Selling 2 Years Later in Lakeview: 1658 W. Belmont
This 2-bedroom unit at 1658 W. Belmont has been on the market for 10 months.
Listed in February 2010, it has been reduced $14,900.
It is also now listed $5,000 under its 2008 purchase price.
The vintage building appears to have been converted into condos in 2006-2007.
It is a rare vintage 2-bedroom unit which also has a second bathroom.
The kitchen has the new construction finishes with granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances.
It also has central air, an in-unit washer/dryer and deeded parking.
Jeremiah Fisher at Keller Williams Lincoln Park has the listing. See the pictures and floorplan here.
Unit #3E: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, no square footage listed
- Sold in March 2008 for $315,000
- Originally listed in February 2010 for $324,900
- Reduced
- Currently listed for $310,000
- Assessments of $185 a month
- Taxes of $4590
- Central Air
- Washer/Dryer in the unit
- Parking included
- Bedroom #1: 12×11
- Bedroom #2: 10×9
Cute but overpriced. This is not the best location in Lakeview- Belmont is noisy and crowded. There are now better deals to be had in better locations in this area.
$250K.
Haha I have good friends that live right near here. That ice cream place on the ground level is terribly overpriced ($6 for a freakin’ large malt?), just like this condo.
I really dig this part of town but wouldn’t want to live on Belmont. Plus who knows what smells are wafting up through that icecream place.
You don’t buy a condo to party it up at the Pony for a couple of years then move on. The owner should’ve realized that cuz they’re gonna take a haircut. 280k.
Walking distance to a public library is a plus.
I love that area, too, but I’d rather LIVE east of Broadway, or at least east of Clark. It’s great to be within walking distance of Belmont but it’s no street to live on. It’s basically an over-the-store apt.
Also notice that both baths are off the hall, and the master bed does not have its own bath. This seems to be a major minus for a lot of buyers. The floor plan is strange.
The deeded parking is a big plus, and the in-unit washer and dryer are necessities. You don’t want to have to haul your wash down the street to a public laundromat after you have dropped a few hundred thou for a condo.
Its not ice cream it’s custard. You’re obviously not from Wisconsin.
when the neighborhood wasn’t so great, I use to think it would be cool to live in the building with the turret. Now someone is gonna be able to rent to help this seller pay his/her mortgage.
I’ll say it sells for $240K
I agree that the layout is weird. Who wants to pass two bedrooms and two bathrooms to get from your kitchen to your “dining room”?
Can a bedroom even be a master without a bathroom?
“I agree that the layout is weird. Who wants to pass two bedrooms and two bathrooms to get from your kitchen to your “dining room”?”
Jon – it’s funny you mention this – you should see what people will put up with in Boston. There, in the historic neighborhoods, layouts are so much weirder (ie, you have to walk THROUGH bedrooms to get to common areas, bathrooms, etc.) – and prices still keep going through the roof there.
saw it a while back. The kitchen is like being in a dark hole. The frosted glass is clearly obscuring the fact that it faces a brick wall. Felt like the walls were closing in back there. There is no real eating space, you will run right into the table as it is placed there, very bad layout. The front room is pretty nice for a condo and if you can get over eating on the couch it is nice to not look at dirty dishes from your living room. For the money you can do better for a 2/2 even on belmont.
Yeah who wouldn’t want to live in this shoebox right next to one of the worst traffic intersections in the city
look at that master bedroom… good god thats tiny at 12×10′ and then the diagonal door hacks off another 10 precious sqft right by the door.
When I was looking I visited a place exactly like this in greektown before (like 800 W. adams) and what a rip off, the 2nd bedroom is so small you can only use it as an office as a sleeper sofa won’t even fit in there.
Look at the floorplan, the master bathroom is bigger than both bedrooms and the kitchen… thats a problem, unless you frequent chipotle or something, especially since its FURTHER from the master bedroom than the “guest bathroom” and what a cluster fuck with the kitchen all the way in the back and the dining cubby on the opposite end of the property.
