Nate Berkus Designed in the Marlborough: 400 W. Deming in Lincoln Park
This 2-bedroom unit in the Malborough at 400 W. Deming in East Lincoln Park has been on the market since June 2009.
It has been reduced $74,000 in that time.
Normally, we don’t comment much on the interior design but this is another property where it says it is Nate Berkus designed so it appears to be marketing the property from that angle.
The listing says it has been converted from a 2-bedroom to a large 1 bedroom.
The Marlborough, built in 1912, is one of the grand dames of East Lincoln Park as it overlooks the park.
This unit has been updated with a modern kitchen with stainless steel appliances, a kitchen island, and granite counter tops.
There is no central air (only window units) and no in-unit washer/dryer. There is fee parking.
Is this finally priced to sell?
Melinda Jakovich at Coldwell Banker has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #4K: 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, no square footage listed
- Sold in July 1991 for $182,000
- Sold in July 1997 for $182,000
- Sold in September 2000 for $225,000
- Sold in November 2006 for $325,000
- Originally listed in June 2009 for $439,000
- Reduced
- Currently listed for $365,000
- Assessments of $595 a month (includes gas and heat)
- Taxes of $3744
- No central air – window units only
- No in-unit washer/dryer
- Parking is leased
- Bedroom #1: 11×16
- Bedroom #2: 12×17
I’m sensing a pattern in the last 4 or so properties highlighted – 2BR’s are not selling in LP.
I like all those tracks! Maybe they could install one for a little train set!
The cool thing about this two bedroom is that it’s a one bedroom.
I don’t think people are willing to (over)pay for “luxuries” like granite, stainless steel appliances and Nate Berkus design at the expense of practical things such as central air, laundry, parking.
Future buyer, “Isn’t this NB-inspired track lighting fabulous!?!?! Now grab the detergent you sweatbox, we need to catch the bus to Spin Cycle before there’s a wait for the dryer!!!!”
Hey Joe, where are two beds selling?
As someone who just purchased a two bed (and I’ve cited two other recent sales of LP 2 beds, one on Cleavland in the mid $500s and another on Webster in the mid $400’s), I’d beg to. . .oh, whatever.
Anyways, as for this listing. It’s a good building in a great location. The Lakeview side is better (all face the park), but the Deming side is o.k., especially since it will soon face the fancy new LaGrange building instead of that wretched hospital. (Though I would note that, while that building will be a great addition to Lakeview Ave, it will add lots of new car traffic, plus lots of extra humans to an otherwise serene pond/park setting.)
I think they went a little too modern with the decor in this unit (it’s 100 years old) and, even more damning than the lack of w/d or central air (window units might look odd in a modern “Berkus”) is the fact that it’s just one bathroom. If the buyer has a car, renting next door runs a couple hundred, so with taxes (which look a tad low), assessments and parking, you’re at nearly $1,000/mo before the mortgage payment…and the visitors to your super cool parkside pad will be using the same bathroom you use all the time. For what they spent on the Berkusification, they should have put a powder room in one of the closests (the units in this building have tons of closets).
I’m going to go out on a limb and say very few visitors to this site would be encouraged to buy a place based on Nate Berkus’ involvement, with the sole caveat being if *all* furnishings were included with the purchase.
I don’t get the Nate Berkus craze.
Everything he does looks like a combination of Ikea and Cheap home depot light fixtures. The track lighting makes me dizzy. you can walk into most furniture showrooms in river north and relatively easily “design” your way into a contemporary look such as this one.
Proximity to the park is great, but 365 for a 1 bed, no parking, no washer/dryer, and no central air, even in this location, is a bit obscene. i say high 200’s make this move. If i’m looking to drop nearly 400k in lincoln park, there are honestly a lot better options available…
How is that a “diamond in the rough”? What is the Realtor(TM) possibly trying to say with that comment?
As pointed out before, reference to a star decorator might bring some buyers in to take a look, but the real issue is how much value/change that decorator brought to the unit.
I’d prefer that they say Nate Berkus-designed built-ins in LR, or significant modifications to the [[name items like kitchen, baths, walls, floors, etc.] by Nate, or ???? Otherwise, it may largely the paint color, furnishings and light fixtures that are his doing, and once the unit changes hands, the furnshings are gone & the paint color and lighting isn’t worth a lot of premium.
