Crib Chatter

The mid-tier bracket around $400,000 seems to be very a very hard sell right now. And every month there is new inventory coming on-line.

With all the new high-rises closing in the South Loop, there will be a glut of the small two/twos there.

There’s currently a short sale and a foreclosure in 1600 S. Indiana in the South Loop.  1600 S. Indiana is a high-rise building completed in 2006.

In short sale:

Unit #1806: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1000 square feet

• Sold in August 2006 for $415,591
• Currently listed for $399,900 plus $35k for parking
• Listing says it’s a short sale- subject to bank approval
• Top floor penthouse unit
• Views of the Lake
• Assessments of $385 a month
• @Properties has the listing

This unit has gone into foreclosure:

Unit #1405: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1000 square feet

• Sold in August 2006 for $422,399
• Currently listed on the MLS for $435,000 plus $30k for parking
• Auction foreclosure price this week of $379,385
• Assessments of $440 a month
• Deborah Thomas of Coldwell Banker has the listing (until the foreclosure auction this week)

Crain’s reported yesterday that Related, co-developer of 340 On the Park, is canceling Canyon Ranch in River North but is mum on what will happen with its other proposed new building, The Peshtigo.

There are several buildings that are now either canceled, on the verge of being canceled, or the developer is in financial difficulty.

Condo Towers Canceled:

• Canyon Ranch: Hotel/condo building in River North developed by Related. Canceled in March 2008 (per Crain’s)
• James Place, a 16 story River North highrise at 100 W. Huron. Canceled in February 2008 (per YoChicago)

Developers in financial distress:

• Burnham Pointe at 710 S. Clark: Terrapin facing foreclosure on several of its other properties but fate of Burnham Pointe unclear (per Sun-Times and Crain’s) in February 2008
• Park Michigan at 830 S. Michigan: Developer facing foreclosure suit (per Crain’s):

Plans for an 80-story condominium tower that would overlook Grant Park on South Michigan Avenue are in doubt after a lender filed a foreclosure lawsuit, seeking to recoup more than $4.25 million.

The foreclosure action by Chicago-based Hermes Capital LLC is the first on a high-profile project here since the condo market tanked early last year.

At 855 feet, the Park Michigan project at 830 S. Michigan Ave., three blocks south of Congress Parkway, would be the tallest tower in the burgeoning South Loop.

In a foreclosure lawsuit filed Feb. 15, Hermes Capital claims that Oak Brook-based developer Warren Barr and his firm, Renaissant Development Group LLC, defaulted on the $4.25-million loan by failing to raise at least $2.13 million in new equity to help cover pre-development costs by Dec. 31.

Mr. Barr’s firm has not broken ground or begun marketing units in the proposed skyscraper and is still seeking buyers for a proposed 40-story condo tower nearby at 1000 S. Michigan Ave.

Buildings in doubt:

• The Peshtigo in Streeterville also a Related development.  According to YoChicago, it is only 15% sold.

The Park Michigan [website]

I ran across this new listing for a unit at 1366 N. Dearborn, a vintage mid-rise built in 1926 in the Gold Coast that appears to have the key ingredients needed for vintage success: washer/dryer in the unit and parking available.

The listing indicates that buyers should book their appointments next week or else they’ll miss out:

SCHEDULED SHOWINGS WILL BEGIN TUESDAY, MARCH 4TH AT 1PM! BROKER AGENT TOUR MARCH 4TH 11AM-1PM.

EXTREMELY RARE OPPORTUNITY, THIS EXQUISITE HOME IS LOCATED IN ONE OF THE GOLD COAST’S MOST COVETED BUILDINGS. 2BR ENSUITE/DEN OR OPTIONAL 3BR W/POWDER ROOM/FORMAL LIVING/FORMAL DINING/ OFFICE/KITCHEN W/BUTLER PANTRY/WB FIREPLACE/LAUNDRY IN UNIT/ 2 STORAGE SPACES/PKG AVAIL. N/S/E/W EXPOSURE/ELEVATOR W/…

In the last three years these units sold in the building:

• 4 units in 2007
• 3 units in 2006
• 3 units in 2005

This particular unit was on the market only 2 years ago.

Unit #6A: 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths

• Sold in March 2006 for $835,000
• Currently listed for $979,000
• Assessments of $1510 a month
• Sudler Sotheby’s has the listing

The Feb 28 issue of the Chicago Journal had statistics about the Chicago luxury housing market in Don Debat’s column called “Market is still alive.”  From the Chicago Journal:

“Although the news media would have you believe the sky is falling, an examination of two segments of the upper end of the housing market-properties listed for more than $1 million-dispel that notion,” said Gold Coast sales agent Louise Study, a 14-year veteran at Rubloff Residential Properties.

Study, who compiles an annual MLS resale home study of about a dozen Chicago neighborhoods, noted the following price stability in the luxury home and condominium marketplace:

388 upper-bracket single-family homes sold in 2007 for an average price of $1,716,713 with an average market time of 179 days. That compares with 434 luxury homes sold in 2006 for an average price of $1,673,223 with an average market time of 149 days.

393 luxury condominiums sold in 2007 for an average price of $1,636,726 with an average market time of 208 days. That compares with 393 upper-bracket condos sold in 2006 for an average price of $1,757,204 with an average market time of 210 days.

The statistics are complied from re-sales of more than $1 million in the following areas:

“These statistics covering luxury resales in such neighborhoods as the Gold Coast, Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Bucktown, Roscoe Village, Wicker Park, Hyde Park, Ravenswood, Andersonville, the South Loop and West Loop demonstrate that Chicago’s high-end market did not suffer a bubble that occurred in other markets across the country,” Study noted.

