The $500,000 Large 1-Bedroom: 250 E. Pearson in Streeterville
For several years during the boom, developers were building luxury high rises with “large” 1-bedroom units.
The Pearson, at 250 E. Pearson, in Streeterville was one of those buildings. Constructed in 2003, it has 180 units.
The 1-bedroom units are as big as many 2-bedroom units in the newer construction buildings.
Unit #2104 recently came on the market. It has north views with a sliver of the lake if you look east.
The unit has some luxury finishes such as ebony bamboo floors in the bedroom. The powder room is marble and the master bathroom has a double vanity with Crema Marfil marble countertops.
This building was built before stainless steel appliances became THE choice in the kitchen, so the black kitchen appliances were the standard in the building.
Sherri Kramer at Coldwell Banker has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #2104: 1 bedroom, 1.5 baths, 1144 square feet
- Sold in September 2003 for $404,000
- Sold in August 2004 for $436,000
- Currently listed for $485,000 (parking extra)
- Assessments of $538 a month
- Taxes of $5763
- Central Air
- Washer/Dryer in the unit
- Living room: 18×13
- Dining room: 11×14
- Kitchen: 10×10
- Bedroom: 15×14
2 different wood floor types in a 1 bedroom is odd. I do NOT like it
Love the unit/location: First they need to go to Best Buy and purchase a SS appliance package. Then walk over to Restoration Harware and purchase a nicer bathroom vanity. This isn’t 2003. You cannot just throw your unit on the market and have offers lined up w/o putting any effort into it. Decorate, upgrade and act like you want to sell it.
No way in hell I would pay that much for a 1 bedroom. I don’t care how swanky the building is. 1100 sqft is a nice size but at the end of the day, it is still a 1 bedroom.
…then they need to change the flooring to match.
The different flooring doesn’t bother me. But the paper-thin kitchen granite does. If you are going to ask for $425 a square foot for a unit without parking and with assessments that high, the finishes should be better than that. Like the Lauren said, we’re no longer in a bubble.
If this building really is as well-constructed as they say, then the 2004 price–if it included parking–sounds about right.
absolute joke.
What a boring unit. No wonder why half of the pictures are of the building and not the condo. I actually don’t think that the assessments are bad for this place given the amenities. It’s the Edgewater black-applianced, track lighting kitchen that ruins it for me. Wouldn’t cost more than $10K to redo/decorate this place in such a way that people wouldn’t laugh at the asking price (not that they would pay it, they just wouldn’t laugh at it). The bathrooms are pretty boring as well.
Hi,
I actually agree with everyone for once today! 🙂
This unit is a nice size and in a great location but they are asking top dollar when the finishes are not top notch.
They need to do the following:
1. Change all counters
2. SS appliances
3. Put in 1 uniform floor
4. Paint/Stage
These units used to sell in a few days back in the sizzle 05-early 07 period but not anymore.
I think the highest they once went for was low-mid 500’s with parking
I wonder what the premium is for a unit on the other side overlooking the park. I kind of like the black appliances, they remind me of Darth Vader. plus stainless is played out.
This is hilarious! Full of LOLZ! At least it has a decent lake view, if you can peek eastward from your balcony.
nah sonies, if you look east you’re not going to see much as the view is blocked by the old northwestern dorm and the newish building with the turret on lsd
1/2 the building has park view
building has a 10% rental cap which I like. Keeps the riff raf out
Oh, well then this place is even more hilarious because that lake view blows, and for a 500k 1 bedroom I better have an unobstructed view at least. Hell I could buy a fat two bedroom at one museum park for this kind of money and have 10x the view, but then again that’s the south loop and doesn’t really compare to streeterville.
$500K+++ for this place! Just buy a foreclosure at Pearson on the Park.
What a dip shit seller and realtor…This place is going to be on the market until 2016.
Nothing about this place impresses me, $399K with parking.
Nice view…so long as you continously look outward.
This listing is laughable:
“chic”? – what am I missing here – there is NOTHING chic about this place other than maybe the building lobby.
“Garage: 1 car” – total lie, listing goes on to say “(Parking is additional)” Oops! Sherri told a fib!
“views are dramatic of the lake and neighboring skyline” – and by that she must mean the neighboring skyline since – as we’ve all noticed – a sliver of the lake can’t really be dramatic.
“Uba Tuba granite tops” – forgot to mention that they are paper thin.
“designer wall coverings” – where?
“Enhancing the space are crown moldings” – if you squint.
“this is a very special place to come home to!” – yea, for someone else. This place sucks.
If you are going to go hogwild describing a place as the most fantastic thing ever, at least put in a little work to make it pass the standards of an unrefined buyer. Location and a building won’t sell a lackluster unit. Shameless.
Its not our fault they were dumb enough to pay 436k for this disaster back in 2004. You bought into it, you live in it pal. Thats the way the RE game goes.
