Crib Chatter

We last chattered about this 3-bedroom duplex down unit in a Victorian storefront at 2075 N. Oakley in Bucktown in January 2010.

At that time, it was listed for $93,000 above the 2006 purchase price at $824,900.

Many of you disagreed with the pricing (to put it mildly) and there were predictions of a sale anywhere from $550,000 to $650,000.

See our prior chatter here.

The unit is still on the market and has now been reduced $125,900 and is now listed $32,500 under the 2006 purchase price.

This unique unit is located in what was a Victorian storefront and appears to still have the original tin ceiling.

The kitchen has marble counter tops and stainless steel appliances.

2 out of the 3 bedrooms are on the main floor with the third in the lower level.

There is also a lower level family room with marble floors.

The side yard is private to the unit and there is an attached garage.

Is this property now priced to sell or have market conditions also changed since the original listing, and chatter, 11 months ago?

Jennifer Mills at Koenig & Strey still has the listing. See the pictures here.

Unit #1: 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, 2600 square feet, duplex down, 1 car parking

• Sold in April 1999 for $320,000
• Sold in January 2002 for $462,500
• Sold in July 2006 for $731,500
• Was listed in January 2010 for $824,900
• Reduced numerous times
• Currently listed for $699,000
• Assessments of $259 a month (includes cable)
• Taxes of $6100
• Central Air
• Washer/Dryer in the unit
• Bedroom #1: 11×10 (main level)
• Bedroom #2: 18×12 (main level)
• Bedroom #3: 14×11 (lower level)
• Family room: 21×19 (lower level)

This 3-bedroom townhouse at 2547 N. Greenview in west Lincoln Park has been on the market since May 2010.

The price was recently cut to $399,000 and has now been reduced $98,500 from its original May 2010 list price.

The townhouse is also listed $79,000 under the 2008 purchase price.

This townhouse complex was built in 1988 and has a large interior courtyard.

The property’s outdoor space includes a patio that looks out on the courtyard.

The townhouse has 2200 square feet on 4 levels including a main level family room, a living/dining/kitchen combo on the second floor, 2 bedrooms on the third floor and the third on the fourth.

It also has 2 car parking.

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

The townhouse is next door to Wrightwood Park, a popular park with a rare park district pool.

Is this a deal for this square footage and location?

Stephanie Cutter at Coldwell Banker has the listing. See the pictures and virtual tour here.

2547 N. Greenview: 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 2 car parking, 2200 square feet

• Sold in August 1990 for $255,000
• Sold in June 1994 for $386,250 (I wonder if this isn’t a typo in the public records and should be $286,250)
• Sold in June 2001 for $394,000
• Sold in May 2005 for $370,500
• Sold in October 2008 for $478,000
• Originally listed in May 2010 for $497,500
• Reduced several times
• Currently listed at $399,000
• Assessments of $286 a month (includes cable)
• Taxes of $6209
• Central Air
• Bedroom #1: 17×14 (third floor)
• Bedroom #2: 17×10 (third floor)
• Bedroom #3: 12×11 (fourth floor)
• Family room: 17×11 (first floor)

This 2-bedroom vintage farmhouse at 2915 W. Belden in Logan Square is listed for just $175,000.

It was recently reduced $24,000.

The listing says “Attention Investors and Rehabbers” and says it is being sold “as-is” so it is not for those looking for something move-in ready.

Still, the house is on a larger than standard 25×150 lot, has an unfinished basement and has a 2-car garage.

The listing says it was legally a 2-flat but was deconverted into a single family home.

For this price and location, is it worth rehabbing?

Dana Gerstenschlager at @Properties has the listing. See the pictures here.

2915 W. Belden: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2 car garage

• Sold in July 1997 for $122,000
• Originally listed in September 2010 for $199,000
• Reduced
• Currently listed for $175,000
• Taxes of $4004
• No central air
• Bedroom #1: 10×10 (main floor)
• Bedroom #2: 8×10 (second floor)
• Family room: 20×10 (second floor)

Having run this site for over 3 years, I am now seeing some properties come back on the market that we previously chattered about and which sold including this 3-bedroom vintage unit at 4055 N. Greenview in the Graceland West neighborhood (of Lakeview or Uptown?)

Back in May 2008, the listing called this property “too good to be true” after it was reduced from $399,000 down to $299,000.

