The $549,000 3-Bedroom Starter Brick Cottage in Bucktown: 2058 N. Leavitt
This 3-bedroom brick single family home at 2058 N. Leavitt in Bucktown has been on the market since July 2011.
In that time, it has been reduced $50,000 to $549,000.
Built in 1887 on a smaller than standard 24×100 lot, two of the bedrooms are on the second floor with the third in the lower level.
The kitchen has 42 inch maple cabinets, granite counter tops and a mixture of black and stainless steel appliances (although the listing says stainless, that is definitely NOT a stainless refrigerator staring at you when you click on the kitchen pics.)
The yard has been professionally landscaped and has a two car garage.
The house has central air and an office in the lower level.
It is now listed $11,000 under the 2005 purchase price.
Is this house what you’re getting for the entry-level Bucktown starter home?
Susan Berman at Susan Berman has the listing. See the pictures here.
2058 N. Leavitt: 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, no square footage listed, 2 car garage
- Sold in June 1992 for $118,000
- Sold in September 1997 for $250,000
- Sold in September 2000 for $409,000
- Sold in March 2003 for $427,500
- Sold in December 2005 for $560,000
- Originally listed in July 2011 for $599,000
- Reduced
- Currently listed at $549,000
- Taxes of $7002
- Central Air
- Bedroom #1: 15×12 (second floor)
- Bedroom #2: 14×10 (second floor)
- Bedroom #3: 18×11 (lower level)
- Office: 9×17 (lower level)
So thats what a professionally landscaped yard looks like
How does this one:
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/2318-W-Lyndale-St-60647/home/13357969
not hurt this place badly?
not related but thought i’d pitch the question. On listing sheet the following was written “WILL CONSIDER TRADE-IN.”
What the hell does that mean?
Means you can pay in live stocks, gold coins, bonds and so on ; )
“What the hell does that mean?”
I would take this one instead…
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/3721-N-Racine-Ave-60613/home/13382975
“I would take this one instead…”
Is there a secret passage from the basement to Smart Bar? No one could call the location “boring”.
What makes something a “starter home”? Isn’t the concept of short-term home ownership dead? To me, if I can’t see my grandkids cleaning out the place when I die, its better to rent than own.
Fred, you should get a job working for NAR. you’d add diversity to the workplace there.
3721 Racine property looks nice, but yeah, noisy. The upside is you could watch bands like Smashing Pumpkins and Jane’s Addiction unload in your alley 🙂
“unload” as in piss?
1031 exchange? But that only works if both are investment properties.
“WILL CONSIDER TRADE-IN.”
How does this one:
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/2318-W-Lyndale-St-60647/home/13357969
not hurt this place badly?
A lot of ways, but here are the most obvious to me
1- It’s an REO, not a conventional sale
2- It was priced low to attract bids and will likely have a higher close not unlike this Bucktown teaser…
http://cribchatter.com/?p=13022
It will be interesting to see what that Lyndale property closes at. It is right on the park with unobstructed Eastern exposure.
A better comp would probably be this one.
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/2124-W-Lyndale-St-60647/home/13356528
Nicer looking interior, corner lot, quieter street… and priced about the same. This place should be the one to tell the sellers of 2058 they are a bit off.
“1031 exchange? But that only works if both are investment properties.”
only matters from the position of Icarus’ seller–if he could convince them to take both his condos, wahlah.
Icarus: I say call him up! And then post the results to your blog.
Both of the comps pointed out here are short sales, so I’m not sure that they would be equivalent. The one on Racine is on an EXTREMELY short (like fiftysome foot) lot which would really suck. Lyndale is cute; the house has some strange curb appeal (not my style, but it’s not bad). I have to say, I hate dormers and wouldn’t live in a house with them. I’m a huge fan of the single family home, but I have to say that you can get a very nice condo in this area for that price. Living in a house where the land is more than half the value just doesn’t appeal to me.
“http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/2318-W-Lyndale-St-60647/home/13357969”
“Beautiful, brick, 2bd/2.5ba, SFH in Logan Square!!”
I guess logan is hotter than btown. Sorry Jon.
We looked at this way back when we were casually looking. Think the list was $600K. Felt v small and didn’t love being that exposed to the park. I guess I saved some money, though prob could have made it up on the buy.
Can’t they fix the brick around the front door to increase the curb appeal?
“Can’t they fix the brick around the front door to increase the curb appeal?”
Poor matching of fill-in brick to existing brick, no cheap way to fix.
