Two Bedrooms Under $500k at 500 W. Superior
I last chattered about The Montgomery at 500 W. Superior in River North in October 2007.
At the time, there were several 2 bedroom units on the market for under $500,000.
One out of the three I last chattered about has sold. I can’t find sales prices for the other two so they might have been withdrawn.
Unit #1209: 2 bedroom, 2 bath, 1095 square feet
- I can’t find the original sales price. Perhaps still owned by the developer?
- Originally listed in April 2007 for $499,000
- Currently listed for $475,000 plus $35,000 for parking
- Sold in December 2007 for $480,000
- Assessment of $549 a month
There are currently 10 units on the market, with two available to rent in the building. These 2 bedroom units are listed at or under $500,000.
Unit #2207: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1100 square feet
- Sold in February 2006 for $462,000
- Originally listed at $529,900
- Reduced and currently listed at $500,000 (2 car tandem parking $45k extra)
- Assessments of $529 per month plus $118 a month for the parking
- Also available to rent at $2600 a month
- Major Enterprises, Inc. has the listing
Unit #1109: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1086 square feet, the second bedroom has no windows
- Sold in July 2005 for $415,000
- Currently listed for $479,000 (parking extra)
- Assessments of $574 a month
- Koenig & Strey has the listing
This other 09 unit has been on the market since last June.
Unit #609: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1086 square feet
- Sold in June 2005 for $326,900
- Originally listed for $479,000 in June 2007
- Currently listed for $469,000. Parking is $35k.
- Assessments of $440 a month plus $49 a month for parking
- Real Living Helios has the listing
Are these a deal compared to other properties in River North?
Hi,
I think this is a very nice building. I’m not sure if I would pay 500K for a 2/2 if the 2nd bedroom didn’t have windows. Just my opinion. Yes, for $400-$440 w/parking included. Still a bit over priced.
I would give $300 per sq ft tops for these cookie cutter places. Apts like these are a dime a dozen. They are a few degrees nicer than similar units built in the 60s, what with higher ceilings, slightly nicer finishes, and large baths, but they are still common and boring and small, with insufficient closet space.
That would mean about $330,000 for an 1100 sq ft place. That is TOPS.
The Near North is fantastically overbuilt with these towering hives, so look for these places to go lower before the market totally bottoms in a couple of years. We are nowhere near the choke point, given that we have at least $800 billion worth of mortgage resets nationwide over the next year or so, with trillions over the next five years. We won’t see these resets hitting the market as REOs for another year because that’s how long the foreclosure process takes, especially since the banks are overloaded with more of them to process than their systems were designed to handle.
I looked at renting one of these a couple of years ago. I love the building and think that it’s a lot more than “a few degrees” nicer than the more recent run-of-the-mill stuff that’s been built in River North. This is really a fine quality building with a great architectural pedigree. Minoru Yamasaki designed it (His only design in Chicago), and Pappageorge/Haymes did the redesign for condos.
But…the units are small. The 2nd bedroom is behind the kitchen with a wall that doesn’t go all the way to the ceiling and, as someone else pointed out, no windows. Also, there’s no balcony.
Who knows how low prices will go in that area, but this is worth more, IMO, than the run of the mill units in the area.
The 09 tier is the smallest two bedroom tier and that’s the one with the second bedroom behind the kitchen with no windows.
The 07 tier is larger (but those units are also more expensive.)
Thanks for the clarification — your knowledge of this stuff is amazing!
Did anyone else see the Crain’s article on Canyon Ranch trouble and possible Magellan/Related buyout?
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/mag/article.pl?articleId=29353
Does anyone else think the $118 per month assessment on the PARKING SPACE seem a little bit high – even though it’s a tandem?
“the $118 per month assessment on the PARKING SPACE seem a little bit high”
If it includes property tax, it’s okay, if not, it’s absolutely nuts.
$118/month is steep property tax or not. It costs $175-200/month to park in the loop, so you’re going to plunk down $35k to save $57-82/month? Not a great deal IMO but not a horrible one either.
Parking spaces never got ridiculously out of line with reality at least when compared with housing. I am a renter but would buy a parking spot if there was one for sale near me as on a cash flow basis some make sense. (I pay $175/month for parking in an outdoor, ungated space).
i doubt it includes the taxes. i own some extra parking spaces and the tax bill is totally seperate from the assessments. i wonder if that 118 includes a weekly car detail from a supermodel in a bikini.
I just bought the 2207 unit for USD 472.500 including a tamdem parking spot. What do you think? Is it a good deal?
Monteria:
It’s good you got the parking included in the price.
It’s a little late now to be asking if this was a “deal” though!
Anyone else have an opinion? This building hasn’t seen big price reductions (not yet.)
