Crib Chatter

For those who think the GreenZone hasn’t been impacted by the housing bust, take a look at the sales history of the 2-bedroom vintage unit at 2019 N. Sheffield in Lincoln Park.

Built in 1884, it has been renovated but the original window moldings of the Victorian building remain.

It has tall ceilings with recessed lighting and hardwood floors in the living/dining room.

The kitchen was renovated for the 2008 sale. It has cherry cabinets, stainless steel appliances and granite counter tops.

The unit also has a rare walk-in closet (as vintage apartments normally don’t have big closets.)

It has central air and in-unit washer/dryer. But it doesn’t have parking.

Yes, that’s the El directly behind the building.

The unit is listed for 25% under the 2008 purchase price of $400,000– or at $299,900.

Before you all say, “but Sabrina, it’s ON the El line”- it was also on the El line in 2008 and 2003- when it sold for more than it is listed for right now.

Is this a deal?

Richard Kasper at Conlon has the listing. See the pictures here.

Unit #203: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, no square footage listed

• Sold in May 1989 for $139,500
• Sold in March 1993 for $167,000
• Sold in August 1999 for $245,000
• sold in June 2003 for $315,000
• Sold in August 2008 for $400,000
• Currently listed for $299,900
• Assessments of $230 a month
• Taxes of $4328
• Central Air
• Washer/Dryer in the unit
• Wood burning fireplace
• No parking
• Bedroom #1: 13×11
• Bedroom #2: 11×10
• Walk-in closet: 7×5

We last chattered about this vintage 3-bedroom rowhouse at 1828 W. Cornelia in Roscoe Village in May 2012.

See our prior chatter here.

The biggest bone of discussion was that most of you didn’t like the mix of prairie style windows with the Victorian-era architecture.

Since our last chatter, it has been reduced another $70,000.

Built in 1894, the 2600 square foot rowhouse has three stories and an unfinished basement.

It is on a 20×120 lot, which is bigger than those on Alta Vista, for instance, and allows for a 2-car garage plus backyards.

This rowhouse has both a lower deck off the kitchen/breakfast room and an upper deck off the master suite.

The third floor contains the master suite which also has 6 skylights.

The kitchen has granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances.

The listing says the rowhouse was updated in 2002/2003.

The Brown line El tracks are a few doors to the east.

How much lower will this have to go before someone bites?

Theodore Krug at Coldwell Banker still has the listing. See the pictures here.

You can also see it in person at the Open House this Sunday, September 16: 12- 2PM.

1828 W. Cornelia: 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 2600 square feet, 2 car garage

• Prior sale was before 2002 (no price listed- looks like long term owner)
• Originally listed in February 2012 for $749,900
• Reduced
• Was listed in May 2012 at $719,000
• Reduced
• Currently listed at $649,000
• Taxes of $7849
• Central Air
• Unfinished basement
• Bedroom #1: 16×12 (third floor)
• Bedroom #2: 17×14 (second floor)
• Bedroom #3: 14×12 (second floor)
• Den: 11×11 (second floor)
• Laundry room: 8×7 (second floor)

If you’re tired of all the new construction single family homes and yearn for a unique piece of the past, then look no further than this 3-bedroom at 651 W. Hutchinson in the Buena Park neighborhood of Uptown.

Hutchinson is a historic street with larger than standard Chicago lots.

This house was built in 1910 on an oversized lot measuring 50×108.

It has a 1-car attached garage and central air.

The listing says it has been “beautifully updated and restored.”

The kitchen has granite counter tops and a large kitchen island.

All 3 bedrooms are on the second floor including the large master suite, which has its own bath.

There is a lower level family room with a second kitchen.

The house has been reduced $310,000 to $1,065,000 since it came on the market in March 2011.

What price will it take to get this property sold?

Thomas Sillitti at Baird & Warner has the listing. See the pictures here.

651 W. Hutchinson: 3 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, 3820 square feet, 1 car garage

• Sold in August 1993 for $557,000
• Originally listed in March 2011 for $1.375 million
• Reduced several times
• Currently listed at $1.065 million
• Taxes of $17,076
• Central Air
• Bedroom #1: 24×14 (second floor)
• Bedroom #2: 14×11 (second floor)
• Bedroom #3: 13×9 (second floor)

This 2-bedroom at 510 W. Erie in River North recently came on the market.