It eventually sold in July 2008 for $295,000.

See our prior chatter and the interior pictures here.

The 3-bedroom unit returned to the market in February 2010.

From the pictures, it does not appear that any upgrades were done to the unit.

The kitchen still has the white cabinets, white counter tops and black appliances from the previous sale.

This unit has 800 square feet of lower level space that is available for storage and/or to duplex down.

There is deeded parking included but no central air.

The listing says that the property is in the Blaine school district.

Was this such a deal in 2008 that it will sell for more than the 2008 purchase price in 2010?

Trevor Engelhardt at Baird & Warner has the listing. See the pictures here.

Unit #1S: 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, no square footage listed

• Sold in October 1989 for $119,000
• Sold in June 1996 for $158,000
• Originally listed for $399,000 in June 2007
• Numerous price reductions
• Listed in May 2008 for $299,999
• Sold in July 2008 for $295,000
• Originally listed in February 2010 for $370,000
• Numerous reductions
• Currently listed at $353,700 (parking included)
• Assessments of $590 a month (includes heat)
• Taxes of $4200
• No central air- window units
• Bedroom #1: 13×12
• Bedroom #2: 10×9
• Bedroom #3: 12×9
• 800 square feet of unfinished storage space on the lower level

We last chattered about this 8-bedroom vintage mansion at 25 E. Banks in the Gold Coast in September 2010.

See our prior chatter here.

At that time, the house had just been reduced $2.55 million after being on the market nearly 3 and 1/2 years and was well off its $13.5 million original list price.

It then went under contract quickly and recently closed for just $150,000 under the newly reduced price.

As reported by the press, the seller was J.P. Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon who had lived in the house when he was working in the company’s Chicago office.

Janet Owen at Sudler Sotheby’s had the listing.

25 E. Banks: 8 bedroom, 9 full and 2 half baths, 13,500 square feet, 2 car garage

• Sold in September 2000 for $4.68 million
• Originally listed in April 2007 for $13.5 million
• Reduced in November 2007 to $12 million
• Reduced to $9.5 million
• Reduced
• Was listed in September 2010 at $6.95 million
• Sold in October 2010 for $6.8 million
• Taxes of $61,530
• 2 fireplaces
• Library

As foreclosure activity actually slowed in foreclosure hot spots like Orlando and Las Vegas in the third quarter, according to Realty Trac, foreclosures jumped 35% in the Chicago metro area.

It was the second largest jump in the country.

Foreclosure activity in the third quarter:

• Seattle up 71%
• Chicago up 35%
• Houston up 26%
• Detroit up 23%
• Las Vegas down 20%
• Orlando down 16%

Before you get all hot and bothered that the “percentages” don’t mean anything because there could have been 100 foreclosures in Seattle in 2009 that went up to just 171 foreclosures, the Chicagoland area had the 3rd highest actual number of foreclosures in the nation.

Number of foreclosures in the third quarter:

1. Phoenix metro area: 14,317
2. Miami metro area: 12,963
3. Chicagoland: 12,568

1 in 84 properties in the Chicago area received a foreclosure notice in the quarter.

Suddenly, the media picked up on the theme that the foreclosure crisis was “spreading” (from the former hot spots of CA, NV and FL.)

“The epidemic is spreading from the states at the ground zero of the foreclosure problems out into areas that hadn’t been previously affected,” said Rick Sharga, a senior vice-president at RealtyTrac.

The trend is the latest sign that the nation’s foreclosure crisis is worsening as homeowners facing high unemployment, slow job growth and uncertainty about home prices continue to fall behind on their mortgage payments.

From what I saw- a lot of people in the media were “surprised” that Chicago was so high up on these lists as the Midwest was not supposed to be such a bubblicious zone during the boom.

If market psychology is such a big part of real estate sales, what do stories about Chicago’s foreclosures rising so sharply do to buyers (and sellers) strategies?

Chicago foreclosure activity up 35% in third quarter [Crain’s Chicago Business, AP article, October 28, 2010]

Many buyers consider townhouses because they want privacy and are priced out of single family homes in their targeted neighborhoods.

But what about a coach house such as this 3-bedroom property at 1700 W. School in the Southport neighborhood of Lakeview?

It has an attached 2-car garage and is on 3 levels.

The listing says there is a professionally landscaped garden.

