Crib Chatter

This 1-bedroom loft at The Clinton Street Lofts at 226 N. Clinton on the Near West Side (or is that the Fulton Market neighborhood?) has been reduced by nearly $40,000 since July 2009.

It has 15 foot timber ceilings, exposed brick, and diagonal hardwood floors.

It also has central air, a washer/dryer in the unit and parking is included.

Is the rent v. own ratio getting more realistic?

William Gonzalez at Picket Fence Realty Mt. Prospect has the listing. See the pictures here.

Unit #114: 1 bedroom, 1 bath, no square footage listed

• Sold in August 1998 for $122,500
• Sold in March 2003 for $198,000
• Originally listed in July 2009 for $259,000 (included the parking)
• Reduced
• Currently listed for $219,900 (parking included)
• Assessments are $277 a month (includes cable, doorman)
• Taxes are $2534
• Central Air
• Washer/Dryer in the unit
• Bedroom: 14×10
• Living/Dining/Kitchen: 22×16

Many buyers are looking for a multi-family house such as this one at 2552 W. Iowa in West Town where they can live in one unit and rent out the other.

The 2-unit house has 4 bedrooms and 2 baths, with each unit having 2 bedrooms and 1 bath each.

It still retains some of its vintage features, including the woodwork. There is also a full, unfinished basement with laundry which is accessible from an internal staircase.

Each unit has separate heat. There is no central air (only window units.)

Gary Lucido at Lucid Realty has the listing. See more pictures and a virtual tour here.

2552 W. Iowa: 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2 car garage, 2-units

• Sold in September 1992 for $56,000
• Sold in February 1993 for $97,000
• Sold in February 2002 for $274,000
• Currently listed for $349,850
• Taxes of $3002
• No central air
• Washer/Dryer in the basement
• Unit #1: Rented for $1100
• Unit #2: Owner occupied
• Electric: $900
• Insurance: $1800
• Water: $500

Last May, we chattered about what was then (and still is) one of the cheapest single family homes for sale in Lakeview at 3442 N. Paulina.

Check out our prior chatter here.

Back in May, this 2-story home built in 1888 was listed at $399,500 and had gone under contract in 3 days.

The old listing said it had a new kitchen, including bamboo floors, and baths. The house also had central air. It was missing parking, however, but there was a mysterious “parking easement” possibility.

It has been on, and off, the market in the 7 months since.

The house is now back “on” the market and has been reduced by $14,500 since last May.

It still has its location near Starbucks and Whole Foods. And it still has the backyard. There is now no mention of parking.

The current listing says it has new HVAC, plumbing, electric and hardwood floors.

This listing also has a larger, and better, set of pictures.

Elizabeth Bleeker at Prudential Rubloff has the listing. See the pictures here.

See the property website here.

3442 N. Paulina: 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, no square footage listed (but in May it said 1600 square feet)

• Sold in September 1988 for $106,000
• Sold in June 1991 for $136,000
• Was listed in May 2009 for $399,500
• Under contract in 3 days
• Re-listed several times
• Reduced
• Currently listed at $385,000
• Taxes of $5593
• Central Air
• No Parking
• Bedroom #1: 20×13 (second level)
• Bedrooms #2: 12×10 (second level)
• Bedroom #3: 10×10 (second level)
• Living room: 14×13
• Dining room: 13×11
• Kitchen: 10×14

Long time readers may recognize the address at 3024 N. Sheffield in Lakeview.

20 months ago we chattered about this Smart Money Magazine article which described buyers who were purchasing in late 2007/early 2008 who thought they were getting “deals”.

See our prior interesting, and long, chatter here.

Here’s a refresher from the March 2008 article:

INDIFFERENT TO THE bleak real estate headlines, 26-year-old Michael Klauer and his fiancée recently bought a two-bedroom condo in the desirable Lake View neighborhood in Chicago. They weren’t in a rush to buy, but when an opportunity presented itself only a month after they started looking, they jumped on it.

The apartment, listed at $519,000, was theirs for only $480,000 — an initial offer they didn’t back down from, even though they knew the seller had bought the place 10 months earlier for $512,000. Factoring in the broker’s fee and sales taxes, the seller lost more than $44,000 on that deal, according to the couple’s realtor, Jay Michael, owner of the Estate Property Group in Chicago.

“We leveraged the fact that they’d already moved out and were in a [financial] struggle to keep two places,” Klauer says. And even though the condo’s value may drop further, the couple wasn’t concerned since they plan to live in the place for at least three to five years. “It was a good time to buy,” he notes. “Prices are on the down low, and it’s something I could sit on for a while.”

While the same unit hasn’t come back on the market, we now have for sale the first unit since the magazine article appeared.

Unit #4N, currently on the market, is a 2-bedroom top floor unit with a private roof top deck with an indoor and outdoor sound system.

It has a wet bar and fridge on the loft level that leads to the deck.

The kitchen has cherry cabinets, stainless steel appliances and granite countertops.

The buyer in the article actually bought in June 2007 (even though the article was published in March 2008.) What about that 3 to 5 year time frame now?

Stephanie Cutter at Coldwell Banker has the listing on Unit #4N. See the pictures here.

Unit #4N: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, no square footage listed

• Sold in May 2006 for $560,000
• Originally listed in September 2009 for $524,999
• Currently listed for $524,999 (parking included)
• Assessments of $147 a month
• Taxes of $7804
• Bedroom #1: 16×15
• Bedroom #2: 12×11
• Living room: 17×14
• Kitchen: 12×11

Buying in a Rocky Housing Market [Smart Money Magazine, Aleksandra Todorova, Mar 3, 2008]

We last chattered about this custom built home at 1833 W. Melrose in Roscoe Village in June 2009.

