Waiting for a Buyer: 2814 N. Sheffield in Lakeview
Is it just me, or are market times increasing?
I haven’t seen any data lately. Most of the stats seem to focus on number of sales or prices.
But market time is also illustrative of the market conditions. Take 2814 N. Sheffield in Lakeview. It has been on the market for about 270 days.
Why?
It’s on Sheffield at Diversey. Is the El Line the problem? Or something else?
From the listing:
PENTHOUSE UNIT! NEW ROOF DECK WITH UNOBSTRUCTED CITY VIEWS AS WELL AS A FRONT BALCONY & REAR DECK. 3 BEDROOM, 2 BATH WITH 11′ CEILINGS & WIDE CROWN MOLDINGS; FRENCH DOORS OPEN TO 3RD BEDROOM. SPEAKERS IN EACH ROOM & ON ROOF. DUAL VANITY SEPARATE SHOWER IN BRIGHT MASTER BATH. SAME SIZE AS NEW CONSTRUCTION SELLING FOR $649K ON THE BLOCK! FIREPLACE, WASHER/DRYER, STORAGE & ATTACHED GARAGE INCLUDED.
Unit #4S: 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, rooftop deck
- Sold in February 2003 for $423,000
- Sold in July 2004 for $470,000
- Currently listed for $529,000
- Assessments of $250 a month
- Baird and Warner has the listing
Maybe there isn’t a market for cold, clinical, all-white condos in Chicago.
Is this simply a case where an interior paint job would help?
White Kitchen Cabinets, countertops, appliances, bathroom. Along with the walls being white throughout, that is porbably the most white I’ve seen in a unit in a while.
It is interesting to note that 270 days is about the length of time the Diversey brown line stop was closed for renovation. Could that limited access factor into a prospective buyer’s mind, particularly a buyer that would want to live next to the El?
“French doors” always a good indicator that the 3rd bedroom is much more of an office, so the unit is not really comparable to true 3 BR units. Probably overpriced by a good $75k plus whatever it takes to make it look less like a dentist’s office
It doesnt look like it has been upgraded in anyway from when it was purchased in 2004 so a buyer is prob. thinking about the cost of upgrades – and when was it built, if its 8-10 years old it could need some real work. Plus I think the french-door to third bedroom thing is an issue – either put in a real door or call it a 2 + office.
and yeah – that place is in need of some staging…a little paint, a couple of shower curtins…most people do not have an imagination when it comes to a properties potential!
1. If those cabinets are what I think they are, they are not very nice.
2. $529 is too much to live where you can hear every announcement on the el.
3. Its rental value is, what, $2500/month? That makes the ’03 sale price about right (including the ownership premium), today.
Not the other anon in this thread. I need to change my name.
If I were the seller, the first thing I would do is paint the entire unit! You can barely see the crown molding in these pics.
Imagine paying assessments, interest and homeowners insurance on a 400k mortgage for nine months. I’m just guessing that the flipper is out 25-30k already.
Of course in their mind if they’re sure they will eventually find a buyer at their ask its just a carrying cost and they’re up 25k 😀
Lets make it 18 months..
Hey Bob, they did own it for 3 years before listing it, so they probably aren’t a flipper. Even if you’re flipping a place you are living in, there’s no point in holding more than 2 years.
Listing after 3 years, with both purchase and list date in the summer, makes me think med school or law school and moving on or a pre-biz school job and leaving for HBS or something.
In any case, their prospective profit is getting killed by the long hold time. $500k would have covered realtor fees and may have gotten a buyer last summer.
I’d buy for $470-$480, but that offer will probably get laughed at…..if seller has lasted this long w/o price adjustment, seller probably would be underwater if unit sold less than $499.
The 2004 price is probably reasonable, I didn’t see a square footage listed but it’s a large unit in a great location. El noise could be a problem but -theoretically- being new construction, the insulation from concrete-block exterior walls and quality windows would make it fully livable.
The 2004 purchase for $470K was financed with a mortgage for $420K. That loan was refinanced for $417K on 1/24/08.
The seller appears to have room to negotiate.
People talk a lot on here about the profit “lost” because of carrying costs, but that assumes that the sellers are carrying two mortgages already. While I’m sure that’s true some of the time, I think some people begin with a high list price while they conduct a slow-paced house hunt (or they might have an unusually long wait before they close on the new place). So, they might figure there’s no sense dramatically lowering the price until they truly are losing money on a house they no longer need to live in.
Or — as has been the case in a few places I’ve looked at — they’ve just decided they’d eventually like to move. They list the place at an absurdly high price, possibly lower the price a few times to simply a relatively high price, and then sit on it until they find a buyer. Only then will they look for something else to buy. Not a bad strategy, but when the listing time starts to top a year, buyers become far harder to find.
If you overprice the unit in the beginning, the listing will become “stale” as it sits on the market. It then becomes harder to sell. Buyers love “new” on the market properties.
Also, your agent may abandon you (or you them) if, after months of “sitting on the market”, the property isn’t priced accurately.
We need to also understand that if you list the property to high, the wrong buyer segment will walk your open houses. They will see an overpriced home that is well within in their budget. This instead of drawing the correct buying segment that wants the quality, space and finishes they see.