Strange, but I am gazing upon the listings I’ve saved for reference, and among them are two at the beautiful old 3300 N Lake Shore Drive Bldg, which have been on the market for at least 7 months, all through the summer selling season. They are two bed one baths, with huge rooms with mostly intact vintage details and huge kitchens and baths, and they are listed at $299K and $249K respectively. They were recently relisted and they ARE NOT SELLING.I am seeing a number of other 2 beds in pretty vintage buildings, like a courtyard bldg on Surf, that are also languishing though the prices look reasonable and lower than this place
They make this place seem substandard by comparison, and speak not to me of how outdated the kitchens are at 3300. Granite and steel kitchens are a dime a dozen and it’s easy to renovate a kitchen ,especially such large kitchens where fitting cabinets poses no difficulty , while beautiful,huge apartments in great locations are not easy to find at a reasonable price.
Even after considering the HOAs at 3300, the units there make this place look rather overpriced, though it DOES have parking, the only real plus.
I really wonder how over-the-store apts on cluttered, noisy commercial streets became eligible for conversion, anyway, and I wonder if these places will hold their value over time, or if this is just one more thing that could only have happened in a monster housing bubble where people were converting anything with 4 walls and a roof.
Weird layout. I wonder if this was originally a 1bd/1ba with a dining room where the master bedroom is, and a much larger kitchen occupying the entire rear area of the unit.
Don’t knock Scooter’s; best custard in town. To me, living near (or above) it is a plus, although I agree that living near Belmont/Ashland would be unpleasant. I’d rather be a little up Lincoln, near the el and on the bike path.
Laura, they aren’t selling and they never will at current prices no matter how low they seem.
Today Mr. Schiller of the Case-Schiller index said:
“Robert Shiller, the index’s other creator, said on the program that a “catastrophic drop in confidence” makes it unlikely demand for homes will recover soon. He declined to predict price changes.
“There’s been a cultural change,” said Shiller, a Yale University professor, citing a five-year decline in a confidence index by the National Association of Home Builders. “It goes beyond any short-run forecasts.”
http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=agpcFaU8xMIw
I’m getting tired of seeing subpar properties (bad location, above shops, etc…) and then talk about how bad the entire market is because these ugly properties don’t sell. Please discuss all aspects of the market…including what is selling and at decent returns/prices. This is more informative (and interesting). For example, this 2bd/2ba, which is unique in design and style sold for more than purchase price.
http://chicago.curbed.com/archives/2010/11/30/wicker-park-condo-sells-90k-above-2007-sale-price.php
I believe you, home delete, if only because of the massive “market overhang” of 28,000 foreclosed houses and condos here in Cook, less than 5% of which are visible on the market. Super high-end properties might gain in value but anything less is probably going to continue to sink, reflecting the increasing divide in incomes. I have no political bone to pick here, just stating a simple fact.
Worse, younger buyers are coming of age bearing crushing debt burdens people of my generation never had to deal with. What a horrid scam we’ve run on our youngsters with Sallie Mae college financing, which has only driven tuitions to the sky, triggered the founding of hundreds of sub-standard colleges with no admission standards and devalued 4 year and even graduate degrees. I don’t see how someone buckling under the burden of $150K or more worth of college loans is going to be able to buy much of anything until he’s 45 years old.
Incomes are the fundamental factor in middle-class house prices, and middle class incomes are not recovering, but look to be heading south. People no longer are confident of their ability to carry large amounts of debt for extended lengths of time.
Where do you think those places at 3300 will sell? $200K? Less? I’m watching them like a hawk.
“Route 77 Belmont”
“Route 77 Belmont”
“Route 77 Belmont”
24 hours a day
You know, it’s hard to predict where prices are going, and even the creators of the Case-Schiller index dance around question when asked or respond that prices will be flat…
But I think each and everyone of us needs to ask ourselves: what price would be preposterous for a two bed/one bath vintage apartment with no parking on LSD?
