Crib Chatter

This vintage 2-bedroom unit at 1404 W. Flournoy in the Little Italy neighborhood has been on the market nearly a year.

It’s been reduced $8,000 in that time period.

The unit has 9.5 foot ceilings, exposed brick and, the listing says, new windows. The kitchen has stainless steel appliances and granite counter tops.

It doesn’t have an in-unit washer/dryer or parking but it does have central air.

The listing calls it an “incredible investment opportunity.”

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

Unit #2: 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, 850 square feet

• I couldn’t find an original sales price- not sure it has ever sold from the developer
• Originally listed in February 2009 for $247,900
• Reduced
• Currently listed for $239,900
• Assessments of $98 a month
• Taxes of $3540
• Central Air
• No parking
• No washer/dryer in the unit
• Bedroom #1: 13×7
• Bedroom #2: 11×7

This 3-bedroom single family house at 4146 N. Damen in North Center has been on the market since November 2009.

It has been reduced by $5,000 in that time.

The listing says it needs some “tlc”. It has also apparently been in the same family for 40 years.

Built in 1903, it has 3 bedrooms on the second floor. The house also has a 2 car garage on a standard 25×125 lot.

There is no central air but the listing says it has some of the original woodwork.

With its location near the Irving Park Brown line stop, is this an attractive condo-alternative?

Karen Snider at Coldwell Banker Honig-Bell has the listing. See the pictures here.

4146 N. Damen: 3 bedrooms, 1 bath, 1336 square feet, 2 car garage

• No original sales price as owned for 40 years
• Originally listed in November 2009 for $390,000
• Reduced
• Currently listed for $385,000
• Taxes of $3368
• No central air
• Bedroom #1: 12×11
• Bedroom #2: 8×10
• Bedroom #3: 8×11

This junior 1-bedroom in the Imperial Towers at 4250 N. Marine Drive in Uptown has been on the market since June 2009.

The Imperial Towers complex was built in 1963 and has 860 units.

The property has recently become a “pre-foreclosure” listing, with the bank willing to take $109,000.

The unit does not have central air, a washer/dryer in the unit nor deeded parking. Rental parking is available in the building.

But the listing says it does have new windows.

What is the market for the junior 1-bedroom on the north side?

Darya Lisserman at @Properties has the listing. See more pictures here.

Unit #614: 1 bedroom, 1 bath, 525 square feet

• Sold in January 1994 for $24,500
• Sold in May 2000 for $74,000
• Sold in July 2003 for $97,000
• Sold in September 2006 for $118,500
• Originally listed in June 2009 for $125,000
• Reduced several times
• Lis pendens foreclosure filed in January 2010
• Currently listed as a “pre-foreclosure” for $109,000
• Assessments of $270 a month (includes cable)
• Taxes of $1488
• No central air
• No in-unit washer/dryer
• Rental parking for $190 a month

A few months ago I said it would be at least a decade before another condo high rise was built downtown but apparently building them outside of downtown is a different matter.

According to Crain’s, a Chicago developer is proposing a massive $350 million project just north of Montrose in Uptown.

Sedgwick Properties Development Corp., led by Marty Paris, hopes to break ground this year on the first phase of a three-tower project near Montrose Harbor that would have about 850 residences including senior housing, a full-line grocery store and fitness center and a 200-room hotel. The three condo and apartment towers, to be built over five years, would stand 20 to 45 stories tall.

The plan is apparently called “Lake View Station” (yes, even though it’s in Uptown). The developer has previously built a high rise in the South Loop and Park View East at 828 W. Grace in Lakeview.

The developer, who founded the firm in the mid-’90s converting Lincoln Park apartments into condos, is seeking a zoning change and a $40-million to $50-million tax-increment financing subsidy from the city while also working to win over neighbors who are wary of such deals and concerned about parking and traffic in the already congested area.

“It’s going to happen. But it’s not going to be easy to get done,” says Mr. Paris, 41. “It’s one of very few parcels left available on the lakefront in the best of the North Side neighborhoods. To us, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Developer Marty Paris plans huge residential, retail center on Uptown lakefront [Crain’s Chicago Business, Eddie Baeb, Jan 25, 2010] (Be sure to check out the comments to the article.)

This studio condo at 732 W. Bittersweet in the Buena Park neighborhood of Uptown has been on the market since last March and is now listed about 55% under the 2005 purchase price.

The vintage building was converted into condos in 2005.

It doesn’t have central air (room units only) but it does have hardwood floors, a stainless steel refrigerator and granite kitchen counters.

At this price, does this make sense as an investment unit?

Christopher Sterling at Prudential Rubloff has the listing. See the pictures here.

Unit #503: studio, no square footage listed

• Sold in July 2005 for $125,500
• Originally listed in March 2009
• “huge price reduction”
• Currently listed at $54,000
• Assessments of $200 a month
• Taxes of $1690
• studio: 18×11
• kitchen: 11×5
• No Central Air (room unit)
• No in-unit washer/dryer
• No parking – rental in the neighborhood

This 2-bedroom unit at 1445 N. State Parkway in the Gold Coast has been on the market since June 2009.

Despite price reductions that now total $70,000, it has yet to sell.

It is the cheapest 2-bedroom on the market in its building. Other 2-bedroom units have sold in the last 6 months for over $300,000.

The condo is a corner unit with what the listing calls “partial lake views.”

It has carpet, no central air and no in-unit washer/dryer (though other units in the building appear to have them so this may be allowed.)

It also doesn’t have parking- but valet is available.

Given the location, is this the deal of the week in the gold coast for a buyer willing to look past the current interiors/furniture in the unit? (all which won’t be there when you move in?)