It’s a short sale.

It is a corner unit and has slate tiling throughout the living/dining area.

The listing says there are eucalyptus floors in the bedrooms.

The kitchen has maple cabinets, granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances.

This unit has central air, in-unit washer/dryer and parking is included.

It is listed for $5,000 under the 2002 purchase price at $350,000.

If this floorplan, including the slate tiling, looks familiar that’s because we chattered about a similar looking unit, #1005, in July 2012. That one was listed then at $499,999. It looks like it was withdrawn from the market in August.

See our chatter on that unit here.

Is this a deal for the square footage and the location?

Eugene Fu at @Properties has the listing. See the pictures here.

Unit #705: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1235 square feet

• Sold in October 2002 for $355,000 (parking included)
• Currently listed as a “short sale” for $350,000 (parking included)
• Assessments of $675 a month (includes doorman)
• Taxes of $4357
• Central Air
• Washer/Dryer
• Bedroom #1: 13×12
• Bedroom #2: 14×12

There was this big brou-ha-ha when actor Vince Vaughn put his Palmolive triplex penthouse at 159 E. Walton in the Gold Coast on the market in June 2012 for $18.4 million.

Other than a Trump penthouse which had come on the market at $32 million, this was the most expensive condo on the market in the city.

Three months later, the price was reduced $1.65 million to $16.75 million.

The penthouse has 5 bedrooms with 12,000 square feet.

We don’t know what it looks like because there have never been pictures posted on the public realtor sites.

Is it actually doing this property a disservice to NOT put pictures out where the public can see them?

The listing says it has Hugh Hefner’s originally restored Playboy office. Why not show us?

The celebrity listings tend to go global.

Curbed puts it out there and then the next thing you know it’s on the front page of Yahoo (which hundreds of millions around the globe read daily.)

That’s marketing (and publicity) you can’t buy.

What if a celebrity reduces the price on a property and no one cares?

Susan Miner at Premier Relocation has the listing. See the listing here (no interior pics, remember).

159 E. Walton PH: 5 bedrooms, 6 baths, triplex, 12,000 square feet, 3 car parking

• Sold in September 2006 for $12 million
• Originally listed in June 2012 for $18.4 million
• Reduced
• Currently listed at $16.75 million
• Assessments of $11,595 a month (includes doorman)
• Taxes of $42,772
• Central Air

Sellers could learn a lot from the marketing of this 2-bedroom loft at 515 N. Noble in the Noble Square neighborhood of West Town.

Back in March 2012, this was a bank owned unit.

At 1000 square feet, it was a large 1-bedroom loft with 12 foot timber ceilings and exposed brick which sold for just $106,000 (parking included.)

Unfortunately, the old listing does NOT have any interior photos with it.

But you can see the bank owned listing here.

6 months later the unit has come back on the market as a 2-bedroom with a “new” kitchen and bathroom.

The kitchen has honed marble counter tops, stainless steel appliances and modern white cabinets (have you noticed that most of the rehabs we’ve seen with new kitchens have had white cabinets? White is “in” again.)

This unit is expertly staged with gorgeous furniture, strategically placed huge mirrors propped up in hallways and bedrooms and even a bowl of lemons on the kitchen counter top.

It reminds me of a model home like the ones they used to have on the old Parade of Homes in the 1980s (before there was House Hunters and other cable shows about real estate.)

The loft has come back on the market at $153,000 more than the March 2012 sale.

It is also, as I said, a 2-bedroom (which is more marketable at this price point than a 1-bedroom.)

Will the staging get this rehabber a quick sale at a big profit?

Karl Vogel at @Properties has the listing (and also owns the unit). See the pictures here.

Unit #110: 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, 1000 square feet

• I couldn’t find an original sale price
• Lis pendens foreclosure filed in May 2010
• Bank owned in August 2011
• Sold in March 2012 for $106,000 (parking included)
• Currently listed at $259,000 (parking included)
• Assessments of $224 a month (includes cable)
• Taxes of $2170
• Central Air
• Washer/Dryer in the unit
• Bedroom #1: 14×12
• Bedroom #2: 13×9

Recently, the RedEye had an article about Chicago’s luxury apartment market.

