no, that manageable sized vintage beauty in LP doesn’t have a family room off the kitchen, and no, each of your children won’t have their own bathroom (nor bedroom for that matter), and lots of closet space… the interior may even be a bit dark in non summer months. What they will have is a safe, architecturally rich *established* neighborhood with good public schools and great parks for you to play in, that’s an easy commute downtown (driving… or ditch the car(s) and take the CTA) where mom and dad will make just as much cash as your Brooklyn cousins do. Or… you can buy a massive and cheaply built McMansion with family rooms, bedrooms, baths and light for all, in an unestablished neighborhood not served by reasonable transportation, that enables you to live your closeted suburban dream right here in Chicago.
There are exponentially more upper 5% professional families in million dollar homes (or more accurately, $500k+ homes) in the suburbs than in Lincoln park, especially if they have children. The north shore, Barrington, Inverness, Hinsdale, oak brook, come to mind.
anon (tfo),
Thanks anon(tfo). I am not so sure about this and will find out more from the agent. Thanks,
1.) I agree with CLIO about foreign buyers not existant in Chicago. It has always been that way.
2.) “There are exponentially more upper 5% professional families in million dollar homes (or more accurately, $500k+ homes) in the suburbs than in Lincoln park, especially if they have children. The north shore, Barrington, Inverness, Hinsdale, oak brook, come to mind.’
Probabaly becuase you can’t buy a SFH in LP for $500k. I don’t even think $1.2M get’s it done with a unicorn criteria. ELP with modern amenities and layout I think are going to push 2M on the low end.
Lakeview gets it done all over for $1.2M. But then you mostly see families with little kids (under 5) until the parents realize that kids want to ride bikes to the park/ play outside unsupervised and no matter what nabe you live in, in Chicago it’s not going to happen. How many parents are going to let little 10yr old Johnny ride his bike to his friends house than to the park unsupervised in LP?
I second Jay’s comment. And in addition to the celebrity and international factors in NY, it also has a larger banking and legal industry. Whether it’s 100, 1,000 or 10,000 more high earning trader/banker/lawyer jobs, there’s that many more buyers of high priced homes.
And HD, you’re correct, though there are affluent commuter burbs all around NY as well.
As for the bay area, beyond development restrictions, I’d say that the biggest factor are those who strike it rich (or at least downpayment rich) with start-ups, and the related industries. There are alot of people in the bay area who make no more than than the bulk of Chicago area white-collar workers, as far as salary/regular comp goes. But many of those bay area folks, be it 10 or 5 years ago, or today, even if not that high up the food chain at their companies, suddenly end up with several hundred grand in their hands. Those amounts are pretty much built-in to the housing prices.
Article on popularity of supersized condos in NYC for the mega rich.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/22/realestate/my-how-youve-grown.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all
“How many parents are going to let little 10yr old Johnny ride his bike to his friends house than to the park unsupervised in LP?”
What do you think affluent folks on the UWS/UES do? Folks in the nicest areas of SF/LA/SD? It’s not the 1980’s. Little 10 year-old Johnny likely has few, if any, unplanned/unscripted days. If it’s not school/homework/sports/music lessons, then it’s camp, the lake house, or vacation. Johnny’s booked around the clock, all year, and when he’s not being overseen by family, teachers, coaches or various hired helpers, it’s iPad or video game time. If Johnny’s actually *that* promising of a cyclist, the family might up and move some place around which to build a cycling life.
“How many parents are going to let little 10yr old Johnny ride his bike to his friends house than to the park unsupervised in LP?”
how many parents in the burbs do that? Parents are nutso today, too much watching the 24hr fear machine media.
OP, I also used RH Restore last year. They were great! Not cheap but superb work.
LP is not the UES or UPWS. Unlinke Manhattan kids, most will learn to drive a car when age approriate and will learn to ride a bicycle as a child. Most will not learn to snort the white stuff after being “overseen by family, teachers, coaches or various hired helpers”. 😉 And even with hectic schedules, biking to a buddies house than to your planned activity is a reality.
‘Probabaly becuase you can’t buy a SFH in LP for $500k. I don’t even think $1.2M get’s it done with a unicorn criteria. ELP with modern amenities and layout I think are going to push 2M on the low end.’