Matt Laricy at Americorp has the listing. See more pictures here.

Unit #1602: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, no square footage listed

• Sold in March 1994 for $190,000
• Originally listed in June 2009 for $329,900
• Lis pendens foreclosure filed in October 2009
• Reduced several times
• Currently listed for $259,900
• Assessments of $840 a month
• Taxes of $3741
• No central air- room units
• No in-unit washer/dryer
• Valet parking
• Bedroom #1: 15×17
• Bedroom #2: 14×11
• Living room: 17×15
• Dining room: 8×8
• Kitchen: 14×9

Sales in Chicago rebounded in December from the dismal December 2008 number but median price fell 10.6%.

From the Illinois Association of Realtors:

In the city of Chicago, December total home sales (single-family and condominiums) were up 39.8 percent to 1,768 sales compared to 1,265 homes sold in December 2008. The city of Chicago median price in December 2009 was $210,000 down 10.6 percent compared to $235,000 a year ago in December 2008.

For the full year, sales were down in Chicago compared to 2008. Median price slid 22.4%.

For the year, city of Chicago home sales were down 7.4 percent to 19,401 homes sold compared to 20,946 homes sold in 2008. The year-end city of Chicago median price for 2009 was $225,000, down 22.4 percent from $290,000 in 2008.

“In the city of Chicago, December closed with nearly a 40 percent increase in units sold over the same period in 2009, indicating that the correction of the marketplace continues as distressed properties are absorbed by investors, and stimulus credit homebuyers continue to pave their way to making their purchases,” said REALTOR® Genie Birch, president of the Chicago Association of REALTORS® and a broker associate with Koenig & Strey GMAC, Chicago.

“We will continue to monitor closely the impact of the first-time homebuyer tax credit, as well as the evolving lending regulations, including FHA’s new guidelines, as we serve Chicago’s homebuyers in 2010.”

Statewide, sales also improved but there are concerns about the elevated unemployment rate which reached 11.1% in December, much higher than the national average.

“The continuation of positive changes in annual sales data recorded in the last three months of 2009 is forecast to continue through the first quarter of 2010 and there is evidence to suggest that median prices might be starting to inch upwards,” said Dr. Geoffrey J.D. Hewings, director of the Regional Economics Applications Laboratory (REAL) of the University of Illinois. “Illinois’ March 2010 median price is forecast to be just above the level recorded a year earlier but Chicago’s median price will be down by just under 8 percent.”

Adds Hewings: “Illinois has recorded 24 months of job declines since the recession began in December 2007. Nationally, four in 10 of those currently unemployed have been in this position for more than 27 weeks.”

Illinois Home Sales in December Log Fourth Consecutive Gain; Year-End Home Sales Down 1.5 Percent in 2009 [Illinois Association of Realtors, Press Release, Jan 25, 2010]

This large 3-bedroom duplex down at 2075 N. Oakley in Bucktown is located in the part of a Victorian building which used to be the first floor storefront.

It still appears to have the vintage tin ceiling (or something that looks like a vintage tin ceiling) on the main floor.

All three bedrooms are on the main floor. A large family room is located in the duplex down.

At 2600 square feet, the unit has more space than many single family homes in the neighborhood.

It also has attached parking and a deck off the dining room. The listing says the yard is professionally landscaped.

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

You can also see it in person at the open house on Sunday, 1/24 between 1- 3pm.

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
• Currently listed for $824,900
• Assessments of $259 a month (includes cable)
• Taxes of $6100
• Central Air
• Washer/Dryer in the unit

This 2-bedroom unit at 1703 W. Terra Cotta in West Lincoln Park is described in the listing as a “soft loft.”

It has 12 foot high ceilings and pillars which makes it pretty lofty to me.

The 7 foot high windows stretch the length of the unit.

It has the unusual feature of having its own private garage, entrance and front patio- almost like a townhouse.

The kitchen has cherry cabinets, granite counter tops and upscale appliances including Subzero and Meile.

Greg Viti at Koenig & Strey has the listing. See more pictures and a virtual tour here.

Unit #B: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1650 square feet

• I couldn’t find any prior sales information- if anyone else can please let me know
• Currently listed for $369,900
• Assessments of $345 a month
• Taxes of $5337
• Central Air
• Washer/Dryer in the unit

This 3-bedroom unit at 2123 N. Kenmore in Lincoln Park originally became the poster child for the question “does parking matter?” in May 2008.

See our May 2008 chatter and the 2008 interior pictures here.

The unit has seemingly everything except the deeded parking space, including a washer/dryer in the unit and central air.

We chattered about the unit twice, including after the price had been reduced. It was withdrawn from the market without selling.

But in Novemeber 2009, it returned to the market as a bank owned unit and is now listed for $179,100 less than in May 2008 and $97,600 under the 2006 purchase price.

The unit has hardwood floors and a fireplace.

The kitchen was not updated as of May 2008. Since there are no interior pictures with the new listing, it’s unknown if the kitchen is still intact.

Again, I ask, does parking matter?

Greg Weglarz at Applebrook Realty now has the listing. See the listing here.

Unit #2: 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, wood burning fireplace, no square footage listed

• Sold in June 2006 for $462,500
• Was listed in May 2008 for $544,000
• Withdrawn
• Bank owned
• Originally listed in November 2009 for $364,900
• Withdrawn
• Currently listed for $364,900
• Assessments of $300 a month
• Taxes of $6182
• Central Air
• Washer/Dryer in the unit
• No parking
• Bedroom #1: 14×13
• Bedroom #2: 12×10
• Bedroom #3: 12×10