Crib Chatter

This 3-bedroom single family home at 1748 W. Cortland in Bucktown has been on the market since July 2010.

In that time it has been reduced just $26,000.

The listing says it was custom built by renowned archiect Joe Valerio.

The house, on a 24×125 lot, has a 2-story living room with a lofted bedroom.

The kitchen has white cabinets and what looks like white appliances along with zinc counter tops.

There is a third floor master suite.

It has central air and a 2-car garage.

Last purchased in 1995, there was a lis pendens foreclosure filed on the property 19 months ago.

Are buyers simply waiting until it goes back to the bank?

Robert John Anderson at Baird & Warner has the listing. See the pictures here.

1748 W. Cortland: 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 2264 square feet, 2 car garage

• Sold in March 1995 for $93,000
• Lis pendens foreclosure filed in June 2010
• Originally listed in July 2010 for $825,000
• Reduced
• Currently listed at $799,000
• Taxes of $7563
• Central Air
• Bedroom #1: 18×13 (third floor)
• Bedroom #2: 15×14 (main floor)
• Bedroom #3: 16×15 (second floor)

In the last few months of 2011, we’ve been chattering about more new construction projects than we did the prior years. These include new construction million dollar homes and 3 and 6 flat condo developments.

Sure, it’s not like it was during the boom time but with prices still falling for the current crop of existing properties, it’s surprising to see developers still willing to put up more of the new.

But one new construction home has really stood out in 2011 and, from the looks of things, appears to be in play again in 2012.

This house pictured below is being built all over the west side, from Humboldt Park, to Logan Square, to Avondale and everywhere in between where a cheap lot can be secured.

(This picture was taken of the house built at 1214 N. Rockwell in East Humboldt Park.)

For you House Hunters fans, this is the model of the house that the couple bought on the recent Chicago episode of House Hunters (theirs was in Humboldt Park.)

It is also being built at several addresses around Avondale include 2967 W. Nelson (I drove by the address and didn’t see any construction so perhaps it won’t get built until there is a contract on it.)

The North Clybourn Group has been handling all of the sales. The house and interior pictures are the same on each listing.

2967 W. Nelson is listed for $349,000.

Buyers love “new”.

Will “affordable” new construction be one of the big stories of 2012?

(Anyone know how many of these houses have now been built on the west sides? 10? 20?)

You can see the pictures of 2967 W. Nelson here.

2967 W. Nelson: 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 2400 square feet, 2 car garage

• New construction currently listed for $349,000

We last chattered about this 4-bedroom Keck & Keck mid-century modern single family home at 2939 W. Catalpa in Budlong Woods (which is just north of Lincoln Square) in September 2009.

See our prior chatter here.

Since that time, the house has been on and off the market. It has been reduced about $300,000 in the last 2 years.

Built in 1946 on an oversized 120×125 lot, it has a 9-zone irrigation system along with a Koi pond.

The house also has Terrazzo and walnut radiant floors, a commerical grade stainless steel kitchen, and a glass studio/greenhouse.

Will this house finally sell to a Keck & Keck lover in 2012?

Edward Hester at Dream Town Realty now has the listing.

Here’s more on what a Keck & Keck design means from a Dream Town press release.

See the property’s website, with a video and pictures, here.

2939 W. Catalpa: 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, 2.5 car garage

• Sold in March 1995 for $499,000
• Sold in March 2004 for $800,000
• Was listed in May 2009 for $1.399 million
• Reduced
• Currently listed for $1,099,000
• Taxes are now $10,063 (were $12,080 in 2009)
• Central Air
• Master suite with marble bath
• Bedroom #1: 32×18
• Bedroom #2: 15×14
• Bedroom #3: 15×15
• Bedroom #4: 13×10

This 5-bedroom single family home at 2140 W. Montrose in Lincoln Square has been on the market since November 2011.

In that time, it has been reduced once by $30,000 to $499,000.

Built in 1929, it is on an oversized 37×125 lot.

And no- there is NO El in the backyard (like we’ve seen with some other houses in this neighborhood in this price point recently.)

The listing says it was a “new rehab in 2007.”

It has hardwood floors throughout the main level. The kitchen has cherry cabinets and what appears to be stainless steel appliances but no granite counter tops.

Two of the 5 bedrooms are on the second floor, the third is on the main level and two are in the basement.

The house has central air but no garage- although there appears to be space for 2 car parking (so presumably you can probably add a garage.)

