When Will the Mansions Sell? 3251 N. Lakewood in Lakeview
This 5-bedroom home at 3251 N. Lakewood in the Southport neighborhood of Lakeview has been on the market since April 2009.
It was newly built in 2009 and has still not sold from the developer.
The house has been reduced $255,000 in that time.
The brick and limestone house was built on a standard 25×125 Chicago lot.
The listing says it has an extra wide 20 foot interior.
4 bedrooms are on the second floor with the 5th in the lower level.
It also has luxury millwork, moldings and a mahogany library.
The house has a 2-tiered deck and a 2-car garage.
These unsold million dollar homes almost made it into the top 3 biggest stories of 2011, as they did for 2010.
Will they finally start selling in 2011?
Jennifer Ames at Coldwell Banker has the listing. See the pictures here.
3251 N. Lakewood: 5 bedrooms, 4.5 baths, 5200 square feet, 2 car garage
- Sold in March 2006 for $695,000 (the prior house which was torn down)
- Originally listed in April 2009 for $2.38 million
- Reduced several times
- Currently listed for $2.125 million
- Taxes of $6040
- Central Air
- Bedroom #1: 20×15 (second floor)
- Bedroom #2: 14×11 (second floor)
- Bedroom #3: 11×14 (second floor)
- Bedroom #4: 11×10 (second floor)
- Bedroom #5: 11×14 (lower level)
Jenny Ames does great photos! Love seeing the entire house. Looks pleasant but no idea on pricing. Would have to study all of the comps.
“Will they finally start selling in 2011?”
No.
Altho, if this is the comp, it certainly looks like a deal:
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/1342-W-Melrose-St-60657/home/13382190
[nice typo]
Beautiful home,
but 2 million seems so so steep…even for a SFH..i mean, i’d think something like 1.6 was more realistic…but then again, i’m not familiar with comps. heck, this is lakeview, not lincoln park.
“Altho, if this is the comp, it certainly looks like a deal:
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/1342-W-Melrose-St-60657/home/13382190
[nice typo]”
wow, those taxes are cheap!
Also:
To get to the “5200+” SF, they must be counting some of the outdoor space. The house is 20′ wide and *maybe* 75′ long (x 3 = 4500) + ~300 sf for the laundry & mud rooms.
Wow, 1342 Melrose sold for $100,000,000? that must be a record for any residential property in the area!
Seriously, my wife and I looked at 1342 back in may of 09 — chaz walter had the listing at the time. Was a short sale then — owner purchased for $1.64, initially listed for $1.9, when we saw it in may it had been reduced to $1.35. Property was nice, but strange theatre room in basement, and weird master which felt like a cathedral. Felt overpriced at $1.35 back in 09. What did it actually sell for?
very nicely staged..
“What did it actually sell for?”
I’d wager $1mm that it was $1,000,000.00 and the realtor asst who typed the closing price into the MLS left out the decimal point.
Nice photos. This place has never been occupied. That newness has got to have some value to someone.
My gut unscientific feel is this is a $1,000,000 house. Which still requires a $250,000 down payment. So yes a mil seems cheap but with a 25% down payment it’s not for lightweights.
This place is gorgeous. I really like the floor plan.
This is my hood and I like it, but if I had $2 mil, I’d be elsewhere.
“My gut unscientific feel is this is a $1,000,000 house. ”
*I’d* move were it $1mm. Riz’s $1.6 would prob get it done quickly.
“*I’d* move were it $1mm.”
Really? Methinks you might be overestimating the price you can sell your place for. Or do you _really_ have 250k liquid in Chicago RE and are willing to double down?
like russ said 25% is the new 20% and like what i’m going to say, a million dollar home is truly a million dollar home.
“Really? Methinks you might be overestimating the price you can sell your place for. Or do you _really_ have 250k liquid in Chicago RE and are willing to double down?”
It’s a rhetorical device, Bob. I’m happy where I am, wouldn’t move into a different attendance area, and don’t particularly like this house (it’s nice, but not *that* nice, to me). But at $1mm, it would be “cheap”, and I think it would quickly find a buyer at ~$1.6mm.
“It’s a rhetorical device, Bob.”
