Crib Chatter

Logan Square is known for its “affordable” 2-bedroom condo units.

This 2-bedroom at 2734 N. Kimball is only 1000 square feet but it’s in a early 1900s-era vintage building that was rehabbed in 2006.

It has a washer/dryer in the unit, central air, but no parking.

Greg Whelan at Redfin has the listing. See the pictures here.

Unit #3: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1000 square feet

• Sold in July 2006 for $244,000
• Currently listed for $285,000
• Assessments of $207 a month
• Taxes are $3240
• Central Air
• Washer/Dryer in the unit
• Gas fireplace

We’ve actually chattered about this 1-bedroom terrace unit at The Churchill, at 1255 N. State Parkway, in the Gold Coast twice before.

The first chatter was in September 2007. The kitchen counters were blue tiles back then. It sold in November 2007.

See the prior post and pictures here.

We then chattered about it again in August 2008 when it reappeared on the market.

The kitchen counters were replaced and the bathroom completely renovated with a new marble shower and heated floors.

See the August 2008 chatter and pictures here.

The unit is still on the market and has now been reduced by $45,100.

In addition to the 12×4 terrace, it also has a balcony.

Patrick Lynch at Prudential Preferred still has the listing. See all of the pictures here.

Unit #2J: 1 bedroom, 1 bath, no square footage listed

• Sold in May 1988 for $99,000
• Sold in January 1995 for $91,500
• Sold in November 1998 for $174,000
• Sold in March 2001 for $240,000
• Sold in January 2004 for $278,000
• Sold in November 2007 for $330,500
• Was listed in August 2008 for $360,000
• Reduced
• Currently listed for $314,900
• Assessments of $861 a month (assessments include everything except phone)
• Taxes of $3,597
• No central air- window units
• No w/d in the unit
• No parking
• 12×4 private terrace
• Balcony
• Bedroom: 16×12

We chattered about reductions on the penthouses at the Burnham Park Plaza Condos at 40 E. 9th in the South Loop in July 2008.

At that time, this 2-bedroom penthouse duplex, Unit #1902, was on the market for $1.2 million after having sold for $1.1 million the year before.

It has since been reduced by 60%.

Is this a deal now?

See our prior chatter about the building and pictures here.

Harold Dawson at Sudler Sotheby’s has the listing. See all of the pictures here.

Unit #1902: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2500 square feet, rooftop terrace,  duplex

• Sold in April 2007 for $1.1 million
• Was listed in July 2008 for $1.2 million (parking included)
• Reduced multiple times
• Currently listed at $440,000 (parking included)
• Assessments of $541 a month
• Taxes of $2659

1750 N. Clybourn is an 7-unit modern building designed by Ranquist Development in 2006 in Lincoln Park.

This 2-bedroom unit recently came on the market.

It has all the finishes you would find in most “modern” units including Sub-zero and Meile appliances. The listing says the kitchen has Arclinea cabinetry. The master bathroom is marble and limestone with Hansgrohe and a Zuma tub.

Emily Sachs Wong at Koenig & Strey has the listing. See the pictures here.

Unit #202: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, no square footage listed

• Sold in November 2006 for $436,000 (looks like that included the parking)
• Currently listed for $525,000 (includes the parking)
• Assessmenst of $186 a month
• Taxes of $5947
• Bedroom #1: 15×12
• Bedroom #2: 12×10
• Open House this Sunday, Mar 22 from 11-1 pm

Some vintage conversions manage to keep their charm like this 3-unit building at 2013 W. Evergreen in Wicker Park.

This 2-bedroom unit has a wood burning fireplace, crown molding, 11-foot high ceilings and a formal dining room.

It also has central air and parking.

Karl Whittenbarger at @Properties has the listing. See more pictures here.

You can also see it for yourself on Sunday, Mar 22, at the open house from 11-1.

Unit #2: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, dining room, 1900 square feet

• Sold in October 2007 for $542,000
• Currently listed for $549,950 (parking included)
• Assessments of $194 a month
• Taxes of $4851
• Central Air
• Woodburning fireplace

We chattered about this 2-bedroom, 2 bath concrete loft at 333 W. Hubbard in River North several times as it reduced its asking price.

The loft finally sold – and for far more than most of you predicted.

See our prior chatter here.

Unit #710: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1197 square feet

• Sold in March 2005 for $317,000
• Was listed in December 2008 for $365,000 (included the parking)
• Reduced
• Was listed in February 2009 for $350,000 (included the parking)
• Sold in March 2009 for $330,400 (I don’t know if this included the parking or not)
• Assessments of $584 a month
• Taxes of $4450
• Barbara O’Connor at Koenig & Strey had the listing

This vintage 3-bedroom rowhouse at 25 S. Oakley in the West Loop near the United Center has great bones.