From the outline of the fill-in brick it looks like there was originally a third window where the front door now is. Wonder where the original entrance was?
I guess you could paint over all the front brick, although to me that would look worse.
I’m having trouble with the words “starter cottage” and “$549,000” being in the same headline.
Not that it’s overly relevant, but little brick cottages like this were built all over the city in the late 1800s, and sold for around $3,000. These weren’t built to be high-end houses, and that’s what the headline captures correctly – it’s a starter home. Why would you pay over half a million? If the location appeals, just rent.
“Not that it’s overly relevant, but little brick cottages like this were built all over the city in the late 1800s, and sold for around $3,000.”
Which was how many times the typical household income at the time? And what appliances, mechanicals, etc did you get with that about $3k purchase?
Not arguing this is the “right” price, but it’s hardly as overpriced as that would indicate.
Locationlocationlocation…the one on Racine is close to Wrigley a/k/a Nirvana (in the mind of the potential purchaser).
“Not that it’s overly relevant, but little brick cottages like this were built all over the city in the late 1800s, and sold for around $3,000. ”
I cannot believe how much they want PSI for these crapshacks. The outhouses are too far from the back door and only two wood burning stoves, how are you supposed to keep the place warm? — HD From Crib Chatter March 3, 1858:
That is just too many beads for these huts and stretch of land. I mean really you injuns this is swampland and these beads have a lot of blue ones in them. You expect me to part with them? –HD From Crib Chatter February 23, 1658:
Bob,
My family didn’t arrive in America until the 1700’s.
Ok, I can handle the teasing.
What I meant was, even at that time, $3,000 wasn’t much for a house, nor were these considered especially nice. They were workers’ cottages, the starter homes of their day. I’m not saying they should be $3,000 now, or even $100,000. But $550,000 is a huge stretch when you think of what you can get for that kind of money in other neighborhoods, and, dare I say it, suburbs.
I always find these workers cottages at half a million dollars absolutely comical.
These were houses designed for the working class with no frills. Just look at that house: do you think it even has any windows on the side and even if so do you think you’ll be getting any natural light with the buildings next door’s brick mere inches away?
I actually know a transplant GZer who lives nearby who just added to his family recently. He’s leaving the state soon: found greener pastures elsewhere. He’s lucky he’s a renter so has that option.
This thing will eventually be worth 250k. The days of gentrifiers dropping a half a mill on cottages like this are over. Nobody cares the current owner dropped 560k in 2005, because nobody cares about the current owner. If their life circumstances changed and they need to sell, it’s not going to happen anywhere near their ask price. This has future distress written all over it.
For that kind of money I want a LAWN – not a tiny patch of doggy-potty between my front door and the street. I’ve never ubderstood why lawn-less “upscale housing” here and in Lincoln Park ever became so desirable and “chic.”
“What I meant was, even at that time, $3,000 wasn’t much for a house, nor were these considered especially nice. They were workers’ cottages, the starter homes of their day. I’m not saying they should be $3,000 now, or even $100,000. But $550,000 is a huge stretch when you think of what you can get for that kind of money in other neighborhoods, and, dare I say it, suburbs.”
“For that kind of money I want a LAWN – not a tiny patch of doggy-potty between my front door and the street. I’ve never ubderstood why lawn-less “upscale housing” here and in Lincoln Park ever became so desirable and “chic.””
For either of you to understand pricing in this area you truly must have an appreciation for the location. I’m not saying you are wrong in your opinions, in fact I can take them a step farther. The lots in this area bound by Armitage-Fullerton and Damen-Western are typically 25×100 making the blocks small and the housing seem on top of each other with small if non-existent yards. Add coach houses in the mix and natural light is terrible even on your garage roof deck. But people WANT to live in this hood and sales prove it. The unfinished rehab of a small cottage profiled here is the best example I can find…
http://cribchatter.com/?p=13022
This thing will eventually be worth 250k. The days of gentrifiers dropping a half a mill on cottages like this are over. Nobody cares the current owner dropped 560k in 2005, because nobody cares about the current owner. If their life circumstances changed and they need to sell, it’s not going to happen anywhere near their ask price. This has future distress written all over it.
This comment is beyond ignorant….just because you wouldn’t (can’t) pay, doesn’t mean nobody will…unlike you who makes wild ascertians based on nothing. I’m sick of people who are angry because they can’t afford something or upset that they are underwater. They sit there and say this should be worth X based on nothing other than they wish it were worse X, well, I hate to break it to you but every piece of sales data out there says that you have NO CLUE! I have no skin in the game with this property, I live in same ‘hood, but farther South and East and I have a duplex vs a single family. I encourage you to take a deep breath, count to 3, and think about what your saying before you say it.