Two of the 3 bedrooms are on the second floor with the third on the lower level.

The listing says it has an open floorplan on the main level.

The gourmet kitchen has granite counter tops and black appliances.

The house has central air, skylights, and a washer/dryer.

While it has a small assessment, it also has no common walls.

Is this a good alternative to townhouse living?

Leigh Marcus at Keller Williams Lincoln Park has the listing. See the pictures here.

Coach House: 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2 car garage,  no square footage listed

• Sold in May 1998 for $340,500
• Sold in February 2000 for $407,500
• Sold in May 2005 for $512,000
• Currently listed for $500,000
• Assessments of $92 a month (includes lawn care and snow removal)
• Taxes of $5046
• Central Air
• Bedroom #1: 15×13 (second floor)
• Bedroom #2: 14×12 (second floor)
• Bedroom #3: 18×11 (lower level)

This 3-bedroom unit at 4728 N. Malden in the Sheridan Park neighborhood of Uptown has been on and off the market since September 2008.

After numerous reductions, it is now listed $114,500 under the 2003 purchase price.

The top floor unit has cathedral ceilings and skylights.

It also has upgraded finishes including crown molding and oak floors with an inlaid border.

The kitchen has the 42 inch cabinets common in the last decade as well as granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances.

The master bathroom is marble.

The listing says this property is not a short sale and is FHA approved, which gives it an advantage over nearby short sales in the neighborhood.

How low will prices go in the Uptown neighborhood and at what cost to the homeowners, the neighborhood and the city, before this unit (and others like it) finally sell?

Gary Lucido at Lucid Realty has the listing. See more pictures here.

Unit #3S: 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, no square footage listed

• Sold in May 2003 for $389,000
• Originally listed in September 2008
• Off and on the market
• Was listed in April 2010 for $379,850
• Reduced numerous times
• Was listed in September 2010 for $309,850
• Reduced
• Currently listed for $274,850 (parking included)
• Assessments of $160 a month
• Taxes of $5381
• Central Air
• Washer/Dryer in the unit
• Bedroom #1: 14×13
• Bedroom #2: 15×11
• Bedroom #3: 15×9
• Living room: 20×15
• Kitchen: 15×10

This 1-bedroom unit in the high rise at 1212 N. LaSalle in the Gold Coast is listed as a short sale.

It is currently priced just $3,000 above the 1999 purchase price.

Built in 1989, this is one of the larger one bedroom units in the building at 850 square feet.

It has carpet and what looks to be the original kitchen- with white cabinet, white appliances and white counter tops.

There is no washer/dryer in the unit, but I believe the building does allow it to be installed.

The unit has central air and deeded parking is available in the building.

Is this a deal for this location and square footage?

Wanda Passolano at Re/Max Action has the listing. See the pictures here.

Unit #1404: 1 bedroom, 1 bath, 850 square feet

• Sold in November 1999 for $137,000 (looks like parking might have been included in the sale)
• Sold in September 2008 for $210,000 (no parking?)
• Originally listed in September 2010 for $160,000
• Reduced
• Currently listed as a “short sale” for $140,000
• Assessments of $385 a month (includes heat, A/C, doorman)
• Taxes of $2265
• Parking available for lease/purchase
• Bedroom: 10×10
• Living room: 12×18
• Kitchen: 9×9

Not all parts of Streeterville are Navy Pier and the AMC River East movie theater as is evidenced by this 1919 2-bedroom vintage co-op at 223 E. Delaware.

Just steps from Michigan Avenue, this mid-rise building has just 10 units.

It also has deeded parking included, which is rare for some of the vintage buildings in this neighborhood.

This 3200 square foot unit has been renovated with “state of the art” bathrooms and kitchen.

While there are only 2 bedrooms, there is a family room, a study and a library.

Stephen Bognar Jr. at Koenig & Strey Real Living has the listing. See the pictures here.

• I couldn’t find a previous sales price
• Originally listed in October 2009
• Withdrawn in February 2010
• Currently listed at $1.495 million
• Assessments of $2738 a month (includes heat, cable)
• Taxes of $10,806
• No pets allowed
• Central Air
• Washer/Dryer in the unit
• Parking included
• Co-Op- financing available
• Bedroom #1: 17×15
• Bedroom #2: 16×12
• Family room: 17×13
• Study: 10×10
• Library: 15×13