I like the location and this building even as a one bedroom but think that it does not lend itself to such a modern design. My guess is that the design will appeal to someone and I suspect that it will be under contract by early spring. $350 seems high but there are always people that see themselves living in this exact area. Don’t underestimate the power of emotions playing into this listing.
“$350 seems high but there are always people that see themselves living in this exact area. Don’t underestimate the power of emotions playing into this listing.”
Agreed. What will the same square footage cost next door at 2520 (which, granted, will have ac, wd, parking and a doorman)?
“I don’t get the Nate Berkus craze”
Riz, I totally agree. I have never seen a “Nate Berkus” home and have only heard of him peripherally through the news, etc. = but after seeing the two places done by him on this site, I can say that it might actually be a “turn off” to have his name attached to your place.
THERE IS NO WASHER/DRYER?!!! Are you kidding me?!! What is the sense of having a designer re-do your place if you have to caryy your laundry to a common laundry room? I can’t believe that this Nate Berkus character couldn’t put in a washer/dryer. In Boston, I put in ventless European washer/dryer combo units (you only need a drain – Equator brand. Excellent alternatives and, as a designer, could have easily put in the unit in the bathroom or kitchen. Ridiculous –
I could see a retired couple buying this, people who live in Flordia most of the year and come back to Chicago for a few months over the summer. They might value location more than amenities.
“I could see a retired couple buying this, people who live in Flordia most of the year and come back to Chicago for a few months over the summer. They might value location more than amenities.”
Chris, Maybe..But from what i’ve seen out of towners tend to like in-town residences in gold coast, streeterville, lakeshore east…etc.
Having lived in the Marlborough I can state that the building was managed well and the location was perfect. This is not the preferred tier/location and the redesign would be “most appropriate” for an “in-town. Parking may be easier when 2520 is completed (though traffic may be a bit heavier.) The last I knew laundry was not allowed in the units as the “stacks” were not adequate (however this may change with lower water/suds volume washers.) It was discussed but the building would need some up-grading (which is necessary for any building at 100.) I think the price is perhaps a “bit high” in this market but the design (all show and no substance/quality) would appeal to some. My 2 bedroom sold for more than 300K 19 years ago so I am a bit suprised.
A steal at $40,000 over the 2006 purchase price, I’m predicting people will be camped outside the building at 4am to get a chance at the biggest doorbuster in the city.
Seriously, who thinks they get a premium over their bubble purchase price by losing a bedroom and paying some dude on Oprah to pick paint colors?!
“A steal at $40,000 over the 2006 purchase price”
Wasn’t 2006 the peak of the bubble?
“Seriously, who thinks they get a premium over their bubble purchase price by losing a bedroom and paying some dude on Oprah to pick paint colors?!”
The listing says “redone” so it’s unclear whether or not that kitchen is new since 2006 or not (and there are no old listing pictures that are available unless you have the MLS.) But I’m guessing that they may have put in the new kitchen as well.
So- is a unit with a new kitchen (and maybe bath) worth more than the 2006 price?
That’s the question…
“So- is a unit with a new kitchen (and maybe bath) worth more than the 2006 price?”
OK – I understand why people use previous sales prices as a guage – because there is very little other data to which to determine asking price. However, what if someone bought a unit at a ridiculously low price (ie foreclosure/short sale). Why should this figure into the current value? For example, what if someone bought this same unit in 2006 for 100k (let’s say it was a relative or foreclosure, etc.). Do you think that they should only ask 140k for it now?!! The point is that the price of a unit shouldn’t be based on what the previous owner paid for it.
listing photos fail.
9/14 photos of the combined LR/kitchen? 2/14 are exterior shots.
1 BR, is the other BR being used as another sitting room w/ sofa?
1 Bath photo? Where are the views? At this pricepoint, I’m not impressed.
okay, make it 8/14 of the combo LR/kitchen, 2/14 of the bedroom that’s not a bedroom. boring.
All this well-known designer accomplished was to wreck the vintage character of this beautiful old apt. Save this stuff for some place where it would be a real improvement, like some fugly 50s vintage high rise on Sheridan Road.
I’d discount the amount of money it would take to undo this atrocity and restore the vintage details in the unit.
“The point is that the price of a unit shouldn’t be based on what the previous owner paid for it”
Clio I totally disagree at least in today’s market. Every time I buy I want to know what the previous owner paid for the unit and what loan they currently have on the place. While that information might not mean a thing to the seller as they could have the means and desire to “wait for the right offer” it will absolutely have a correlation on my offer price.
I will not reward someone else for making a below market purchase price on a property!