See our prior chatter and pictures here.

Since June, the home has been reduced by $550,000 and is now a “short sale.”

The 6-bedroom house has extensive detailing including crown molding, wainscotting, double 8′ solid doors and hand crafted storage spaces.

The listing also states it has parjua hardwood, 2500 square feet of ipe wood decks, a lava stone bar, lannon stone, 5 temperature zones, and a 109? drop down screen.

It also says it is “95% complete.”

Is this now a deal at this price?

Cara Buffa at Prudential Rubloff still has the listing. See more pictures and a virtual tour here.

1833 W. Melrose: 6 bedrooms, 4.5 baths, 5500 square feet, 2 car garage

• Sold in May 2005 for $550,000 (prior home)
• Was listed in June 2009 for $1.749 million
• Reduced several times
• Currently listed as a “short sale” for $1.199 million
• Taxes of $5857
• 4 fireplaces
• Hot tub

Crain’s reported yesterday on the two South Loop condo auctions over the weekend that we all have been chattering about the past few days.

In a nutshell: more than 60 condos sold at the two auctions at prices reduced anywhere from 27% to 45% off the last asking price.

“It’s a declaration that the market has stopped going down,” says Garry Benson, Garrison’s president and CEO. “This proves that once you establish in the minds of the public a price/value equation, there is absorption.”

Accelerated CEO Jon Gollinger says that at 1400 S. Michigan the average sales price was about $280 a square foot, including three or four units sold after the auction was conducted. He declines to comment on prices as a percentage of the pre-auction asking price or the minimum bids.

Last March’s Vetro auction was the first auction of high rise units in Chicago this year. It was also a success (in terms of selling all the units available at the auction.) However, units are still available to purchase in the Vetro. 

What will this auction do for additional sales at these two buildings?

The auction should spark additional sales not only at 1400 S. Michigan, but also at other South Loop projects, he says.

“The market has not known what to purchase at,” he says.

The 1400 S. Michigan auction did not include parking spaces, which go for about $35,000 a piece. About 25 garage spaces have already been sold, Mr. Gollinger says.

At the Motor Row project, the average sales price was lower, about $185 a square foot, or 58% above the average minimum price. The difference in pricing reflects Motor Row’s location farther from the Loop, and that loft projects, with their varied floor plans, may not be as well-suited to auctions, Mr. Benson says.

At 1400 S. Michigan, sales prices average $278 a square foot, or about 152% of the average minimum price. Demand was so strong that one unit was added to the auction, Mr. Benson notes.

Condo auction draws many sales at big price cuts [Crain’s Chicago Business, Thomase A. Corfman, Nov 16, 2009]

You can get a peek at what living in a vintage rowhouse in Old Town is like in this 1-bedroom condo at 1854 N. Lincoln.

The unit is a high first floor with a remodeled kitchen and bath and a private entry.

According to the listing, the kitchen has top of the line appliances in Fisher Paykel, Bertazzoni, and Bosch as well as butcher block counters from John Boos. 

The bathroom has been restored with Restoration Hardware finishes.

The property, however, is missing some of the modern conveniences such as central air, parking and a washer/dryer in the unit.

Jennifer Vogel at Sudler Sotheby’s has the listing. See the pictures here.

Unit #1: 1 bedroom, 1 bath, no square footage listed

• Sold in October 2004 for $190,000
• Listed in September 2009 for $324,900
• Currently listed for $324,900
• Assessments of $257 a month
• Taxes of $2433
• No central air
• No Washer/Dryer in the unit
• No parking
• Bedroom: 17×9
• Living room: 20×12
• Kitchen: 11×9
• Foyer: 6×6
• Wood burning fireplace

We last chattered about this 2-bedroom bank owned unit at 1601 S. State in the South Loop in October 2009.

See our prior chatter and pictures here.

The unit, Unit #3H, recently sold for $54,000 under the original listed price.

It also sold for well under the recent sales price of Unit #5H, which had parking included, and closed in September 2009 for $267,500.

1601 S. State was built at the height of the market in 2004/2005. This unit had hardwood floors, the newer kitchen with stainless steel appliances and stone baths.

Colin Hebson and George Furla at Koenig & Strey had the listing.

Unit #3H: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1250 square feet

• Sold in September 2005 but I couldn’t find a sales price
• Lis pendens foreclosure in February 2009
• Listed in July 2009 for $259,900
• Reduced
• Was listed in October 2009 at $239,000
• Reduced
• Sold in November 2009 for $205,000 
• Assessments of $315 a month
• Taxes of $4115
• No parking with the unit
• In-unit washer/dryer
• Central Air

The first flip has appeared in The Legacy at 60 E. Monroe as well as the first interior pictures.

This 1 bedroom plus den closed just 7 days ago for $417,453 and already is back on the market for $499,000 (parking is extra.)  I don’t know if the original close included the parking space.

From the pictures, it appears that it faces west- so no lake views.

The kitchen has the usual granite countertops and stainless steel appliances.

Is the downtown market healthy enough for successful flips?

Kim Jones at Baird & Warner has the listing. See the pictures here.

Unit #2606: 1 bedroom plus den, 1.5 baths, 975 square feet

• Sold in November 2009 for $417,453
• Currently listed for $499,000 (parking extra)
• Assessments of $359 a month
• Taxes are “new”
• Central Air
• Washer/Dryer in the unit
• Bedroom: 13×11
• Den: 8×8
• Living room: 17×14
• Kitchen: (dimensions not listed for some reason)

Anyone go to the auction at 1400 S. Michigan? (You know who you are.)

Please let us know what happened (number of units that sold, selling prices etc.)

Thanks!