Is this a deal compared to the townhouses and duplex condos we’ve seen on the market?

Alan Candea at Dream Town Realty has the listing. See the pictures here.

2140 W. Montrose: 5 bedrooms, 3 baths, no square footage listed

• I couldn’t find any prior sales for this property
• Originally listed in November 2011 for $529,000
• Reduced
• Currently listed for $499,000
• Taxes of $4646
• Central Air
• No garage but it looks like there is 2 car parking
• Bedroom #1: 14×21 (second floor)
• Bedroom #2: 14×11 (second floor)
• Bedroom #3: 12×11 (main floor)
• Bedroom #4: 10×10 (lower level)
• Bedroom #5: 10×10 (lower level)

This 2-bedroom vintage cottage at 1345 W. Webster in Lincoln Park has been on the market since October 2008.

In that time it has been reduced more than 50% going from a list price of $1.275 million to now just $600,000.

It is the adjacent parcel to 1339 W. Webster and is basically being sold for the land value. There are no pictures of the interior of the house with the listing.

See our prior chatter on 1339 W. Webster here.

The listing says it is Zoned R4.

The cottage was built in 1896 and the listing says it’s on a 75×49 lot. If you combine it with 1339 W. Webster the listing says you’d have 75×125 (???).

The room sizes in the listing are approximate. But it appears that one bedroom is on the main level and the second is upstairs.

It also has a full, unfinished basement.

There also appears to be one-car parking and the house has central air (if you’re interested in living in it- instead of tearing it down.)

Will this house find a buyer who is actually willing to keep the house?

And at what price?

Robert John Anderson at Baird & Warner also has this listing (as he does 1339 W. Webster). See the listing here (no interior pics.)

1345 W. Webster: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, no square footage listed, 1 car parking

• Sold in January 1998 for $420,000
• Originally listed in October 2008 for $1.275 million
• Reduced several times
• Currently listed at $600,000
• Taxes of $10,585
• Central Air
• Bedroom #1: 10×12 (second floor- size is approximate)
• Bedroom #2: 10×10 (main floor)
• Living room: 20×15
• Dining room: 15×15
• Kitchen: 13×13

We last chattered about this 6-bedroom single family home at 1339 W. Webster in Lincoln Park all the way back in July 2009.

See our prior chatter here.

Back in 2009, it was listed at $4.2 million. It has since been reduced to $2.995 million.

Built in 1896 and renovated sometime after 1996 by architects Burns & Beyerl, the 10,143 square foot house is on an irregular 75×76 lot.

Two of the bedrooms are on the second floor, one is on the third, one is on the main and two are in the lower level.

A masonry perimeter wall encloses a 40×40 garden/courtyard that has been featured on the Sheffield Garden Walk in the past.

What will it take to finally sell this property?

Robert John Anderson at Baird & Warner still has the listing. See the pictures here.

1339 W. Webster: 6 bedrooms, 3 baths, 2 half baths, 10,143 square feet, 2 car garage

• Sold in November 1995 for $635,000
• Was professionally renovated in this time period
• Originally listed in October 2008 for $4.2 million
• Reduced several times
• Currently listed at $2.995 million
• Taxes now $22,060 (they were $13,183 in 2009)
• Central Air
• Bedroom #1: 21×13 (second floor)
• Bedroom #2: 13×8 (main floor)
• Bedroom #3: 21×13 (second floor)
• Bedroom #4: 10×19 (third floor)
• Bedroom #5: 12×11 (lower level)
• Bedroom #6: 12×11 (lower level)

Since we had so much fun chattering about this 3-bedroom duplex down at 848 W. Roscoe in Lakeview last year on December 23, I thought we’d have at it again on the same day a year later.

See our December 2010 chatter here.

In the last year, it has been reduced another $67,000.

If you recall, the building was constructed in 2003. Two of the three bedrooms are on the main floor with the third in the lower level.

It also has a 18×17 family room in the lower level.

It has two outdoor spaces with a south facing patio as well as a rear deck. The unit also has a garage with a heated driveway.

The kitchen has the finishes you’d expect in construction from the last 10 years including stainless steel appliances and granite counter tops.

Our chatter the last time was interesting (beyond the crazy comments that I had to delete) as I predicted that the coming spring market was critical. We were also chattering about the negativity on the site- possibly due to the double dip in housing prices.