“Every time I buy I want to know what the previous owner paid for the unit and what loan they currently have on the place”
Yeah – but you will punish someone for paying off their mortgage? Just because someone can afford to go down on price doesn’t mean they deserve to be insulted by low ball offers. I have paid off several of my properties and probably could afford to give them away for free – does this make it right? Does it mean that I am going to take below-market offers?!! That is ridiculous and makes me so f’ing mad, I can’t even express it!!
I don’t care WHAT a previous owner paid for a place- whether they will clean up when they sell it to me at a relatively low price because they bought it in 1978, or whether they will take a big bath because they bought at a stupid price in 2006. However, I absolutely do look for a “motivated” (read desperate) seller and tend to avoid places where I know the owner has no need to sell and is “fishing” for a fantasy price.
It’s not about how much or how little profit a seller will make off me, it’s about whether the unit is a good value for the money and in line with recent comparables AND with fundamentals like rents for comparable units.
Laura, you are absolutely right – there ARE some desperate sellers out there and, if that is what you are looking for, then you have to deal with those properties. My problem is when someone sees a “deal” on one property and transfers that price/expectation to another property, expecting THAT seller to lower his/her price. It is a ridiculous and wrong way of applying comps to properties. A few scattered distress sales are NOT the market – no matter what anyone thinks or says on this site. If you want those properties, then buy THEM – don’t apply that pricing to other properties – because you aren’t going to get a 2/2 in the palmolive for the same price as a 2/2 at 345 LaSalle, 1000 LSD, 100E walton, 2e oak, etc. Seriously, if you want foreclosure/shortsale pricing, then buy THOSE properties and leave the rest of us alone!!
Well said Clio and Laura. My point on wanting information is not to punish someone who may have paid down the mortgage early or purcahsed for a below market price. The point is that I was taught years ago that for most transactions the real money is usually made on the purchase of property and not on the sales price, That has proven to work well in the last two decades and will absolutely be the key going thru this next decade.
The vast majority of buyers will not research the previous sales price or put much stock into that negotiating point. Therefore find a really good buy and be rewarded. Find a typical comp and be prepared to sit for a long long time before making any real money.
clio, I could add that I don’t expect a building in a totally different price class than what I’m looking in to be priced like an inferior place no matter how desperate. For example, I’m not going to believe that I can get a place at the Palmolive for what I can get any place at 345 N LaSalle. They are two very different classes of buildings.
However, if I could afford the Palmolive, I’d be looking for the most desperate seller in the building, somebody who is in too deep for his current means and really needs to sell- a distress sale. And if what I can afford is 345 LaSalle, I will also be looking for the same. If I get a better deal from a non-desperate seller, I will take it.
The point is to get the best value for the property you want and can afford, and forget about how much money the seller makes off you. My mother will of course clean up on her old house that needs work, because she has owned it since 1971 and paid it off. She bought when her neighborhood was not so prime when it is now, and took a chance it might never be so. The neighbor down the street who bought at the top and tries to flip to buy a bigger house will, of course, not be so well rewarded, and all of that is irrelevant to the prospective buyers.
“A few scattered distress sales are NOT the market – no matter what anyone thinks or says on this site.”
40% of all sales last month were distress sales. As I’ve said before Clio- this IS the market. Yes, a lot of those are in neighborhoods and in buildings you might not buy in. But the non-distressed properties in other neighborhoods and buildings are NOT selling. Why? Because they are NOT priced at the market.
You can have your property on the market for 2 or 3 years (as we’ve seen some of those recently) but it hasn’t sold because you are dreaming. Properties priced correctly are selling quickly.
The reality is- prices are down anywhere from 20% to 40% (or more) in some neighborhoods. Sellers refuse to face reality (and many can’t because they’re underwater.) And buyers are willing to wait on the sidelines (or can’t get a loan anyway so the buying pool is much, much smaller.)
And, by the way, there are “distress” sales in nearly every major prestige building in the city. And/or sellers are losing money in nearly every building in the city (if they bought at the peak.) It doesn’t matter where you bought (except Crilly Court- where we’ve seen one 2007 re-sale and maybe a second one coming up where they’ve actually made money.)
Crilly Court is the only building I’ve seen successful re-sales in where they bought in the last 5 years. I’m sure there are a few others here and there- but, for the most part, even the Palmolive sellers are losing money (as we’ve seen several times.) Again, not only in short sales, but just in selling for less than they paid 5 or 6 years ago.