I understand that but had to expose it as such to show my difference of opinion regarding valuations at this level. Quickly find a buyer at 1.6MM? I think more like 1.35MM. We’ll see.
“Quickly find a buyer at 1.6MM? I think more like 1.35MM. ”
And thus you show that you agree with me that, at $1mm, it would be attractive to (at least a few) people–like me–who wouldn’t otherwise consider it.
what’s everyone’s take on this description from the realtor?
“…this… home was designed in the piano nobile architectural style, which places the main living space on the floor above the entry level. With this layout, the living, dining, kitchen, and family rooms enjoy an abundance of natural light, privacy, and expansive views through oversized windows. With the home’s front door on the level below, the typical Chicago scenario where you walk in the front door and are standing in the living room has been thoughtfully avoided.”
Seems a nice way of saying one third of the living space is below grade. but maybe I’m wrong?
this place is pretty uninspiring for 2mm, plus you are right off belmont. i’d agree 1.3 would get it done quickly
this isn’t a mansion… its a mccrapbox
mansions are huge stately residences not this 5200 sqft piece of toll brothers inspired crap
yeah yeah ok maybe its a little nicer than a toll brothers home, but my “mansion” isn’t going to have the front door in the “garden unit” portion of the house
and yeah yeah this house is REALLY nice and If i won the megamillions i would have one sort of like it but it doesn’t fit my definition of a mansion, more like a typical upper end SFH in the city.
I do like the all brick!
Thanks for the calcs anon(tfo). I love seeing what architects can do, or try to do, on standard 25×125 lots. How did they get that “extra wide 20′ width”? Did you take a look at the south property line? It looks like almost zero setback, the floorplans show very few windows, one of which is in the kitchen and looks directly into the neighbors wall. There is something going on with the south property line.
PS Love the paint colors, exceptionally well chosen.
I’m no fan of the location, but this is a very nice place. Somebody will buy it soon for around $1.5.
“Somebody will buy it soon for around $1.5.”
No they won’t. The seller would have to be able to sell for that and agree to sell for that. My (out of the air) guess is they can’t stomach that kind of loss so we’re talking about a bank repossession. That means go through the foreclosure process which takes a couple of years.
There could be someone who wants to buy this for 1.5-1.75 today but due to bank incompetence it will take a couple of years. Maybe in 2014 but by then I’m thinking 1.35.
It appears the builder can definitely hold out, so who knows how much more equity they can burn through trying to get a 2.2MM price. Given the very minor price reductions the past 18 months they certainly don’t seem to be in a hurry to sell.
Lovely place. I think $1.6 is a bit low. I’d say it goes for $1.8 to $1.9.
Can anyone figure out what that last picture is? Is that some sort of a den? Maybe a hallway to nowhere? An upscale time-out room?
it’s the wine cellar
“the floorplans show very few windows”
That is funny, given that the reason for the ground floor entrance is to improve the views from the main living floor.
“There is something going on with the south property line.”
Pretty typical to minimize the lotline on one side. And completely okay in the building code, as long as the structure is “fireproof”.
“The seller would have to be able to sell for that and agree to sell for that. My (out of the air) guess is they can’t stomach that kind of loss so we’re talking about a bank repossession.”
Yeah, that’s, of course, the problem. It *would* sell for 1.5-1.75, but the seller *will not* accept an offer at that level.
this is W of Ashland but I like it better for the Double lot…
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/3535-N-Paulina-St-60657/home/13386886
Not a mansion. Mansions have some yard and not decks over the alley and garbage.This is upscale but not gracious. The open floor plan is still there but more hidden by (standard) millwork and the fireplaces are cheap. Closer to 1.8 is more reasonable but I would not pay that price for that location.
What gets me is the frame door showers in the bathrooms.
At this price point you should have frameless glass doors – otherwise it feels a little like a home depot special.
I don’t know enough about the area to say whether or not it is a 1.3 or 1.6 mil place. I think it tends toward the higher of that range.
and not to speak for anon(tfo), but in my particular case…yes it is completely possible without it hurting to throw down the down payment and double down on Chicago real estate. But I like my Old Town so I wouldn’t personally for this property.