Recent sales within 3 blocks/ 3 months:
Sold on 02/01/2012
$495,000
2327 W Dickens St
Sold on 01/17/2012
$402,000 (only framed inside)
2225 W Charleston St
Sold on 12/10/2011
$570,000
2214 W Charleston St
Doesn’t exactly support your theories does it???
No Mike in Bucktown it is you who is the ignorant one. Ignorant of tense in the English language as evidenced by your failing to comprehend the meaning of the word eventually.
Wonderful comeback, could you please offer some evidence to show why this “eventually” would happen? Of course not, you’ll just make baseless comments with ZERO empirical data to support your wishful claims. You’re as bad as the other person trying to tell me that you can’t get a guartanteed 3% yield today. Why don’t you try making a factual contribution to the board instead of just making proclamations rooted in fantasy…
It isn’t like that area is some recently uncovered, frontier area….it’s a block from Holstein Park, not exactly a bastion for urban pioneers judging from the number of X5s, MDXs, and MB’s in the area…not gentrifying, gentrfied.
This area is TOTALLY overpriced for what you get: a smallish, old cottage on a 25×100 foot lot, in an area that has a not so good public school (but up and coming, right?) Yet people pay it. However, they can only hope that a greater fool will come along to buy them out when the time is right. Townhomes in bloomindale used to sell for $250,000 too – and people paid it! now they’re $75,000.
ChiTownGirl,
You’d like my house. We have a big lawn. But I never could understand what it’s for. It’s just a big patch of grass with a small tree on it. I like having a garden, but that only takes a few feet. I do play football and baseball with my kids on the lawn, but somehow I don’t think that’s what it was meant for.
No one knows what this is really worth until it sells and then some people might still argue that the buyer overpaid. The thing is, if it does go for $250K, Chibuilder and Mike in Bucktown aren’t gonna apologize or say “gee Dan/Bob you were right.” AND THE REVERSE IS ALSO TRUE.
Clearly trying to sell it for $600 was not the answer. Either the realtor provided some comps that supported it or the seller was still looking at a calendar from 2006.
I agree with Chibuilder about people wanting to live in this area and paying a slight premium for it. I also add that since more people are aware that the market isn’t what it was during the boom, they aren’t going to pay a ridiculous amount of money they won’t be able to recover if a life change occurs for a property like this one.
So I think the final price will be closer to Mike in Bucktown’s numbers than Bob’s prediction, but not too close.
Mike in Bucktown let’s just pose a hypothetical question: what impact will increased student loan debt burdens, taxes, $5 gas, etc have upon the money available for housing?
Or is this area solidly 1%er territory? Bwahaha.
This owner made a horrible mistake in 2005 (or in 2006 by not selling for 600k). They’re about to find out is my guess.
My 250k prediction is open ended. And it may never go that low as you can pack renters in here. Let me revise to 300k by 2025. One need only ask oneself who is the target market for this place and what can they reasonably afford given non-insane financing to get a sense of how much trouble the seller is likely in.
This area is TOTALLY overpriced for what you get: a smallish, old cottage on a 25×100 foot lot, in an area that has a not so good public school (but up and coming, right?) Yet people pay it. However, they can only hope that a greater fool will come along to buy them out when the time is right. Townhomes in bloomindale used to sell for $250,000 too – and people paid it! now they’re $75,000.
Are you joking?!? Bloomingdale? Why don’t you just say people used to pay the equivilant of $1000’s for tulip bulbs and now I can buy them for 50 cents each.
This should sell in the $400’s, with a conforming mortgage and 10% down to a younger, dual income household in their mid to late 20’s, with a timeline of 7-10 years before moving to the burbs. At which point they will hope to sell to another couple just like them, again, in the $400,000 range.
There is something desirable about a smallish SFH in a cook, walkable part of the city. that I understand. The short commute on the blue is also pretty nice. Fewer bums, little soliciting or gambling, no chicken bones littering the floor of the train. Near the highway. I ‘get it’ but that being said, the premium for said amenities is far higher than what I would expect or for comparable other areas in the city or suburbs.
Mike in Bucktown let’s just pose a hypothetical question: what impact will increased student loan debt burdens, taxes, $5 gas, etc have upon the money available for housing?