Bob,
Do you still have your shorts…….
Yes
Bob is going to be hurting when the market fully recovers in a year… just another victim of bad timing. Maybe that’s why he won’t or can’t buy a house, since his down payment is being evaporated by DIY investing.
“when the market fully recovers in a year”
Holy crap, that’s funny!
Really Sonies? How have your returns been over the past year? 😀
‘when the market fully recovers in a year… ‘
lol. Thanks for the laugh.
bob…. bob…. bob…..
Valasko,
I’m curious do you think my (assumed) capital losses in the market come anywhere close to what this seller will experience?
Remember in the securities markets you can only attain leverage of 2:1 initially and 4:1 at most before margin calls.
I wonder how much leverage this seller has? What do you think?
“Really Sonies? How have your returns been over the past year?”
Very, very good actually… I got burned on a few things but lately some of my recent trades have waaay more than made up for it. I’m also professional and its my job to live the market, not some DIY douche with another day job who checks his e-trade account on the weekends.
“lol. Thanks for the laugh.”
I’m talking about the stock market, not the housing market… The housing market will take probably 3-5 years to get back to where it is today, and won’t get to 2006 pricing for a decade or longer, but just remember, you heard it here first!
apples and oranges bob…….
wht do you guys spend so much time debating the obvious? Real estate will be dead for years… look for where the opportunities are….
you won’t make a dime spending all your time on this blog…..
“I’m talking about the stock market, not the housing market… ”
And I was too. We both have different views on where the market is going. Lets bet accordingly.
Also in terms of who is the bigger monkey, I’d argue desk traders are: just flow monkeys. At least ‘DIY douches’ bet their own money.
But hey congrats if you’ve managed to trounce the S&P 500 you should be a HF manager earning your 2 and 20 if your internet returns are anything like your actual returns. We’re all earn 70% yearly ROR on these here interwebs, right? 😀
If you have to walk to the window and turn your head to see the lake, then imho it’s not a “lake view”.
PS I don’t understand the hostility towards black appliances, I think they look better than SS.
BLAH BLAH BLAH…
Back to the unit. It is located in highly desirable area, in a nice building, good ‘cosmopolitan’ feel with decent views (love the Mies buildings right outside) very good size for a one bedroom.
On the other side of the coin, it is SO poorly staged and seems to have been DIYed to death with no real vision of where they were going. That fact makes it hard/impossible to is see any of the place’s postive features that would garner interest leading to a sale.
The listing agent should be ashamed of allowing this somewhat nice unit to not having good staging and some acceptable pictures. Reminds me of going back to someone’s apartment after happy hour and hearing them apologize over and over for the appearance of their apartment. All the while knowing that no matter what they did, the impression would still be the same.
OK, I am done bad mouthing this unit. I just hope they see their listing and stage the place and retake some pictures. If you are paying a commission to an agent, this would be the very LEAST of what they could offer. Should be reduced around $100k for the simple fact they made such a half assed attempt to show their property.
Agree Dan, I too would select Black appliances over SS anyday. Most of my rehabs are outfitted with LG all black appliances.
I’d love to someday be a HF manager… just don’t know enough rich people at the moment.
What? Who needs to stage a clean uncluttered 1 bd condo with white walls like this one? A buyer can envision the condo better when it’s less cluttered.
How would staging “enhance” the positive features?
Better staging would help to get past the mismatched, no vision or focus facts of the unit. Just clean it up and come up with some type of arrangement that would better show the place.
I think some art on those stark white walls would be a HUGE improvement and a ‘start’ to proper staging. IMO, stark white walls only go with severe modern units and this one does not fit that bill.
Sorry, but they still have a long way to go to make it appealing though…
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Staging not going to sell this, a drastic price reduction will.
I usually do not comment on staging of a unit as that is a personal decision of the seller. But in this case, it is simply too distracting to garner any interest.
While I do agree about not cluttering up a place, the furnishings and accessories you do show should have some common element to tie the place together and to allow the home to show it’s strong points.
Some bright artwork on those stark walls would be a good start…
On a different note, what is wrong with the bdrm flooring? or is it the fact that the living area has a lighter shade? If that is the case, I do agree as you can have different varieties of wood floors IF you do different colored walls or have different styles of furnishings throughout the unit.
Bob,
I don’t disagree with you….. but you never fight the trend. Now is not the time to be shorting the market. Now is the time to reduce exposure.
My SKF never worked out boohoo oh well, but I have hope in SEF over a 2-3 year period. And my latest idea is to buy some 2011 puts in WFC.
When you see the accounting games financials are playing, combined with the government subsidized debt (TLGP) you know the party can’t last forever.
TLGP goes away on Halloween if the interventionists don’t extend it. What happens to bank profits when they actually have to pay a risk adjusted market rate on their borrowing instead of 2%?
