Crib Chatter

Helmut Jahn’s 600 N. Fairbanks in Streeterville is proving to be a hot topic among those interested in Chicago’s downtown real estate market.

Back by popular demand- here is what is happening in the building:

• 14 units are for sale
• At least 7 units are for rent

Two units are currently under contract.  One has recently been rented.

Unit #2002: 2 bedroom,  2 bath, 1258 square feet

• Currently listed for $650,000 with “parking available”
• I can’t find an original sale price but #1902 sold for $588,928 and #2202 sold for $621, 152.  (Remember, price depends on how early you bought in in pre-construction.)
• A “tipster” tells me that #2002 is contingent (but we don’t know if that means they are waiting on financing or it is contingent on the buyer selling another property first.)

Stay tuned.

Unit #3803: 2 bedroom, 2 bath, 2470 square feet, 2 car parking

• Currently listed at $1,582,000
• Duplex unit
• Developer’s unit- so not a flip

The unit that rented is Unit #1404, an 853 square foot 1 bedroom, 1 bath.  It was listed for sale for $425,000 plus $55,000 for parking or for rent for $2200.

As I’ve said, the rentals in these buildings are good “deals.”

So far, none of the one bedrooms has been successfully flipped.  But the building continues to close on units (and will do so through the spring.)

I’ve seen this designation several times now in real estate listings.

The neighborhood is dubbed “SoLo”.  Do you know where it is?  I had to think about it for a minute.

Apparently, that is the new real estate moniker for “south loop.”  Clever, huh?  SoLo…South Loop.

This Keller Williams agent is using it for a loft at 1516 S. Wabash on Craigslist.

If nothing else, it certainly got my attention.

There are 7 units for sale and 1 for rent in the building.  The unit in the Craigslist ad is the cheapest unit available in the building

Unit #308W: 1 bedroom, 1 bath

• Currently listed for $180,000
• Parking is available

Maybe it’s just me, but has anyone ever seen a wall of glass block like that in a condo unit before?   I’m not sure if there are other windows.  

There are a few signs of distress among owners in 212 W. Washington in the Loop.  Many downtown condo buildings are seeing some issues with foreclosures and slow sales, however, so this building is not unique.  But the current prices are telling part of the story.

There will be a foreclosure auction on a 1 bedroom condo this week.

Unit #1406: 1 bedroom, 1 bath

• Sold in January 2006 for $227,000
• Auction price of $181,299

Also, there is a large three bedroom, 2 bath that is being sold “as-is” (which usually means “bank owned”).  There is only one picture of it:

Looks like it could be one of those units where the bedrooms have no windows.

Unit #1904: 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car parking

• Sold in March 2000 for $361,000
• Originally listed for $437,900
• Was reduced and is currently listed for $389,900
• There is two car parking but I don’t know if that is included in the price
• Winfield Realty has the listing

Unit #1904 is interesting because you would think this might be a “deal”, right?  Only it has been on the market for several months at the reduced price with no takers.

This unit could easily sell for less than its 2000 price.  We shall see.

I hate to keep posting on the negative news- but it is what it is. 

The Chicago Journal is reporting that Chicago foreclosures are on the rise.  From the December 13, 2007 Chicago Journal:

The Chicago Department of Housing reports that foreclosures in the city in the first half of 2007 are up 35 percent from the same time period last year, increasing from 4,695 to 6,329.

Here is an assessment of the foreclosure scene in the booming south and west loop areas:

Michael vanZalingen, director of homeownership services with the Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago, said that while neighborhoods like the South and West Loops are not being hard-hit by foreclosures now, they could be in the future. In the those neighborhoods, he said, many condo and townhome owners purchased their units with adjustable rate mortgages, interest only mortgages and payment option arms and are going to be faced with larger mortgage payments.

He said many came in thinking they would sell their property within a few years of purchasing it and make when the principal came due. Many thought the market would continue to go up, he said.

“And as we’ve seen over the last six months in Chicago, and I think we’re going to see over the next few years, housing appreciation is flatly declining and the markets are very soft,” he said. “For those who had expected to sell or refinance … there is going to be a shortage of qualified buyers for their condos at the price they are looking for.”