Or is this area solidly 1%er territory? Bwahaha.
This is a non sequitor argument……this is not, despite what the description in the listing states a “starter” home. Someone should be earning around $150-175k to afford this home. People at that income level or higher aren’t struggling with student loan debt burdens. Taxes…what issue you are you referring to? $5 gas….it’s a freaking city in one of the easiest areas to commute, we have one care in my family and last year we put 4500 miles on it. You’re argument makes sense in the suburbs, not in the GZ. If we were talking about SFHs in Aurora, it would be a different story.
This is not 1%er territory and I never claimed it is….but it is solidly upper middle to upper income (depending on you definition). Again, a couple making $80-$100k total is NOT buying this place, but neither is someone making $500k.
“short commute on the blue is also pretty nice” except you’re packed in like Sardines at this point because everyone has moved near the Blue Line stations from California to Division in order to be in the hip nabes.
This should sell in the $400?s, with a conforming mortgage and 10% down to a younger, dual income household in their mid to late 20?s, with a timeline of 7-10 years before moving to the burbs. At which point they will hope to sell to another couple just like them, again, in the $400,000 range.
What are you basing this on???? My neighbor, 2 buildings over, just sold their duplex down in the $400’s, I’m pretty sure a SFH will sell at a premium to a duplex down….again, just because you wish it were that price doesn’t make it so.
Let me provide another insight….there are many people in the world that will NEVER move to the suburbs. My parents are in their late sixties and have never and would never live there. My wife and I are in our late 30’s and have never and would live there. I know many people are scared of dark faces or someone speaking another language, or worse yet, poor, and they will be very happy living in their little suburban enclaves, but thankfully, that doesn’t encompass everyone.
“short commute on the blue is also pretty nice” except you’re packed in like Sardines at this point because everyone has moved near the Blue Line stations from California to Division in order to be in the hip nabes.”
still better than driving
“still better than driving”
not if you can afford the $500 a month parking spaces in buildings in the loop
I think someone will come along and pay $475K for this place, which is about 14% less. Not totally crazy at this point, but it works better if you are child-less or will go the private school route here.
This buyer would probably be 28-35 years old, earning $150-200K. Most likely a dual earning couple. If it was just one income, I don’t see that type of person living there as often.
not if you can afford the $500 a month parking spaces in buildings in the loop
My company is actually willing to pay $350/mo towards this expense, and I still turned it down. I hate driving in the loop. I did take them up on their refunding of my monthly CTA pass….
wow, the suburbs are often more diverse than the ‘solidly upper middle class” area than bucktown.
let’s face it, just because tehre are a handful of knife catchers in bucktown doesn’t mean that the pricing will last forever.
“Let me provide another insight….there are many people in the world that will NEVER move to the suburbs. My parents are in their late sixties and have never and would never live there. My wife and I are in our late 30?s and have never and would live there. I know many people are scared of dark faces or someone speaking another language, or worse yet, poor, and they will be very happy living in their little suburban enclaves, but thankfully, that doesn’t encompass everyone.”
Mike in Bucktown-
I’m not as bearish as Bob or HD, but they have been accurate in identifying the trend for LOWER prices.
Your comps and research may be accurate today, but that says nothing of prices in months and years to come.
As I read your posts I feel that you are trying to justify to yourself that you made a good decision in paying a half million for a duplex in Bucktown. Time will tell.
Before you assume I’m some broke nerd living in his basement, I’ll share that I purchased a freestanding property in a desirable area of the city a year ago. It was a solid deal at the time, the lowest comp going back a decade. Today it’s worth less than I have in it after modest improvements. Not that I care, because I have a 15 year mortgage and plan on it being a retirement asset when it’s paid off.
Your reference to ” X5s, MDXs, and MB’s” in Bucktown is really cliché, BTW. These status symbols are often the hallmark of the highly leveraged, and label conscious who are buried in debt in hip areas like Bucktown.
Perhaps it’s you who should “take a deep breath”.
Its funny most people pre kids who are so adamant against the burbs go full circle (or move to Ohio/Iowa/etc) post kids. And if a dual income “power couple” pre kids want to live in this workman’s cottage more power to them. I think its absolutely fvcking insane but in 2012 this may be where the market is St for Bucktown.
wow, the suburbs are often more diverse than the ‘solidly upper middle class” area than bucktown.let’s face it, just because tehre are a handful of knife catchers in bucktown doesn’t mean that the pricing will last forever.