It’s what we have discussed before. Generation Y want “new” and amenities and they don’t want to be locked into home ownership.

As we know, developers are responding by building thousands of new apartments downtown.

No one knows better than Jeremy Dubin that now is a great time to buy a house.

And yet Dubin, an @Properties real estate broker, sold his Roscoe Village townhouse in the spring and moved into his new place—a luxury apartment in Goose Island.

His 23-story building, SoNo East, opened in June, but it’s quickly becoming its own social network. Management hosts happy hours for its residents, who have access to a hot tub, fire pit, gym, billiard room and a four-story parking garage (one of the amenities that appealed most to Dubin).

But these high-end services don’t come cheap. Dubin said he pays $2,365 for his one-bedroom apartment—about $500 a month less than what he was paying when he owned his townhome.

Dubin said he plans to rent for a year and buy next year while he waits for a new construction condo. Yet he could save more by living in a place without a poker room or a round-the-clock doorman.

“If I was younger, I’d have a roommate. At 36 years old, I’m not living in a studio apartment,” said Dubin, adding that he appreciates that his rent is stable and there are no new fees like special assessments that sometimes befell him as a homeowner. Plus, living in a place with a sundeck “is like you’re on vacation.”

Remember our chatter about the high priced rentals at 1225 N. Wells Street in Old Town?

Many of you didn’t believe they were getting over $3 a square foot in that building, the highest in the city.

Surprise! The building is now 75% rented.

And 1225 Old Town, off Wells and Scott streets, began leasing its 250 apartments—ranging in price from $1,650 to more than $5,000—in the spring.

David Bach, an associate at Hines Interests, the developer of 1225 Old Town, said 75 percent of the rentals already have been claimed—beating his initial projections.

The building offers a pool, hot tub, Internet cafe with Wi-Fi, barbecue area, social lounge and demonstration kitchen that residents can reserve for parties. A boutique grocery will open in the spring.

“Our core demographic is the affluent, young professional,” Bach said. “A lot of people are a little disillusioned with the prospect of owning a home and don’t see it as the surefire investment it once was. They don’t see it as attractive to be tied down to a piece of property for a few years.”

With so many young people finding it easier to just rent (at least until they move to the suburbs and look at single family homes), will this sentiment doom the downtown condo market for a generation?

Why buy the 2/2 in the Sterling or 303 W. Ohio in River North when you can rent across the street without a 20% downpayment instead? (And many times the rentals are actually NICER.)

High rent society [Chicago Redeye, Tracy Swartz, September 12, 2012]

This 5-bedroom historic McCormick Rowhouse at 859 W. Fullerton in Lincoln Park has been on the market since January 2012.

Built in 1890 on a 32×105 lot, it is a sought-after corner rowhouse (more windows!).

However, it needs to be brought back to its former glory.

The listing says “Restoration tax credits may apply.”

2 of the 5 bedrooms are on the second floor with the remaining 3 on the third floor.

There are 2 wood burning fireplaces.

The listing says there is 2-car parking and guest parking (it is apparently across the alley).

If you want to see what a restored corner rowhouse looks like, look no further than 841 W. Fullerton right down the street which just came on the market and went under contract in under a month.

Built in 1884, it is listed at $999,000.

See the pictures for 841 W. Fullerton here.

859 W. Fullerton has been reduced $50,000 to $798,000 since January.

Having seen the fully restored rowhouse and that list price, what will this have to be listed at to make a vintage lover who likes to restore properties bite?

Louisa McPharlin at Coldwell Banker has the listing. See the pictures here.

859 W. Fullerton: 5 bedrooms, 4.5 baths, 3000 square feet, 2 car parking

• Sold in March 2007 for $800,000
• Originally listed in January 2012 for $848,000
• Reduced
• Currently listed at $798,000
• Taxes of $16951
• Assessments of $79 a month
• Central Air
• Bedroom #1: 14×17 (second floor)
• Bedroom #2: 13×14 (second floor)
• Bedroom #3: 15×21 (third floor)
• Bedroom #4: 12×12 (third floor)
• Bedroom #5: 12×13 (third floor)

We last chattered about this top floor 3-bedroom duplex-up at 1866 N. Halsted in Lincoln Park in May 2010.