Bob I wish you luck…..
got to go heading out for a long weekend!
Tough to say the mkt won’t recover in a year whenever we’ve had one really in May and now another in July/August. Get in now folks…
“CSal on August 7th, 2009 at 11:43 am
Tough to say the mkt won’t recover in a year whenever we’ve had one really in May and now another in July/August. Get in now folks”
What are you selling this over priced shit pile?
I do wonder if Realtors read this website, it could help them.
SS appliances are so 2007, hidden is the new SS.
come on seriously, did you guys see the faucets!!!!! the seller needs call me i will change them for a 12 pack and cost of materials. seriously for 500k and those faucets? seriously?
lauren,
“Love the unit/location: First they need to go to Best Buy and purchase a SS appliance package.”
Hi,
I dislike SS appliances (even though I have them and installed them in 2 units of mine and tossed out black ones).
I prefer the hidden ones but they are too expensive for most to do unless you are really gutting the entire kitchen.
So, bring back COLOR! Some nice brown/green appliances? Until something else catches on, we are stuck with SS 🙁
I hate hidden kitchen stuff. When I get too stoned I can’t find the refrigerator.
“you won’t make a dime spending all your time on this blog…..” -Valasko
Smartest thing ever written on Cribchatter.
Let this one sink too. Boy am I pissed off today at stupid people asking others to fix their mistakes.
Can we all stop calling them units and start calling them homes? Who wants to live in a unit? Who wants to eat Thanksgiving dinner at Grandma’s unit? “Unit” started as an Invsco thing to say and we all know what Crib Chatter readers think of Invsco…
http://chicagoismynewblog.wordpress.com
I call condos units. I call houses homes, townhouses and rowhomes homes.
When you are identifying the address would you say you live in home 2104 or unit 2104?
Besides unit is a much more sterile sounding adjective, much like this place.
I’ve always called mine an apartment. What business is it of anyone else what my financial relationship to the space is? It’s the same damn space whether you rent it or own it.
Oh, and I refer to my apartment as my home, of course. What else would it be? It’s all about context.
This price is somewhat decent to me. I actually visited chicago last year to contemplate moving from Manhattan to save on taxes. I did research online before visiting, but was surprised at how all the condos in person were very disappointing (neighborhood vibe) except this building. I may throw in a bid if it cracks $400 solidly. High end in manhattan can still fetch $2000+/sq. ft and tough to find 1-beds in that segment. I know it’s comparing apples-to-oranges, but Manhattan is my point of comparison personally, since this is a move decision. I also sat out the whole housing bubble and rented, lived below my mean, so have some extra cash and can pay this out of checking.
“can pay this out of checking”
Who’s your account with that it makes sense to have half a mill in *checking*? Serious question, as I’d being willing to move accounts for 150 bips on checking.
Ed, I think the the Manhattan comparison is important and given too little consideration. Sure, Manhattan has more international appeal and is a 24-7 city. But Chicago provides relative value. Manhattan has a huge amount of exposure to the FIRE industries (Financials, Insurance, Real Estate) and the global economy has weakened significantly since 2007, making it even more difficult to buy manhattan if you are european/japanese/etc… Chicago is a great city with plenty of restaurants and entertainment options, not to mention a diversified job market. Should NY really be 4x the price of Chicago? How about Boston at about 2x? (Also, Boston has a very short supply of new product, most units are very capital intensive). How about L.A.? Can anyone say a city of big hat/ no cattle? Chicago is affordable and if people actually sat back and performed a buy (after tax)/rent analysis, they would find that returns on Chicago homes look promising over the mid term, and I would trust my $$ in the bricks and mortar here vs. the ponzi scheme laden equity markets. $300-$400/sf for city living is absolutely reasonable – especially when people consider the cost of running a 2,500 sf mcmansion with 3 cars to go in that 3 car garage at $150/bbl oil.
face it this is a top building in the top location. Quality construction and worth every dime if not for the stupid staging and applainces.
Anon (tfo): look into a combined brokerage / checking account. I’ve currently found value in the Merrill one I have (their CMA) which functions as a cross between savings, brokerage, and checking. Debit card, checks out of account, can have pre-defined amount swept into a product of your choice (ie money market, or even into 1-2 month CDs for higher rate), and then have amount higher sent into managed account land.
Wicker,
If you kept this account over the past year (particularly before ML was subsumed by BofA) you have bigger cajones than me.
Howard roark – I agree. My firm also has an office in Chicago, which is why the move’s feasible. My comp’s also been pressured, so in order to maintain my lifestyle, I need to make more money or go someplace where my money goes farther.