Congrats, you win, everyone living in the city is going to lose 100% of their home value, and the 45+ sales in the last 3 months that I found on redfin (not exactly comprhensive) in Bucktown mean nothing, and I also forgot about the dozens of tolerant, upper middle class suburbs with diverse classes and ethnicities throughout Chicago-land. I also forgot about all of the interesting, independently owned stores, culture events, and non chain restaurants I find through out the suburbs.
Thank you so much for putting me in my place because, I just plum forgot.
As I read your posts I feel that you are trying to justify to yourself that you made a good decision in paying a half million for a duplex in Bucktown. Time will tell.
As I have stated in previous posts, I have less than $350k in my 3/2.5 as I did a huge amount of work on a REO. I don’t disagree that those cars are status symbols for attention seekers, but they are exactly not the type of car people buy who are living in frontier areas. I think you make a huge generalization in saying those type of people are over leveraged, based on what???
I grew up in one of the wealthiest parts of Philadelphia (Society Hill) and wanted no part of that elitism for myself or my family. In terms of being in a hip area, I like BT because it’s easy to get everywhere and its an easy commute to my office in the loop. I’m close to forty and have a baby at home, it’s not like I’m hanging out at the double door on a regular basis.
I’m frustrated by people who make arguments with no data to support them. I’m a CFA, facts and numbers interest me, not contests with people screaming “this is too expensive!”
Set up that straw man and knock him right back down. congrats!
“Congrats, you win, everyone living in the city is going to lose 100% of their home value, and the 45+ sales in the last 3 months that I found on redfin (not exactly comprhensive) in Bucktown mean nothing, and I also forgot about the dozens of tolerant, upper middle class suburbs with diverse classes and ethnicities throughout Chicago-land. I also forgot about all of the interesting, independently owned stores, culture events, and non chain restaurants I find through out the suburbs.
Thank you so much for putting me in my place because, I just plum forgot.”
It is absolutely true: skokie/lincolnwood/etc is far, far more diverse than Bucktown. Bucktown is full of mostly college educated upper middle class white people who are between 20-45 and if vote vote Democrat. If they think they’re getting diversity accolades because they choose this part of the city over a burb because they ‘aren’t scared of brown people” I find this fvcking hilarious.
Mike – your unit will probably fall in value, but that’s OK. You wanted to buy, you needed to buy, you found a good deal for the time, and you should be OK with it. yeah it sucks in the back of your head knowing that if you waited just a little bit longer than prices may be cheaper; but so be it. I just hope you plan on staying awhile. G himself says he bought a summer home or something in 2008 knowing that the value would plummet but he did so anyway because it was a personal choice. But if you were going to buy, rather it be last year, or this year, than 2000-2010. For many years to come tehre will be better deals tomorrow than there are today but you wanted to buy, and you did, with full knowledge of what could happen in the future. the self-convincing is unnecessary.
“not if you can afford the $500 a month parking spaces in buildings in the loop”
Sure, but why waste of money and resources.
“For many years to come tehre will be better deals tomorrow than there are today but you wanted to buy, and you did, with full knowledge of what could happen in the future.”
Define years to come.
Vj: there’s been a better deal tomorrow for the last 5 years in a row. now that teh robosigning scandal has allegedly been resolved, i suggest probably at least another 5 years to come. in my opinion, of course, based upon my experience, empirical evidence, my observations and of course, logic.
“let’s face it, just because tehre are a handful of knife catchers in bucktown doesn’t mean that the pricing will last forever.”
I’m no BT booster, far from it. Heck, I’m not even keen on WLP. But I work with at least a half dozen people who’ve purchased $500k+ properties (all condos I think) in BT, and at least one who purchased a house in BT in the $750k+ range, in the past couple of years. Many if not most have a kid, and don’t seem particularly concerned about schools, let alone a lawn (a lawn!). And while all enjoy visiting my little neck of the woods (once they’ve found a parking space), none seem to feel that LP should command higher pricing than BT. I also recently met a family of kids who all attended Parker JK – 12, whose parents moved them out of LP and into a house in BT years ago, because they wanted a more lively/urban/hip feel. In sum, there are lots and lots of upwardly mobile, high earning professionals who actually prefer BT over all other areas in the city. They might not all stay there forever, but it seems that the stream of such buyers isn’t going to run dry any time soon.
parking at the self-service garage less than a block from me, in the ‘loop proper’ is only like $300.00 a month.
