Crib Chatter

We’ve chattered quite a bit about the decline in prices in Rogers Park.

It is evident in the bank-owned properties like this 1-bedroom vintage unit at 7044 N. Greenview which recently came on the market.

It is priced more than 50% under its 2006 sales price.

There are no pictures of the kitchen or the bath in the listing, but it’s 900 square feet and has a dining room. The listing says it is about 2 blocks from the lake.

Scott Schilaci at Prudential Stark Realtors has the listing. See the pictures here.

Is this a deal?

Unit #1N: 1 bedroom, 1 bath, 900 square feet

• Sold in December 1998 for $42,000
• Sold in November 2002 for $115,500
• Sold in April 2006 for $139,000
• Bank owned
• Currently listed for $64,900
• Assessments of $227 a month
• Taxes of $782
• No central air- window units
• No in-unit w/d
• Hardwood floors
• Bedroom: 10×13
• Living room: 13×14
• Kitchen: 8×10
• Dining room: 10×16

Now that The Vetro auction is over, the question remains: what happens to the other owners in 611 S. Wells?

This custom 2079 square foot 1-bedroom unit with an enormous terrace came on the market just before the auction.

It clearly is in a different class within the building given its finishes.

The listing states it has Birger Juell floors and Waterwork baths including a Zen Master bath with steam and separate jet tub. The 950 square foot terrace has ipewood floors and an outdoor kitchen.

How refreshing to see someone actually build out and landscape one of these bigger terraces. Usually they remain a slab of unwelcoming concrete.

Mario Greco at Rubloff has the listing. See all the pictures and a floor plan here (be sure to check out all of the pictures of the outdoor kitchen.)

See the property website here.

Unit #705: 1 bedroom, 1.5 baths, 2079 square feet, 950 square foot terrace

• Sold in November 2007 for $502,000
• Currently listed for $869,000 (parking is $30k extra)
• Assessments of $367 a month
• Taxes are “new”

We chattered about this renovated 1-bedroom unit in 30 E. Elm in the Gold Coast in December 2008.

In addition to being updated it also had an in-unit washer/dryer which was unusual for the building.

Back in December, many of you thought that the asking price was more like a wishing price and that it would certainly close below the 2005 price.

See our prior chatter and the pictures here.

It closed last week above the 2005 sales price.

It’s history again:

Unit #20G: 1 bedroom, 1 bath, no square footage listed

• Sold in June 1992 for $58,000
• Sold in June 1993 for $175,000
• Sold in July 2005 for $200,000
• Originally listed in November 2008 for $239,900
• Sold in March 2009 for $221,000
• Assessments of $429 a month
• Taxes of $2748
• Parking available for lease in the building but some other listings indicate there is a “short” wait-list
• No central air- window units
• In-unit washer/dryer
• Dogs are not allowed in the building
• Living room: 19×15
• Bedroom: 15×11

The auction of the 40 units at The Vetro is this weekend in the Loop.

If you attend, please post your observations. And please- fill us in on the selling prices.

Any guesses on how many people will show up and how high the bidding will go?

Date: Saturday March 7

Location: W Chicago Hotel- City Center

Time: Auction begins at 1 PM

The Parc Chestnut, at 849 N. Franklin in River North, is a brick-midrise building that was completed in 2006.

This 2-bedroom listing says it is “like a foreclosure w/o the hassle.”

Is that true?

The unit has been reduced $65,100 since December and is now listed for less than it sold for in 2006 (sort-of).

Kathleen Krist-Krueger at Krist-Krueger Realty has the listing. See more pictures and the floorplan here.

Unit #809: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1060 square feet, northeast view

• Sold in October 2006 for $319,500
• Originally listed in December 2008 for $365,000
• Reduced several times
• Currently listed for $299,900 (plus $30k for parking)
• Assessments of $368 a month
• Taxes of $4314
• From the floorplan, it looks like neither bedroom has windows
• Bedroom #1: 12×12
• Bedroom #2: 10×10

We return to the south side to the North Kenwood neighborhood and this restored brownstone at 4421 S. Berkeley.