You would expect market times to be rising, given the sheer number of units coming onto the market in that price range. If you do even a basic search of the MLS, there are dozens of empty homes in Lakeview, Bucktown and Lincoln Park. There doesn’t seem to be any demand for those.

Just a quick search of the MLS for the Loop shows that there are 125 condos over $1 million. Some are not ready for occupancy (the units in The Legacy or WaterView Tower, for instance), but they’re all being built and will have to be occupied at some time.

I wish this article would have talked about inventories.

The key to the health of the market will  be market times.

I last chattered about The Montgomery at 500 W. Superior in River North in October 2007.

At the time, there were several 2 bedroom units on the market for under $500,000.

One out of the three I last chattered about has sold. I can’t find sales prices for the other two so they might have been withdrawn.

Unit #1209: 2 bedroom, 2 bath, 1095 square feet

• I can’t find the original sales price.  Perhaps still owned by the developer?
• Originally listed in April 2007 for $499,000
• Currently listed for $475,000 plus $35,000 for parking
• Sold in December 2007 for $480,000
• Assessment of $549 a month

There are currently 10 units on the market, with two available to rent in the building. These 2 bedroom units are listed at or under $500,000.

Unit #2207: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths,  1100 square feet

• Sold in February 2006 for $462,000
• Originally listed at $529,900
• Reduced and currently listed at $500,000 (2 car tandem parking $45k extra)
• Assessments of $529 per month plus $118 a month for the parking
• Also available to rent at $2600 a month
• Major Enterprises, Inc. has the listing

Unit #1109: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1086 square feet, the second bedroom has no windows

• Sold in July 2005 for $415,000
• Currently listed for $479,000 (parking extra)
• Assessments of $574 a month
• Koenig & Strey has the listing

This other 09 unit has been on the market since last June. 

Unit #609: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1086 square feet

• Sold in June 2005 for $326,900
• Originally listed for $479,000 in June 2007
• Currently listed for $469,000. Parking is $35k.
• Assessments of $440 a month plus $49 a month for parking
• Real Living Helios has the listing

Are these a deal compared to other properties in River North?

Old Town is a very desirable neighborhood but the inventory is limited if you are looking for a certain type of property- say, one with a parking space.

Unlike some vintage properties which have been gutted and stripped of the original features, this unit at 1814 N. Lincoln Park West still has the historic feel. 

Unit #4: 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1 car parking

• Sold in November 2000 for $595,000
• Sold in October 2004 for $710,000
• Currently listed for $799,000
• Assessments of $350 a month
• Rubloff has the listing

There are some great homes in the Grand Boulevard neighborhood on the South Side of the city such as this one, a 1889 historic house at 4501 S. Forrestville.  Unfortunately the market got a little to hot for the neighborhood during the boom.

The listing states:

Recently renovated 5 bedroom, 4.5 bath Greystone mansion. Beautiful condition. Offers best of both worlds: traditional wood detail and charm plus all amenities of new construction.

4501 S. Forrestville: 5 bedrooms, 4.5 baths, 2 car garage

• Sold in June 2005 for $695,000
• Currently listed for $560,000
• Foreclosure auction price of $582,299
• Kimberly Chase Harding at Coldwell Banker has the listing (but not for long as it’s being foreclosed this week)

We’ve been chattering about so much doom and gloom lately, how about just seeing some lovely properties?

562 W. Arlington is the quintessential Chicago home in East Lincoln Park.  It’s the kind of house you walk by and wonder, “who lives there?” And compared to our competitor cities (NY, DC, SF), it’s downright affordable.

Unit #2: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, family room, 1 car parking, 1600 square feet

• Sold in August 2005 for $600,000
• Currently listed for $699,000
• Assessments of $200 a month
• Genesis Residential RE Inc. has the listing

More developers are getting into the “free parking” incentive game.

Printers Corner, a new mid-rise building at 170 W. Polk in the South Loop, is now offering free parking for those who “purchase and close by April 1, 2008.” 

Parking was $36,000 before this “deal.”

There are a few units being flipped.  At least three are available to rent.

Printers Corner’s theme was that all of its units were corner units.

Unit #808: 2 bedroom, 2 baths, 1145 square feet

• Sold in November 2007 for $345,000
• Available to rent for $2500 a month (indoor parking included)
• @Properties has the listing

Printers Corner [website]

There has been a slow trickle of foreclosures in Admiral’s Pointe, at 645 N. Kingsbury, in River North.

The building originally closed on units in 2002.

Prices continue to fall in the building, with some units listed for under their 2002 closing prices.

Two units are currently in foreclosure:

Unit #2501: 2 bedrooms,  2 baths, 1180 square feet

• Sold in June 2002 for $353,000
• Sold in December 2005 for $345,000
• Currently listed for $324,900
• Assessments of $732 a month
• Chicago Realty Partners has the listing

Unit #2506: 1 bedroom, den, 1.5 baths, 985 square feet

• Sold in June 2002 for $284,000
• Sold in December 2002 for $292,500
• Sold in February 2006 for $335,000
• Currently listed for $339,900 (parking included)
• Assessments of $567 a month
• P.R.S. Associates, Inc. has the listing

Neither of those listings has pictures. But here are some from Unit #2001, which is also a 1 bedroom plus den.   It is listed for $349,000 plus $30,000 for parking:

Baird and Warner has the listing.