So Mike you don’t want society hill east coast classism & elitism so you instead move to the Midwest in in one of the handful of neighborhoods, out of tens of thousands in the Midwest, where workman’s cottages where once going for half a mill and today are still above 450k likely? You east coasters are creating little enclaves of that BosWash corridor with your migrations and you don’t even know it. Got news for you Mike: if Bucktown isn’t a 100% proxy for society hill/Georgetown/Brooklyn heights/Carnegie hill, its damn close.
Err not Carnegie hill, meant fenway.
“I’ll share that I purchased a freestanding property in a desirable area of the city a year ago. It was a solid deal at the time, the lowest comp going back a decade. Today it’s worth less than I have in it after modest improvements. Not that I care, because I have a 15 year mortgage and plan on it being a retirement asset when it’s paid off.”
Hmm. You purchased a place last year that was basically at 2000 pricing, made some modest improvements, but today it’s worth less than what you paid? In what desirable area of the city?
“they have been accurate in identifying the trend for LOWER prices.”
Yeah, and the “buy now or be priced out” people were right, too, until they weren’t.
” society hill/Georgetown/Brooklyn heights/[Fenway]”
Hmm, I’m pretty sure that Brooklyn Heights and Fenway are not the proper NYC and Boston comparable neighborhoods for SocHill and G’town, in a 20th c. historical sense. Certainly somewhere in Manhattan for NYC and something with a Hill for Boston. The Chi comp is Gold Coast, fosho.
There will be canaries in the mine when the trend starts to turn, anon, just as Countrywide stock going haywire starting in August 2007. Look to landlording and whether it starts becoming very lucrative for new landlords is a canary I’m watching.
So Mike you don’t want society hill east coast classism & elitism so you instead move to the Midwest in in one of the handful of neighborhoods……
Bob, you so clearly know nothing about Society Hill it’s shocking that you’d have the audacity to comment…2000 Sq ft in SH go for $1mm. I’m sure you can figure out that there’s a difference between affluence and old money….My family was new money and mixed ethnicity and there were certain people I knew growing up that would never let me forget it. Bucktown is not and will never be old money.
Also this….with diversity I wasn’t talking about ashkenazi and sephardic….
Skokie Ethnicity Statistics
White 45,343
African American 3,172
Hispanic or Latino 3,620
Asian 14,328
American Indian or Alaska Native 245
Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 94
Other 2,290
Bucktown Demographics
White 26.3%
Black 5.19%
Hispanic 65.1%
Asian 1.31%
Other 2.13%
anon (tfo) (February 24, 2012, 11:24 am)
” society hill/Georgetown/Brooklyn heights/[Fenway]”
Hmm, I’m pretty sure that Brooklyn Heights and Fenway are not the proper NYC and Boston comparable neighborhoods for SocHill and G’town, in a 20th c. historical sense. Certainly somewhere in Manhattan for NYC and something with a Hill for Boston. The Chi comp is Gold Coast, fosho.
Thank god someone knows what they’re talking about……..
“with diversity I wasn’t talking about ashkenazi and sephardic”
[preempting HD]:
They’re about equally diverse, but with different groups making up the majority and largest minority groups.
in skokie the ‘white’ also includes a large middle eastern component; and the ‘white’ can include not just those of western european origin. any one of those ethnicities could be your neighbors.
In bucktown, you said yourself, that it’s solidly upper middle class, and we all know it’s white. the 65% hispanic are all mostly west of western.
It is you who is the ill informed ignoramus as you equate diversity with non-white people. I equate it with different kinds of people. Skokie is indeed more diverse than Bucktown. And hate to tell you but by your twisted and self hating definition of diversity you could’ve got a much better as close to the loop near united center with lotsa brown people for a fraction of your bucktown place LMAO
HD even with his flawed stats think about it–he still proved my point. I love it when idiot leftists like him reveal their true colors behind their “diversity” criterion.
I’m far from a leftist…. Please see my post at 1055 this morning where I specifically mention class and ethnicity….also where does upper middle class equate to white, what happened to all those amazing havens of diversity in suburban Chicago you were referring to? You are both truly grasping at straws to avoid looking even more idiotic than you are.
Mike: continuing on with the skokie vs. Bucktown theme, I’d bet not only is Skokie more diverse than Bucktown, but also it’s residents earn more AND property values are comparatively lower than Bucktown. This is why I think Bucktown & Wicker Park RE valuations are in for a steep correction. You see bucktown is a hip area, much like west town, whose current valuations are in nowhere near its residents income levels to support them without financial trickery.
anonny-
RE: “Hmm. You purchased a place last year that was basically at 2000 pricing, made some modest improvements, but today it’s worth less than what you paid? In what desirable area of the city?”