He said because of the cooling market and so many defaults on loans, lenders also are tightening their underwriting standards.

“Even if someone wanted to buy a condo, they are going to have trouble getting a loan even if they have very good credit,” he said.

It seems as if everyone feels the housing market has really slowed. One homeowner facing foreclosure on the south side said:

Don said he bought the house for less than what it’s worth today, so he could probably sell it at enough of a profit to satisfy the value of the loan, but the market is so bad right now no one is buying.

Is it true that “no one is buying”?  Or is it just the typical seasonal slowdown?

This loft at the recently converted Paramount Lofts at 1645 W. Ogden is in “pre-foreclosure.”

The listing states:

GOT VIEW? AMAZING CHICAGO SKYLINE FROM FLOOR-2-CEILING WINDOWS LOOKING DIRECTLY E. AT THE SEARS TOWER*4TH FLR NR END UNIT W/BIG PRIV BALCONY*PRE-FORECLOSURE-BANK ORDERED SHORT SALE REQUIRED*TOTALLY RENOVATED BY DEVELOPER*LIKE ?NEW SELLER FORCED TO SELL*TONS OF HARDWOOD FLRS*IN UNIT WASHER/ DRYER*2 FULL BTHS*14 FT CEILINGS*PRKING INCLUDED*HUGE ROOF TOP DECK*FULL TIME DR MAN*BANK CONSIDERING ALL OFFERS!

Unit #410: 2 bedroom, 2 bath, 1200 square feet

• Sold in September 2006 for $311,800
• Currently listed at $319,900
• Assessment of $357 a month

Re/Max Professional Select has the listing.

There is something about The Belvedere at 270 E. Pearson.  Built in 2003, this non-descript mid-rise at the end of quiet East Pearson near Lake Shore Drive has been popular from the beginning.  I’ve heard through the grapevine that it is especially popular with European buyers (and has been for several years.)

There are only 4 one bedroom condos in the building and recently two of them have been on the market.

Unit #502 was on the market for most of the summer but finally sold this fall.

Unit #502: 1 bedroom, 1.5 baths, 1100 square feet

• Sold in April 2005 for $616,375
• Sold in November 2007 for $775,000
• It had lovely custom built-in cabinetry in the living room/dining room

Unit #302 has been on the market for forever.  It has tree-top views.

Unit #302: 1 bedroom, 1.5 bath, 1100 square feet

• Sold in June 2004 for $525,000
• Currently listed for $749,700 plus $50,000 for parking
• Craig Palmer at Baird and Warner has the listing

Larger units sell pretty quickly in the building.  And currently, there are no other units available for sale in the building.

There is an interesting interview in the Daily Herald called “Realtor Sees No Doom and Gloom” with Andy Starck who is “chief executive officer of Palatine-based Starck Realtors and has been in the industry in the suburbs almost 40 years.”

This is what he says about the Chicago area real estate market:

1. Home prices might have dropped a little, but not precipitously.
2. Anyone who buys a home now has little chance of suffering a loss.
3. Sellers are becoming realistic and are dropping their asking prices.
4. Buyers are not going to “steal” homes.
5. Mortgages are available.

Some other interesting quotes:

Sellers are not going to take crazy offers, he said.

Starck has seen offers $250,000 below the asking price on a $500,000 home.

“It’s just not going to happen,” he said. “Sellers are not desperate. They are reasonable and want to sell their homes and move on to the next ones.”

And this is why Chicago is “different” than the coasts, which saw a bubble:

Starck offers all the usual reasons: The economy is broad based and expanding, Chicago is a transportation hub and there isn’t enough housing for the continuing demand.

“It is not that Chicago is bulletproof, but we do have an overall lack of housing stock over time, and our economy is diverse and pretty healthy overall,” Starck said.

I’ve often wondered during this housing boom: why would someone pay $500,000 for a two bedroom two bath condo in the far out west loop when they can pay the same thing and get the same square footage in a more “premier” location- such as River North?

To me, the boom was personified in the similarities in prices in just about every north side neighborhood.  It was no longer “cheaper” to buy in further out neighborhoods. 

The flippers are finding out the top of the price points for the far West Loop now.  And it’s not pretty.