Monteria,
This is a beautiful building, in a good neighborhood. Since your parking was included in that $472, you paid well under the worst bubble price. You’ve already bought it, so as Sabrina says, it’s too late to worry about whether you got the very best deal you could have. It is your home, not an investment, and I’m sure you’ll be very happy. Don’t pay attention to the newspapers for the next two or three years, and you’ll be happier still. 🙂
it’s a ONE bedroom folks. when mom comes to stay for a few days, would you really stick her in the back of the kitchen, open to the rest of the apartment with w/o a window? if the answer is no, or maybe, it ain’t a bedroom.
you can’t have a 2/2 in 1095 unless its on a corner, and then it is still tight.
what saves this building is the lobby (which will get old) and the fact that a good architect built it as an office building when money was no object. the rest of its just staging, the location is a total B.
Monteria,
I think you did well and you should be happy. Like Kenworthey stated. If you are staying for 3-5 years, I wouldn’t worry too much. It’s a fabulous building with an association that’s always making improvements. Beautiful landscaping and large green space. The associations fees are reasonable because it includes everything. The location is great because you are close to the mag mile, but at the end of the day, it’s much more relaxing in that area of River North. Yes, we know Cabrini is still there, but the whole area is transforming. Even the 2 story CHA buildings are being redone right now. All the windows are out on two rows.
I think this is a very desirable building and the prices are holding up for the most part (down probably only about 5% from the peak which is mid 2006 to mid 2007 for this building). Unit 1802 just closed for $550K with 1 parking space but is larger at 1170ish square ft. w/ 7 full windows and split floorplan.
It shows that buildings that are unique, well converted, and well run still has a lot of interest in a down market. I have no idea why people who would not buy a resale here over say a new construction at 757 Orleans which is only 50% sold… too risky there and that condo is just like any other regular condo tower.
Thank you! I appreciate all your comments. Actually I am planning to rent it out but hold it for the long run.
Thanks again!
Monteria,
How is your plan working?
Monteria:
You can now get a 2/2 in this building for 325k, 374k with a two-car tandem parking spot. I vehemently disagree with Jim’s shortsighted cheerleading back in 2008 that “If you are staying for 3-5 years, I wouldn’t worry too much.”
The 2/2 is unit 810, which might be smaller than yours. There are around 25 units for sale in this building currently, but no 07 tiers.
Sorry Bob, but if your are trying to imply that Monteria made a bad investment using the the listing information for unit 810, you are off base. From the standards of that building, the unit you reference is actually a one bedroom plus den. Sure, the price of her property may or may not have dropped, but I find your post a bit misleading.
500 W Superior St unit 609 is a two bedroom two bath unit listed for $349,000. It claims 1,036 square feet without parking. MLS 07740848. Does not appear to be a short sale.
Unit #1108 is a 2/2 listed as a short sale with an ask price of $300k. Parking does not appear to be included.
Update: unit 810 is still for sale, no change in price.
Unit 1108 had it’s ask price cut to 275k. Parking an additional 35k so total of 310k.
Unit 804 is a 2 bedroom, 2 bath with 1,000 listed square feet listed on 11/21 with an ask price of 299k. MLS 07948326.
Unit #1604 is a 2 bedroom, 2 bath with 1,100 square feet listed on 12/13 with an ask price of 300k. I’d bet the view is a lot better than unit 804’s for only 1k more. MLS 07960141.
Unit #1607 is a 2 bedroom, 2 bath with 1,095 square feet listed on 8/17/11 with an ask price of $439,200. Add 35k for parking and it’s at $474,200. MLS 07882860.
Unit #2206 is a 2 bedroom, 2 bath with 1,100 square feet listed on 10/19/2011 with an ask price of 450k. Price cut a whopping $5,100 on 11/28/11. But you need to add $35,000 for parking to the $444,900 to arrive at an all in cost of $479,900. MLS 07928528.
This is likely the unit next to Monteria who posted above.
Unit #1002 is a 2 bedroom, 2 bath with 1,164 square feet listed on 3/3/2011 with an ask price of $445,000. You need to add 30k for parking to arrive at an all in cost of $475,000. MLS 07744640.
Unit #701 is a 3 bedroom, 3 bath with 1,309 square feet listed on 1/19/2011 with an ask price of $450,000. You need to add 35k for parking to arrive at an all in cost of $485,000. MLS 07713912.
There are a lot of properties right now that have been sitting and sitting. Sorry for the boring posts lately- but there really isn’t anything great to talk about (or so it seems.) it is really slow and/or the properties have been around for forever. Many of the ones with long market times don’t even bother to cut their prices. So they sit and sit. And the foreclosures and short sales sell instead.
If anyone sees anything “interesting”- shoot me an e-mail with the address. Thanks!
Unit 701 is now a short sale with an ask price of 385k. Oddly enough on this MLS listing it is listed as a two bedroom, two and a half bath unit. I guess the previous listing agent was playing games with the number of bedrooms unless some remodeling was done.