It’s in a place called “Lakeview”. And yes, prices are still dripping lower. Is this somehow news to you? My paper losses are relatively small, but prices are down, not up from a year ago.
No way I’m getting in the middle of this city vs. suburb argument.
I’m in the middle of the city vs. suburbs argument; and I’m solidly in Oak Brook. Amazing place! No taxes! Lambo’s everywhere!
I’d bet not only is Skokie more diverse than Bucktown, but also it’s residents earn more AND property values are comparatively lower than Bucktown. This is why I think Bucktown & Wicker Park RE valuations are in for a steep correction.
What does my neighbor’s income have to do with his property value unless it falls to point he can’t afford his home? Do they have no forclosures in Skokie? I’ll also bring up another point, what in the world does Skokie have to do with BT/WP? I can just picture talking to a RE agent and saying, “we’re looking for a duplex in BT/WP or a SFH in Skokie.”
Please, I’m begging you, provide me with actual data that supports your arguments. What you’re saying is akin to me saying I heard someone once got shot in NYC so that means I’ll get shot if I go.
Which area had a bigger price drop during the RE bust? I’m sure for a certain demographic Skokie is a great place to live, but I’m talking about GZ real estate and you might as well be talking about Guam. They are not related, just like the guy who always brings up comps from Oak Brook and Hinsdale….I would never expect a buyer for my home to be looking at Skokie and vice versa.
Coincidentally, I paid cash for my place and all of the renos, no trickery, no shanagans, no shamrocks. In my 4 unit building, there is no household income less than $200k, if each unit is in the low to mid $400’s as I can easily justify through recent sales comps, that would suggest 4 familys living within their means and not over extending themselves (granted I don’t know their debt situations). Are we the outliers for whole neighborhood?
TB, I’m so jealous! I’d love to have one of those SFH’s on Lakeview. You must have purchased that modern, fortress-like place (designed to showcase the first owner’s art), as I think that’s the only one that’s changed hands in the last couple of years (I think the old Wrigley place is still for sale).
“It’s in a place called “Lakeview”.”
“I’d love to have one of those SFH’s on Lakeview.”
This is tailor made for Skeptic.
“Are we the outliers for whole neighborhood?”
Are you really asking that after the demographics you posted for your neighborhood? Something tells me your 4-unit bldg has more than one unit occuped by “whites.” I would think that those $200K+ HH incomes put you in the top 5% of your neighborhood demographics, another clear outlier.
anonny-
Thanks, but that’s not my situation. It’s in Lakeview, not on Lakeview St. 🙂
“no chicken bones littering the floor of the train”
Was on the Red Line last week and felt something squishy.
Looked down and saw a drumstick to my right.
And a chunk of fried chicken skin under my shoe.
Gross!
“no chicken bones littering the floor of the train”
“Was on the Red Line last week and felt something squishy.
Looked down and saw a drumstick to my right.
And a chunk of fried chicken skin under my shoe.
Gross!”
Going to declare myself the winner:
My first ever trip on blue line, something plastic rolling around on the floor, ignore it thinking it’s a bottle or something, hits my foot, look down, yup, dildo!
“Which was how many times the typical household income at the time? And what appliances, mechanicals, etc did you get with that about $3k purchase?”
Anon, I think I just read in City of the Century that the wages for stockyard workers in the late 1800s were 15 cents an hour. Can’t find the reference now, but I think $1/day was a common wage for industrial work. I don’t know if the target buyer for a Northside brick cottage like this would have earned similar pay?
“wages for stockyard workers in the late 1800s were 15 cents an hour”
x10/day; x6/week; x52/year = $468/year (*maybe*) for a good job. HH buying a “worker’s cottage” probably has more than one earner, so $3k maybe 4x HH income, with the house basically being walls roof and a bit of plumbing.
I might have misstated the 1800s price. I have an ad in an old book of mine and will check this weekend. It might have been as low as $1,800. Which would be 6 year’s pay for the $1 a day worker.
These days, average income is 45,000 a year, and six times that is 270,000. Actually makes sense. Assuming $1 a day was an average paycheck back then.
Didn’t Henry Ford pay every worker $5 a day in around 1915 and that was considered outlandishly high?