The Paramount Lofts at 1645 W. Odgen at Ashland in the West Loop was an authentic loft conversion building of an old Weiboldt’s department store.  They started selling these units during the boom time- in 2004.  The building won awards as “best new loft building” from housing publications.

But Ashland is pretty far “west” in the West Loop (as you can see from this picture from inside 1645 W. Ogden.)

Closings started in 2006.  Currently, the building has the following units available out of 207 units:

• 20 for sale
• 13 for rent

Right now, the most expensive unit in the building for sale is this 2 bedroom unit (which actually doesn’t appear to be a flip- but they owner is asking a “flipper-like” price).

Unit #802: 2 bedroom, 2 bath, 1233 square feet

• Sold in September 2006 for $362,800
• Currently listed for $529,900 (includes the parking)
• Assessments are $479 a month
• Listing says it has all of the upgrades including “custom paint” and “custom tile”
• Also available for rent for $2000 a month
• Realty World All Pro has the listing

Unit #417: 2 bedroom, 2 bath, 1100 square feet

• Sold in April  2006 for $270,800
• Currently listed for $419,900 (parking included)
• Coldwell Banker has the listing

Several 2/2 are struggling just to get the 2006 price:

Unit #604: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1200 square feet

• Sold in June 2006 for $355,175
• Currently listed for $369,900 (plus parking for $20,000)

Unit #520: 2 bedroom, 2 bath, 1200 square feet

• Sold in August 2006 for $338,900
• Currently listed for $349,900

Several one bedrooms are available to purchase or to rent.

Unit #340: 1 bedroom plus den, 962 square feet

• Sold in June 2006 for $233,800
• Currently listed for $215,000 (parking included)
• Assessments of $256 a month
• Unit looks out onto the interior “courtyard”
• Listing calls it a “great investment property”
• Also available to rent for $1550 a month
• Midwest Preferred Properties has the listing

Unit #521: 1 bedroom, 1 bath

• Sold in August 2006 for $205,900
• Currently listed for $219,900
• Prudential Preferred has the listing

Pat posted a comment about this 1 bedroom condo at The Metropolis at 8 W. Monroe in the Loop.  I’ve talked about this building before.  It is a conversion building that closed in 2006.  There were and are huge numbers of flippers/investors in the building.  It seems that a large percentage of the building is rented out.

The 1 bedroom condo is currently “under contract.”

Unit #801: 1 bedroom,  1 bath, about 650-675 square feet (I don’t have the exact square footage)

• Originally listed for $283,500
• Reduced to $259,000
• Reduced again to $225,000
• Listing states “huge price reduction!!!  Owner needs a quick close”
• W/D in the unit
• Assessment of $326 a month

The unit finally found a buyer after 24 days on the market at the new “reduced” price (per Pat’s info.)  The unit originally closed in July 2006 for $223,500.

We don’t know what the buyer is actually paying (yet).   Could be the buyer bought this unit for $200,000 or less.

It’s likely, however, that the sales price will be lower than what the original owner paid in July 2006.

Is this a “steal” for the buyer?

You can also rent a one bedroom in the building for as low as $1240 a month [see Craigslist ad].  Or you can rent a two bedroom for as low as  $1675.

Someone recently brought up painting the interior of your home a neutral color in order to stage it.

We hear about staging all the time, but what is it? 

I’ve seen it used on an empty property, where they bring in the minimum of furniture and plants to make it looked “lived in.”  Everything is neutral and nothing offends.  The  home or condo often looks like it is out of a pottery barn ad.  It costs several thousand dollars to do a house up right but staging is thought to sell a property faster.

I came across this post on Craigslist for a single family home in Rogers Park that calls itself “staged.”

But is it? 

It appears that they’ve painted the walls a neutral color and removed clutter (both are key to selling a home- especially the clutter.)  But the furniture does not appear to be the type that a stager would truly move into the home.

Anyone else with “staging” insight?

1944 W. Fargo Avenue: 2 bedroom,  1 bath home

• Sold in June 2002 for $181,500
• Was listed at $327,900
• Reduced $53,000
• Currently listed at $274,900
• No garage
• Agent owned
• Dorit Helmer at Weichart Realtors has the listing