Anon (tfo) – My checking interest rate’s less than 1%, but let’s not kid ourselves, the difference between a “high interest savings” account that pays 1.5% and checking of 1% is 0.5% or practically nothing. In NY, I’m taxed at about a 50% marginal rate, so the variance after tax is even less. It’s wonderful how the Fed and government loves to reward bad actors by cramming down savings rates for prudent people that try to get a reasonable safe return on their money. If it wasn’t for government intervention, banks would be forced to pay 10%+ savings rates to attract deposits.
“I also sat out the whole housing bubble and rented”
Ed, why on Earth would someone with your track record decide it is a good idea to buy now, in a new city no less?
There are plenty for rent here, too. I mean that in an understated way.
“Wicker,
If you kept this account over the past year (particularly before ML was subsumed by BofA) you have bigger cajones than me.”
Why? He’s covered by the SIPC and FDIC if Mother Merril blows up.
home
??/ho?m/
–noun
1. a house, apartment, or other shelter that is the usual residence of a person, family, or household.
dictionary.com
I call it a home too, not a house, a home!
Next!
And moving from Manhattan to Chicago is like a windfall of cash and pleasantness. Lose nothing on the food side either. You will love Chicago so long as you can handle the cold!
“Why? He’s covered by the SIPC and FDIC if Mother Merril blows up.”
Not the FDIC, as far as I know. Yeah the SIPC but do they really have the funds to cover a blowup like ML after LEH, BSC, Reserve Primary Fund and others went under?
Also how long will his money be tied up if he needs to be reimbursed by the SIPC? From my understanding its not like the FDIC where its still sitting in an account waiting for you the next day.
The Unit is now listed for Rent for $2500 +$200/month for parking
“Not the FDIC, as far as I know. Yeah the SIPC but do they really have the funds to cover a blowup like ML after LEH, BSC, Reserve Primary Fund and others went under?”
The FDIC changed the rules to cover up to $250k in money market funds during the “crisis” Not sure if they still do that, but my understanding is that any CD’s or money market funds you have are covered up to 100k per account, by the FDIC.
“Also how long will his money be tied up if he needs to be reimbursed by the SIPC? From my understanding its not like the FDIC where its still sitting in an account waiting for you the next day.”
No clue, thankfully I’ve never worked for or invested with a company that has blown up.
“contemplate moving from Manhattan to save on taxes”
Taxes in Chicago are absolutely insane. Instead of a city tax (like NYC), you pay 10.25% sales tax and get nickeled and dimed on every purchase you make. You get taxed on food, clothing, and every single thing you buy has a different tax rate. I too moved from Manhattan and I will tell you the taxes in Chicago are not much better than in NYC.
MJ… Order everything from the internet. I’d much rather a high consumption tax than one on income any day!!
“MJ… Order everything from the internet”
That’s what I do for all my purchases when I can. Typically a lot cheaper and if they offer free shipping, its a no brainer!
Lets not forget about ridiculous Chicago cell phone taxes..
Which is a reason my cell phone ‘address’ is in Vegas, baby!
The Irish Leprauchan Daley can goto hell.
My favorite is the “City Amusement Tax” that you can find on your cable bills… that’s another reason I switched to satellite. No taxes!
Sonies –
No taxes for now.. ever notice all of those channels on DirecTV talking about satellite taxes in other states? It is only a matter of time. Ugh.
Its only a matter of time before people start switching to online billing and declaring their address as a bogus address in a more tax friendly locale en masse.
“No taxes for now.. ever notice all of those channels on DirecTV talking about satellite taxes in other states? It is only a matter of time. Ugh.”
Its total bullshit that they want to tax satellite TV, but I will enjoy it while it lasts here in the commie nanny city/state of Chicago, IL.
Curious.. I know you can go to Federal up da butt prison for avoiding Federal Taxes but what can they do to you for avoiding state taxes. Tried looking that up on google when you made the comment Bob but can’t seem to find anything. Obviously it can’t be a Federal offense so if you leave state is there jurisdiction issues. I had Illinois come after me one year when I owed them nada, just sent them my other state documents and that was all. But non-payment of state you no longer reside in??? Anyone????
Sonies.. best part of ordering on the internet isn’t even better prices and no taxes. Seeing the UPS truck pull up when you know a package is on it for you is like Santa Claus coming. I love it.
In this case it would be Chicago city taxes, not state taxes.
I have heard of people doing this with DirecTV to avoid local blackouts as well. (IE you like the local team that never sells out home games but still want to be able to see them: buy the DirecTV in another area near a relative, put down their address for DirecTV, and do online billing. Presto. Just don’t have DirecTV themself do the installation use a third party or do it yourself.
” Seeing the UPS truck pull up when you know a package is on it for you is like Santa Claus coming. I love it.”
Lol well I’m usually at work when they come by, but the online tracking they have is like watching the calendar at christmas time 🙂 In fact, I have something coming today! Hooray!
Two words. Amazon Prime. All you can eat second day shipping for $80.