It has high ceilings, great windows, crown moldings and 2 wood burning fireplaces.

The listing says its been renovated but it appears to lack central air.

But its sales history also seems to tell the tale of Chicago’s housing bubble over the last decade.

Given the sales history, how do you put a value on this home?

Jake Sapstein at D’Aprile Realty has the listing. See the pictures here.

25 S. Oakley: 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 1792 square feet, 2 car garage

• Sold in January 1990 for $3600
• Sold in October 2000 for $100,000
• Sold in May 2001 for $171,000
• Sold in May 2005 for $395,000
• Sold in March 2006 for $690,000
• Bank-owned as of August 2007
• Sold in October 2007 by the bank for $225,500
• Originally listed in December 2008 for $379,900
• Currently still listed for $379,900
• Taxes of $5,388
• Bamboo floors
• Full basement

This 2-bedroom unit at 914 W. Schubert in Lincoln Park just came on the market in a vintage building that was converted in 2007.

It appears to have all the bells and whistles: central air, in-unit washer/dryer and deeded parking.

It is also priced, out of the gate, $33,500 less than the original selling price in 2007.

Is this unit priced to sell?

Mario Greco at Rubloff has the listing. See the virtual tour here.

See the floor plan here.

Unit #1: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, square footage given as 1200+

• Sold in August 2007 for $408,000
• Currently listed for $374,500 (parking included)
• Assessments of $252 a month
• Taxes are “new”
• Central Air
• W/D in the unit
• Covered front balcony
• Bedroom #1: 14×10
• Bedroom #2: 10×10

The Wall Street Journal reports that Fannie Mae has tightened credit for buyers of condominiums. The new rules are going to hit new construction condo buildings especially hard.

Effective as of March 1:

1. Has stopped guaranteeing mortgages in condo buildings where fewer than 70% of the units have sold (previously it was guaranteeing the loans as long as at least 51% had sold)
2. Won’t back loans for sales in buildings where 15% of current owners are deliniquent on HOA fees
3. Won’t back loans where more than 10% of units in the building are owned by a single entity

Freddie Mac has apparently not tightened its lending standards- yet.

Both Freddie and Fannie, however, are going to increase fees.

Starting in April, buyers without at least a 25% down payment will have to pay closing-cost fees equal to 0.75% of their loan even if the buyer has an outstanding credit score.

“These buildings are just in purgatory. This new requirement is the straw that’s going to break the back of a lot of projects,” said Norman Radow, an Atlanta real-estate investor who works with lenders to rescue distressed condo complexes.

“It’s a weight being tied to a drowning industry.”

Fannie Tightens Its Conditions for Backing Condo Mortgages [Wall Street Journal, Nick Timiraos, Mar 18, 2009][subscription required]

Chicago Public Radio recently did a piece on the cooling off of the Chicago condo market.

However, Lakeshore East apparently continues to be popular whereas we already know the problems going on in the South Loop.

The piece also addresses those in the West Loop who are attempting to get mortgages for new construction condo units.

Eighty-two stories above ground, Magellan executives cheer as they pour concrete for the final floor of the Aqua building. It’s a slim tower with balconies that ripple like waves. And it’s hit a sweet spot – already 98-percent of the condos have sold. The fact that the building exists at all is kind of a miracle. Magellan co-CEO Jim Loewenberg says they got the construction loans in 2007, right before banks stopped lending.

LOEWENBERG: The whole issues were starting to come to a head, the banks were starting to not trust each other, and so I just don’t know if it would have been done if it had been 60 days later.

That credit collapse sent downtown real estate into freefall.

AUCTION:  480, 490, 490 left side, now 500,000, five from the back, now 510….

Downtown just witnessed its first-ever auction of luxury condos. And there may be more.

AUCTION: 557, once twice, I have 556, 557 third and final call, 557? Sold, congratulations, 556,000. Buyer number is 467.

That penthouse in the South Loop went for almost 40 percent off. The South Loop exploded with growth during the boom. But it now has the most unsold condos of any neighborhood downtown. Until recently, downtown prices hadn’t dropped much, but sales were pretty much frozen. Developer Thomas Roszak says he put dozens of his condos on the block as a way to thaw the market.

ROSZAK: No one’s selling anything right now. Today we’re going to prove there are 40 buyers out there and they’re all willing to buy at a certain price, so from today on, everybody out there who’s a seller will have to react to the price we just determined today.

The Big Chill: Chicago’s Condo Market is Now on Ice [Chicago Public Radio, Ashley Gross, Mar 17, 2009] – listen and/or read the transcript.