And from that low, you can start to work upwards where prices will eventually settle.
$80,000? $100,000?
How low is too low especially when there is muted interest in buying real estate, probably for at least a generation or so?
“Where do you think those places at 3300 will sell? $200K? Less? I’m watching them like a hawk.”
Question: “Route 77 Belmont”
“Route 77 Belmont”
“Route 77 Belmont”
24 hours a day
You have to get the crazy automated inflection in there:
“Route Seventy SEVEN Belmont (pause) toooo CUMBERLAND”
You know, I just had a friend complaining about why the 77 Belmont always seems to show up bunched in 3s.
“I’m getting tired of seeing subpar properties (bad location, above shops, etc…) and then talk about how bad the entire market is because these ugly properties don’t sell. Please discuss all aspects of the market…including what is selling and at decent returns/prices. This is more informative (and interesting).”
It’s that time of the year when there aren’t a lot of new properties on the market. Most have been listed for quite some time so you might not find them “interesting.”
If you have a property you want to see- please send it to me. I can’t see everything going on in all the neighborhoods. (don’t send me things that have already sold or are under contract though.)
There are few properties selling for more than what was paid a few years ago. That’s the fact of this market. Obviously, this Wicker Park property is one and Crilly Court 3-bedroom units are another. Other than that- please send me tips if you have a property like that. I know there are a few of them out there but, again, I can’t see everything.
The layout is fairly typical in Europe, but the biggest issue I see here is that it’s above a dry cleaners. That means some serious fumes if they have the machines in the shop.
Traditionally, you base the price of your apple on the sale of a comparatable applie in the same block, subdivision or neighborhood. Maybe it’s time to find a new way to price houses? Any ideas?
““Route 77 Belmont”
“Route 77 Belmont”
“Route 77 Belmont”
24 hours a day”
The sound yes, don’t forget “Cumberland” & “Lake Shore”. But I don’t believe the eastbound 77 runs 24 hours a day. It definitely stops in the wee hours. But you have the sound from the westbound 24/7 😀
I suspect the owner likely cringes if one mentions Cumberland in conversation.
God I love Scooter’s!
“That ice cream place on the ground level is terribly overpriced ($6 for a freakin’ large malt?), just like this condo.”
It’s certainly not cheap, but if ever there was a case for Vincent Vega’s mythical $5 milkshake, this place is up there, as their custard is delicious.
But custard aside, this location is terrible. There is traffic here about 23 hours a day.
Price cut to 299k on 7/7/11. What part of 280k does this owner not understand?
Whatever part it was, they’re getting it very slowly. Down to 289.
3W, listed as a 3BR, now also on the market for 375.
Scooters addicts, this is your chance…
Price cut to 290k on 10/7/2011. The article’s headline should be changed to not selling four years later.
The 3-bedroom in the building that just came on the market has already reduced to $350,000.
Unit 3E was re-listed yesterday with an ask of 285k.
Bob- this is one of your favorite properties over the last few years. 😉
“Bob- this is one of your favorite properties over the last few years. ”
I hang out in this area. And I love seeing owners very reluctantly lower prices chasing the market down.
280k would’ve moved this no problem in 2010. The owner’s problem now is it’s 2012. Their stubbornness or inability to lower their price point to 280k back in 2010 may bite them yet.
Unit #3W listed yesterday with an ask price of $349k. I guess their unit is different and more special than unit #3E. Listings like this are comical.
Two black Infinitis that look almost exactly alike are parked in this building’s outdoor lot. Yup: for your 300k+ condo you aren’t getting a covered parking spot with that. And I wouldn’t be surprised if one belong to the underwater homeloaner of unit 3E and the other the underwater homeloaner of unit 3W. You can’t teach sense to such gaucheness.
“Unit #3W … is different and more special than unit #3E.”
Do you really see no possible differnce between the east side and west side of this building? Maybe not worth the ask difference, but a real difference.