The working class more commonly bought cheap and quick to build balloon frame homes which were invented in Chicago:
http://www.pbs.org/ktca/farmhouses/homes_balloon.html
“These days, average income is 45,000 a year”
The median income HUD uses to determine eligibility for housing assistance was $74,800 last year. 6x that is just shy of $450k, and this house comes with a *ton* more features (even ignoring the many, many things that it has whcih simply didn’t exist then) than that $1800 (or $3k) house did.
“If the location appeals, just rent.”
Good luck finding an acceptable SFH or townhouse rental, and if you do, it’s a ripoff or already rented.
Median income is $74,800? I need to see that. I guess it’s median household income, and many households have more than one person working. I’m sure the median salary (I said average before, not sure which is correct) is in the 40s.
“Median income is $74,800? I need to see that.”
https://www.efanniemae.com/sf/refmaterials/hudmedinc/hudincomeresults.jsp?STATE=IL&choice=msa&CITY=chicago&FormsButton1=Search
The median HUD uses is much higher than the median family income in Chicago per the census ($46,877), so 6X would be about $280,000 instead of $450,000.
The state median family income is $55,735. Looks like the HUD number you posted is for Chicago/Joliet/Naperville area, not sure exactly what is covered there, but it still seems high.
“The median income HUD uses to determine eligibility for housing assistance was $74,800 last year”
My gr-gr grandparents bought a balloon frame house at 4208 W Augusta sometime in the 1890s. Home is still there. My grandmother, who was born in the house, is still around. For grins and giggles, I’ll see if she knows how much her grandparents paid and update the thread if I find out.
“It’s in a place called “Lakeview”. And yes, prices are still dripping lower. Is this somehow news to you? My paper losses are relatively small, but prices are down, not up from a year ago.”
This is news that prices continue to drop in the “prime” neighborhoods?
I think 2012 is going to be a really nasty market for Lakeview. I’m seeing bigger price reductions there than any other neighborhood. It took longer to start falling, but it’s started now. And there were simply too many condos bought during the 2004-2010 time period with most buyers having no intention of staying more than a few years.
A crash in Lakeview prices can only come from weaker demand. But expect prices to rise in oak brook as former city folk lookie elsewhere to raise families.
Buy in oak brook now or be priced out forever!!!!!
More people of color and immigrants live outside the city limits then ever, avoiding Rahm’s taxes. Also, many ethnic restaurants. Funny, the North Side GZ is now ‘lily white’ and intolerant of ‘those people’, while communities that happen to not have to pay Chicago taxes have ‘culture’.
Also, to the snarky 30 y/o know it alls, you will age, and won’t ‘be hip’ or live forever, Garfield Park and Uptown were once happening places, 100 years ago. I see the ‘Starbucks-villes’ as the same. So, yeah, maybe the place will dive to $250K if area is ‘redlined’ by future generations.
Closed at $490k
Pretty interesting thread 4 years after the fact. Looks like Mike was right and HD and Bob were way off.
It’s amazing that this is what a crappily finished West Loop condo costs now.
2012 was the bottom of the bubble…and 2016 is the top of the next bubble after 4 years of meteoric price increases.
Imo ‘Bob’ is just another identity helmut/aka Dan/aka gonefishin posted under until one day hilariously HH confused which entity he was posing & posting under. I don’t believe Bobbo’s been allowed to post since then. Good stuff
I wonder if Bob and HH ever got together?
“Imo ‘Bob’ is just another identity helmut/aka Dan/aka gonefishin posted under until one day hilariously HH confused which entity he was posing & posting under. I don’t believe Bobbo’s been allowed to post since then. Good stuff”
Nope. Hate to burst your bubble. But these are completely different people (hard to believe, but true.)
People die. It happens. I hope Bob is okay but it’s been a few years now since he’s posted here.
This property came back on the market today for 669k
wow, i remember looking at the house when searching a house in the neighborhood. thought it was really cramped and small. wasn’t worth the price then because it really needed to be opened up and expanded.
In todays’ market, that is a deal. Really – – if you would pay $600+ for a three-bed / two-bath condo in this n’hood and have to suffer the whims of condo ownership and hearing your neighbors, why wouldn’t you prefer a single family home?
Edit: Current price no so much a “deal” – – but I bet they get it.
“Taxes of $7002”
That must’ve been the ’09, or even the ’08, taxes. Last 5 years are:
2015: $8,835.01
2014: $7,388.99
2013: $7,710.19
2012: $7,159.55
2011: $8,696.91