Comparing LP townhouses (traditional version, not condo stuff) to those in the ‘Brooklyn’s Gold Rush’ piece, it is an apples to apples argument…. except that those in LP are at a fraction of Brooklyn’s prices. Even though this one is off the market, I just can’t understand why it didn’t sell quickly: http://www.chicagoluxuryrealty.com/print-brochure/print-brochure.cfm?propID=e78a91bf-90de-45d7-9764-9ce95f351024
Great street, parking (I think it’s a 2 car pad and not a garage), 400 ft from LP Ele, walk to LPHS, CTA on Clark, Oz and LP’s park very close, on and on. Even though it’s a historic area, you can build out the back like the neighbors have. For a few hundred thousand in quality renovations, you can have quite a nice house in an ‘ideal’ neighborhood…. or at least on par with those in the Times piece. Again, we’re talking just about the 5% that can afford a place like this (both exist in NY and Chgo), but when the suburban life if yet a neighborhood or trip on the Edens (and world) away, why bother? That…. is the Chicago unicorn way that separates us from SF, NY, or other major urban centers…. not the money.
The trump unit is pretty “sick” and the views are bad-ass (learning new lingo from our interns). Even if hell were to freeze over and I could afford a unit like that, I would go a couple floors lower, combine all units into a full floor and save a good few million. There is clearly a premium for that PH and as mentioned before, we don’t have enough Fabrice Toures, Mark Zuckerburgs or any other form of new $$$$$$ willing/able to spend that kind of money.
The Penthouse floor has higher ceilings, so you’d be slummin it with your mere 10 foot ceilings a few floors below, lauren, thats another reason why its cheaper
doczie said: OP, I also used RH Restore last year. They were great! Not cheap but superb work.
It was 50% cheaper than Marvin or Pella though.
‘It was 50% cheaper than Marvin or Pella though.’
Thanks – that’s what I needed to know!
LP is so expensive because demand far far exceeds supply. So instead, most opt to move to the suburbs. And there’s nothing wrong with that. i was in the north shore this weekend, and that too would be a fabulous place to live. the people kind of snobby, but it’s a nice looking area.
‘i was in the north shore this weekend, and that too would be a fabulous place to live. the people kind of snobby, but it’s a nice looking area’
I too was on the NS at a graduation party this Saturday; beautiful expansive lawn, big house, ample guest parking…. big, I mean really big iced shrimp. I was talking with the hosts about the lavish almost Disney’ish play area in their yard (treehouse, swings, slides, sandbox), and without missing a beat, they said it was on its way to the scrap yard seeing that the youngest will be starting college in the fall…. and had the kids played in it even a couple of times, they feel that they would have gotten their moneys worth. Seriously? The house – big mortgage, trying to sell it, no offers, want to live in the city. Good luck, but thanks for the shrimp.
“http://www.chicagoluxuryrealty.com/print-brochure/print-brochure.cfm?propID=e78a91bf-90de-45d7-9764-9ce95f351024”
I think it’s priced to high considering the ad says it was ‘updated’ not rehabbed. For that money, I think $1M even gets it done if it were rehabbed (current electric/plumbing) and updated bath/kitchen. You’d have to see the unit in person becuase the pictures make it look great.
“they said it was on its way to the scrap yard seeing that the youngest will be starting college in the fall…. and had the kids played in it even a couple of times, they feel that they would have gotten their moneys worth. Seriously? The house – big mortgage, trying to sell it, no offers, want to live in the city. Good luck, but thanks for the shrimp.”
Huh?
“LP is so expensive because demand far far exceeds supply. So instead, most opt to move to the suburbs. And there’s nothing wrong with that”
Wasn’t LP condisdered the suburbs WAY back in the day….
You can get a 500k SFH in LP. Sabrina even featured (the) one on here.
“You can get a 500k SFH in LP. Sabrina even featured (the) one on here.”
Bob, no one will underwrite you a loan after I send them this ‘lil video of you after dollar beer night…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUgBHV9WEzY
@homedelete
Thank you for pointing out that both sides of the equation matters – demand and supply instead of singular psychological factors 😛
—
LP is so expensive because demand far far exceeds supply. So instead, most opt to move to the suburbs.
Dammit Ze that’s the second time in 3 days you’ve ruined a nice family moment with the monkey pee…. Thank you for that.
“The Penthouse floor has higher ceilings, so you’d be slummin it with your mere 10 foot ceilings a few floors below, lauren, thats another reason why its cheaper”
87A also has 16 foot ceilings but is still half the cost/SF