See our May 2010 chatter here.

The main chatter wasn’t about the price, but about the parking (or lack thereof.) As the unit does NOT have a parking space.

Matt Garrison, the realtor on the listing at the time, was kind enough to chime in about the parking saying that there is a coach house behind the property so that’s why there aren’t any spaces with the unit. However, there is apparently rental parking about a block away.

2 years ago, some of you also criticized the kitchen which had white cabinets, counter tops and appliances. Someone said they should throw in a new Ikea kitchen.

The new listing says that there is a “new kitchen.” It still has white cabinets- with a different look- but there are stainless steel appliances and granite counter tops.

You can see a picture of the old kitchen in our former chatter.

For those of you confused about the floorplan, the three bedrooms are on the second floor with the living/dining/kitchen/family room on the duplex up top floor.

The unit also has roof rights.

There is central air and a washer/dryer in the unit.

The unit has been re-listed at the old 2009 list price. It is also $64,000 above the 2006 purchase price.

With the hotter market (and less inventory), will this seller finally get the 2009 list price?

Elise Kaplan at @Properties now has the listing. See the pictures here.

Unit #PH: 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 2712 square feet

• Sold in February 1994 for $292,500
• Sold in November 2006 for $585,000
• Was listed in December 2009 for $649,900
• Reduced
• Was listed in May 2010 for $624,900
• Withdrawn
• Currently listed for $649,000
• Assessments of $310 a month (includes cable)
• Taxes now $10,000 (they were $7298 in May 2010)
• Central Air
• In-unit Washer/Dryer
• No parking
• Skylights
• Bedroom #1: 20×13 (second floor)
• Bedroom #2: 14×12 (second floor)
• Bedroom #3: 13×10 (second floor)
• Family room: 17×11 (third floor)

Crain’s has the scoop on why there haven’t yet been any closings in the new luxury high rise on Michigan Avenue, the Ritz Carlton Residences.

The building’s actual address is now 118 E. Erie and I’m calling it River North because it’s on the west side of Michigan Avenue.

Apparently there is a lawsuit preventing any closings from taking place.

The developer of the 89-unit condominium tower, Chicago-based Prism Development Co., is feuding with the Terra Foundation for American Art, which owns the land under the building at 664 N. Michigan Ave. and will own retail and office space in the project when it is finished. The dispute came to a head Friday, when Prism prevented construction workers from entering the project to build out the stores for Tommy Bahama and Loft.

The Terra Foundation struck back Monday by seeking a temporary restraining order forcing Prism to let the workers in. In a hearing Monday afternoon, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Mary Mikva granted Terra’s request, issuing an order that will allow construction workers, the retail tenants and Terra to enter the building through the end of the week.

Under a 2005 deal, Terra, the owner of a vintage building on the property, agreed to let Prism construct a luxury condo tower there, tearing down the old building while keeping the facade. As part of the agreement, Terra would own about 18,000 square feet of street-level and second-floor retail space and 14,000 square feet of office space that the foundation would occupy.

But Terra says it won’t close on the deal because Prism hasn’t completed the space to the foundation’s satisfaction. Its main complaints: that the windows of its future offices were installed improperly and work on elevators between the first and the second floors of the retail space is incomplete.

If closings start in 2012, it will be the second luxury high rise to start delivery of new units this year.

2550 N. Lakeview in Lincoln Park has already started closings.

Crain’s is reporting that nearly 50% of the units in the Ritz are under contract, or 42 out of 89 units.

Some of those contracts were signed years ago. It will be interesting to see how many actually close.

Along with 2550 N. Lakeview and a Trump Tower that has not yet sold out, the Ritz adds a tremendous amount of multi-million dollar condo inventory onto the market in the River North, Gold Coast, Near North Side and Lincoln Park neighborhoods.

Any guesses on how long it will take for the market to absorb all of these $3 million+ condos?

Or will prices eventually have to be cut?

(By the way- as soon as a listing comes on the market in 2550 N. Lakeview or the Ritz that actually shows the “real” interior pictures- I’ll do a post on these buildings.)

Ritz Carlton Residences hung up in legal battle [Crain’s Chicago Business, Micah Maidenberg, September 11, 2012]