More Stress at the Caravel: 635 N. Dearborn in River North
I last chattered about 635 N. Dearborn in River North in October 2007. At the time, some sellers seemed pretty desperate.
Unit #1703: 2 bedroom, 2 bath, 991 square feet
- Sold in January 2004 for $373,500
- Was listed in October 2007 for $395,000 plus $35,000 for parking (two spaces available)
- Still listed for $395,000
- Listing says “Brand New Unit- Never lived in!”
- Assessments of $548 a month
- Baird and Warner has the listing
Looks like it will continue to be “never lived in” for quite some time.
Additionally, this two bedroom unit was also on the market last October 2007. Now the listing states: “Price Reduced. Must Sell!”
Unit #906: 2 bedroom, 2 bath, 1250 square feet
- Sold in April 2004 for $360,000
- Sold in July 2006 for $417,500
- Was listed in October 2007 for $419,900 plus $35,000 for parking
- Now listed for $385,000 plus $35,000 for parking
- Assessments of $619 a month
- Keller Williams Gold Coast has the listing
But another, larger two bedroom unit has now gone to the foreclosure auction.
Unit #2206: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1250 square feet
- Sold in July 2003 for $441,000
- Foreclosure auction price of $402,186
In 2007 there were 14 sales in the building.
I don’t mind this building. At least all units are 2/2 or larger! They were over priced to begin with and priced do need to decline. The smallest 2/2 should be selling for around 300K plus parking.
Somebody post something….I’m having withdrawl!
The sellers in this building that are “holding on” appear to be pretty stubborn. But this foreclosure could be the start of “reality” appearing in the building. I don’t know. We’ll have to wait and see.
The 2/2 designation is a bit misleading though. The smallest 2/2 is only 900 square feet. That is a one bedroom in most buildings. It means you have almost no living room (as these pictures attest.)
Let us have a pretend auction here! Starting bid: $150k …. going once….
This place looks like the developer just threw it together- developer-grade everything, with no thought to the arrangement, let alone any consideration for making it really beautiful.
Why is the range parked right next to the refrigerator? That’s bad energy-management.
And how do so many places get away with calling themselves “luxury” with cheap developer-grade cabinets, as in the kitchen pictured, with medium-grade (if even) appliances shoved into niches, instead of built-in cooktops and fridges, or at least a slide-in range that looks well-fitted and saves the need to pull the thing out to clean the sides.
A cheap drop-in kitchen, fake fireplace, and 1/16″ wood floors, in a small, oblong space crammed in between two others just like it, on a corridor with a dozen or more other similar cells, do not add uup to luxury.
Laura,
If there is ever a movement away from ‘Realtor-speak’ and toward honesty in real estate ads you will find your obvious skills to be in great demand!
$550 assmnt for 990 sq. feet? WOW
I thought the same thing, aleks. That comes out to $0.55/sf per month.
I did a quick analysis of all 2/2 currently active listings in the near north, loop and south loop areas. I found 1,106 units for sale that included the unit size and assessment amount. Here’s the results for the assesments per square foot per month:
range hi $2.57
range low $0.05
median $0.36
mean $0.39
mode $0.32
standard deviation 0.16
I just thought this was interesting. It doesn’t account for what is included in the assessment, and it includes any co-ops that are for sale (which will make up the high end.) It also includes a lot of new construction where the assessments are likely understated as is typical for many developers.
I think the only way to determine if an assessment is too high is by looking at the association’s financial records to see how it is spent and what the reserves look like. It just might be the ones that appear low that are the most worrisome.
AT 635 N DEARBORN ARE THERE ANY 2/2 CONDOS THAT ARE 2000 SF. I THINK I AM BEING SCAMED BUT WANT TO DO MY HOMEWORK FIRST. A REPLY TO THIS WOULD BE APPRECIATED. THANKS