Small 2 Bedrooms Struggling to Sell in The Fordham: 25 E Superior
The Fordham at 25 E. Superior in River North was a sensation when it originally was marketed. Slated to originally be an apartment building, it was turned into an upscale condo residence that allegedly had buyers such as Jennifer Aniston (in her Vince Vaughn days) looking there.
The building was completed in 2002.
But in recent years, as the buzz about the building has faded and new product has come onto the market, The Fordham seems to have a bit of its shine.
Sellers are struggling to sell the smaller 2 bedroom, 2 bath units in the building. They are only 1100 square feet and the second bedroom is small, only 11 x 10. The living room is also narrow- only 14 x 11.
Unit #2804: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1100 square feet
- Sold in August 2007 for $434,500
- Currently listed for $549,000 (parking is extra)
- Assessments of $612 a month
- Also available to rent for $2900 a month
- Chezi Rafaeli at Coldwell Banker has the listing
Sorry- these other two units have NO pictures on the MLS.
Unit #1504: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1100 square feet
- Sold in July 2006 for $550,000
- Currently listed for $550,000 (parking is extra)
- Assessments of $532 a month
- Keller Williams Gold Coast has the listing
Unit #1304: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1100 square feet
- Sold in February 2003 for $343,500
- Currently listed for $585,000 (parking is extra)
- Assessments of $506 a month
- Chezi Rafaeli at Coldwell Banker has the listing
it doesn’t help that its original lackluster views have been crowded out by subsequent construction.
And if anyone cares, the penthouse (MLS# 05360282 @ $4.9MM, listing date 12/2005) is still raw space that hasn’t been bought/developed.
But what am I saying….upper bracket real estate is immune to economic trends….what with all that European and Asian new-money flowing into Chicago.
But what am I saying….upper bracket real estate is immune to economic trends….what with all that European and Asian new-money flowing into Chicago.
—
YA maybe some sheiks form Saudia Arabia would like to move in.
These offerings look like fantasy pricing based on the knife catcher who paid $434,500 for #2804 in August 2007. Why does any used home salesperson think that anything would sell for more now?
Was unit #2804 a foreclosure? Can’t see spending $500 sq/ft with blocked views. If you are going to spend that kind of money, buy at 600LSD.
Condo Investor: I thought the same thing about #2804 because the price was so much lower. But I couldn’t find another sale price so I don’t know if it was a foreclosure or not.
Someone is clearly trying to flip it for quite a bit of money- or at least they’re “hoping” to.
These may be on the expensive side, but I like the location and the building. They did a very nice job with the hallways, public areas and base at street level. Are some of you saying that if you could get one of these smaller two bedrooms for about 450,000, that would still be too much because of possible further declines?
I think 500K and under would be reasonable.
They will be selling for under $400K soon enough. Just be patient and enjoy your savings from renting.
I don’t know about anyone else, but it is taking all my will power not to jump in the market at this point. I am currently renting and my lease is up in May so at this point I could try to get a 3 month extension and be patient till later April? I agree with those who say the market is going to have further reductions, but some of the deals already out there are very tempting. My problem is that I would probably be selling in late 2010, since that is when my firm has already planned on me moving back to head a California office after the retirement of one of our partners.
Morgan,
If you plan on selling in late 2010 there is absolutely no financial reason for you to buy something now. Prices have nowhere to go but down in that time-frame. I have yet to see a single “deal” that comes even close to breaking even with renting.
Ask yourself a few questions: Will incomes increase rapidly? Ha ha. Will loans be more difficult to acquire? Already are. Will rents rise significantly? There will be nothing but downward pressure on rents due to increasing inventory. The inventory will come from new rental buildings, failed condo buildings, unsold developer units, and failed flipper (accidental landlord) units. Not to mention the ‘doubling-up’ and ‘staying at home’ that occur during economic downturns.
I will add that, for some, owning is worth paying a lot of extra money. In certain circles (e.g. 600 N Fairbanks cocktail parties) there seems to be status placed on paying much more to own than your renting neighbors in identical units. But even that snobbery would be hard to maintain without knowing you will be staying put for a very long time. Even then, you have to fool yourself into believing you wouldn’t have done much better financially renting and waiting to buy. Because you would have.
Unless you have more dollars than sense, you should rent.
Morgan, just use the NYT rent-vs-own calculator which Sabrina has linked to. That will give you something more concrete than what you are getting now. And I love ya, G, I really do, even–perhaps especially–with all your curmudgeonliness… but no matter what number someone gives for a property, you say, “Nah, it’s worth $100,000 less. 😉
I wouldn’t buy now either. Just find a terrific condo for rent, and live there. There are plenty of rentals in 340 OTP, Avenue East “aka the Creamsicle,” 600 N Fairbanks, and soon to come 600 N LSD, 550 St Clair, etc
And for what it’s worth, I decided not to upgrade now, either. I also would lay odds that anything you find now, barring a truly lucky (or unlucky if you’re the owner) steal, is going to drop in price over the next year–make sure you plug that possibility in if you use the calculator!
In fact, last I heard, Chicago housing futures trading at the Merc were predicting no turnaround until 2010. Does anyone here keep track of housing futures? What’s the latest on them?
Kenworthey,
You didn’t seem to notice that on this very comment thread I estimated these units will drop at least $150K at bottom.
“Curmudgeonliness”? We shall see if the market dissuades me from my stubborn notions. Or, will others come to realize what I already have: that I am the bearer of good news?
Morgan: You’re answering your own question I think.
Yes, there seem to be “deals” out there- but how many more will there be in, say, a year?
It seems to me that this is way too early to get into the market unless you know you’re going to live in the condo or house for, say, 10 years.
I wouldn’t tell anyone to buy if they’re moving in only two years. You’ll likely lose money. The fees are much too high to be buying and selling in such a short period of time.
Sabrina:
How dare you suggest it isn’t a good time to buy. You might hurt Sally’s feelings.
ha!
Well- Sally might be planning on living in her condo for ten years. If so- she’ll be fine.
There are worse buildings than 600 N. Fairbanks in which to ride out the real estate storm.
How bad is the market when not even a 50bp rate cut (nevermind the 75bp emergency rate cut) can’t stop it from selling off?
It will get worse, much worse, before it gets better.
I haven’t looked at the futures, but if memory serves me well a couple months back they had the “recovery” priced in somewhere between 2009-2010. (Don’t quote me on that.) I’m sure they’re now safely in 2010 territory. Although the accepted 7-year cycle would put us in 2009?
As for me, if I can find a nice place 25-50% off current RESALE (not asking) prices I might make a move. Until then I await the RE Massacre of Winter 2008-09
no bathtub?
I lived here for 1 year and I noticed a tremendous amount of leaking in the building. I would love to hear anyones opinion on all the cracks all over the facade. They are particularly noticeable after it rains, you can’t miss it. Looks like a serious problem and a big special assessment somewhere down the road. Would love to hear others opinions on this.