The listing calls it “4 levels of luxury living.”

It looks like a lot of the original features of the property were preserved.

Yolanda Edwards at Bronzeville Realty has the listing. See more pictures here.

4421 S. Berkeley: 4 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, 3500 square feet, 1 car parking

• Sold in October 2006 for $251,000
• Originally listed in June 2008 for $609,000
• Reduced
• Currently listed for $599,000
• Taxes are $3598
• Central Air
• Fireplace

New high rise buildings continue to close.

The Park Monroe, at 65 E. Monroe, in the Loop is the latest building to deliver units.

This is the development that is converting the top of an older office building into 156 condos.

The east units will have lake and Millennium Park views while the west units will face the Sears Tower.

This 2-bedroom southwest facing unit just came on the market available for rent. These are the first pictures I’ve seen of the actual interiors.

Victoria Thomas at @Properties has the listing. See the pictures here.

Unit #4404: 2 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 1728 square feet, southwest facing unit

• Currently available to rent for $3700 a month (subject to closing with the developer)
• Parking included
• Bosch kitchen
• Marble baths

I went to the opening weekend of the new conversion at 3033 N. Sheridan in the spring of 2008.

There were, literally, swarms of people there and I saw some entering into contracts before I left. (The 70+ degree weather didn’t hurt either.)

Read the prior chatter on the building and our comments here.

From the prior post- it looks like approximately 20 contracts were entered into even before I got there the second day of opening weekend.

It’s nearly a year later and the sales reflect what we’re seeing in condo buildings across the city.

Building stats (out of 143 units):

• 56 sold (including 2 in January 2009)
• 14 currently on the market

Jameson is now handling sales. See more pictures and information here.

It looks like upgrades and parking, at least on the bigger units, are now included in the price.

Will this building eventually return to an all-rental apartment building?

We return to chatter, once again, about 600 N. Fairbanks in Streeterville.

A 2-bedroom unit has come on the market that has previously sold not just once, but twice since 2007, and is now on the market for the third time.

The original owner was fortunate enough to flip the unit in early 2008 and made a profit.

Since the first flip, the unit has been extensively upgraded with “waxed venetian plaster walls, Swarovski crystal chandeliers, Glass panels and a soft blackwashed matte ceiling” that the listing says cost $100k.

Is this a steal for the building? (especially given the upgrades?)

It is still priced $45,150 higher than the next cheapest 2/2 in the building, which is Unit #1707.

Unit #1707 is the same floor plan.

Francesca Rose at Prudential Preferred has the listing. See the listing and all the pictures here.

Unit #2307: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, no square footage listed, faces south-west

• Sold in December 2007 for $535,000 (included the parking)
• Sold in March 2008 for $612,500 (included the parking)
• Originally listed in February 2009 for $625,000 (parking extra- about $50k to $60k)
• Reduced
• Currently listed for $595,000 (plus the parking)
• Assessments of $403 a month
• Taxes are “new”
• Bedroom #1: 13×13
• Bedroom #2: 12×14

If you can’t afford CMK’s modern architectural masterpiece Contemporaine, maybe you should look at 630 N. Franklin, another CMK building only a few blocks away in River North.

Built at a much lower price point, the units still sport 10 foot concrete ceilings and walls.

This 2-bedroom has bamboo floors and a private 600 square foot terrace. The listing also states the unit does not face the train.

Elizabeth August at @Properties has the listing. See the pictures here.

Unit #419: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, no square footage listed

• Sold in October 2005 for $348,000
• Originally listed in January 2009 for $399,000
• Reduced
• Currently listed for $394,900 plus $30,000 for parking
• Assessments of $298 a month
• Taxes of $4797
• Bedroom #1: 11×13
• Bedroom #2: 11×10
• Living room: 14×15
• Kitchen: 7×11