Since then, the Chicago market has gotten even worse.

Some recommended that these sellers rent out this unit and wait for the market to improve.

Is that still the best option?

Otherwise- will this one eventually sell with a “4”- handle?

Any guesses on if we’ll be chattering about it again on December 23, 2012?

Keith Goad at Prudential Rubloff has the listing. See the pictures here.

Unit #1: 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, duplex down, no square footage listed

• Sold in September 2003 for $540,000
• Originally listed in September 2008 for $715,000
• Reduced many times
• Was listed on December 23, 2010 for $576,900 (parking included)
• Reduced
• Currently listed for $509,900 (parking included)
• Assessments of $228 a month
• Taxes of $7729
• Bedroom #1: 13×12 (main level)
• Bedroom #2: 12×10 (main level)
• Bedroom #3: 13×10 (lower level)

There will be no new posts on Monday, December 26 and Monday, January 2, 2012.

Those are the days when most people will have the day off of work so Crib Chatter is going to take a break too.

We’re at the time of the year when we’ll be chattering about what will be the biggest stories of 2012.

Any ideas?

In the past,some of  the “biggest” stories have been:

1. Flips
2. Foreclosures in high rises
3. What would happen to all the new construction condo high rises (they became rental towers!)
4. Condo auctions
5. Last year we chattered about the increasing number of short sales

Will 2012’s biggest story be the end of the housing bust???

Happy Holidays everyone.

Thanks for checking in on the comments, sending me tips and all of your other contributions in 2011.

Sabrina

As someone recently pointed out on the 2011 N. Kenmore thread, this 2-bedroom at 1024 W. Armitage in Lincoln Park (which is in the same association as the Kenmore coach house) came back on the market.

The bank has finally gotten  its act together on this property, since it has owned it since July 2011.

It has finally been reduced to $389,000 from the $549,900 that it was listed for in September 2011.

In our September chatter, most of you complained about the color of the walls, the furniture and the draperies- all which can easily be changed. If you look at the pictures now- most of that has been wiped out of the unit.

Big difference, huh?

See our prior chatter here.

You can see the original photos of the interior here.

If you recall, the building was built in 1890.

The unit has 19 windows, including those in the turret.

The kitchen has white cabinets, black appliances and some kind of stone counters.

It has all the amenities that buyers look for including central air, washer/dryer in the unit and garage parking.

Back in September, anonny thought this would sell for between $425-$445k, but unless there is a bidding war, it appears it will sell well under that with the current list being $389,000.

With it now listed at basically the 1998 price, is this now a deal?

Linda O’Donnell at Re/Max Signature now has the listing. See the pictures here.

Unit #2: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, den, now 1760 square feet

• Sold in June 1998 for $377,500
• Sold in November 1999 for $368,000
• Sold in April 2003 for $467,000
• Lis pendens filed in February 2009
• Originally listed in September 2010 for $599,000
• Reduced in March 2011 to $549,900
• Appears to be bank owned as of July 2011
• Was still listed in September 2011 at $549,900
• Withdrawn in late September
• Re-listed from the bank for $389,000 (includes the parking)
• Assessments of $266 a month
• Taxes of $8481
• Central Air
• Washer/Dryer in the unit
• Bedroom #1: 13×14
• Bedroom #2: 15×13
• Office: 8×8

This 2-bedroom at 1410 N. State Parkway in the Gold Coast has been on the market since June 2011.

In that time it has been reduced $151,000 to $499,000.

This building was constructed in 1981 yet it has the amenities that buyers look for today including central air, washer/dryer in the unit and garage parking.

There are just 2 units per floor. This unit also has a balcony off the kitchen.

The kitchen has white cabinets, white appliances and white counter tops.

At 2000 square feet, it also has a den. There appears to be hardwood floors throughout.

The unit is now listed $71,000 under the 2000 purchase price.

Is this a deal for the square footage and location?

Linda Levin at Jameson Sotheby’s has the listing. See the pictures here.

• Sold in April 2000 for $570,000
• Originally listed in June 2011 for $650,000
• Reduced several times
• Currently listed for $499,000
• Assessments are $1420 a month (includes A/C, gas, doorman, cable)
• Taxes of $9634
• Central Air
• Washer/Dryer in the unit
• Valet parking (appears to be included)
• Bedroom #1: 17×12
• Bedroom #2: 15×11
• Bedroom #3: 12×10