Oh and the Ames team is a decent machine.
I will never understand why people feel they need all that space, all those rooms. Even with three kids to fill the bedrooms, a place like this would feel lonely to me. Maybe I’m just not very American in that regard. Or just not to the manor born.
“What gets me is the frame door showers in the bathrooms.”
Master is frameless. The 2d ensuite may be–hard to tell. Also appears to be pre-made bases in the showers, rather than custom, which I also would expect at over $2mm.
The ground floor layout is also curious, in that it is not well suited for a nanny/inlaw. I like what they did with the front and back of the floor, but question the arrangement of the mech/bedroom/recroom.
What is that last picture? A hallway to nowhere???
I’ve lived a little north of here the past couple of years, and the stretch of single family homes on the same side of Lakewood between School and Roscoe is a nice stretch, with most of the homes having sold for or having been built for between $1.3M and $2.1M. The block south of School isn’t as nice. This is in the Blaine school district, and will probably sell for around $1.7M. There is currently an office in the garden level from what I can remember (for a realtor or the builder).
I’d offer 1.25M for it personally but its value is north of 1.5M imo.
Beautiful home.
LOL at that place on paulina being in the “sopoco”
not even close and that house is crappy compared to this one
@ anon(tfo)
“Master is frameless. The 2d ensuite may be–hard to tell. Also appears to be pre-made bases in the showers, rather than custom, which I also would expect at over $2mm.”
so either way…we agree. Probably not the showers expected in this price point.
“so either way…we agree. Probably not the showers expected in this price point.”
Yeah. The one I focused on on first pass was the kids bath, with the very basic-looking everything … I know that kids =/= luxury, but it looked cheap-y to me. Totally missed the framed shower door, which sux on many levels, especially if you are at all tall.
“LOL at that place on paulina being in the “sopoco”
not even close and that house is crappy compared to this one”
Sure, it isn’t as nice (tho a lot of that is the non-neutral decor), but it’s $325k less and has an extra lot. And who wants to live in SoPoor anyway?
the paulina one is similar finishings and has an extra lot so i’d go for that one. I can’t see paulina selling for more than 1.4 though either. the side lot is really nicely done as is the patio and garage deck. It’s unfortunate that the pictures don’t do the place justice, i walk past it all the time.
first floor is below grade, so its only worth $500,000.
“first floor is below grade, so its only worth $500,000.”
Alternately, if it were built on a slab, it would only be worth $375k.
this finely finished 5,200-plus-square-foot brick and limestone single-family home was designed in the piano nobile architectural style, which places the main living space on the floor above the entry level
Not a fan of stepping down to a house or apartment, it really cheapens the dwelling and ruins the streetscape. This developer has squeezed every bit out of this lot and strangely this house feels small and squished down. Although the interior looks well done, this house will not sell for anywhere close to the asking price due to the depressed first floor, or should I say basement entrance.
Why can’t developers put knobs and handles on kitchen and bathroom cabinets and drawers? The developer of my (considerably less expensive) house did not do this, and I thought they were just being cheap. The developers spend so much on staging, why no knobs and handles? For 2 + mil, I want some nice knobs and handles.
Someone pls explain.
Unless someone “falls in love” with this place, the developer is going to have a very difficult time unloading this place. Home prices are still dropping, and at the high end, there is obviously more room for that to happen. The analysts’ consensus for home prices is between a 5-10% drop this year nationwide. Now obviously there’s a bit of lumpiness in the nationwide drop, and in Chicagoland, the drop will vary greatly between condos, SFRs, suburbs and near suburbs (e.g., Evanston), but I suspect that $2MM SFRs not in Lincoln Park have some room to go down. So you’re gonna drop $2MM on this place when there’s a significant possibility that the value of this home could be 10% less in one year, that’s $200K? On top of that, a buyer has to know that the developer has significant carrying costs for this place (property taxes, possibly interest on a construction loan). It would be interesting to see just how many permits are going up for $2MM SFRs in the City of Chicago over the next six months. My bet is not many. So in a climate of uncertainty and soft demand, someone is going to drop $2MM on such a house? Doesn’t seem likely.
Housing is in a classic deflationary spiral. No one wants to buy because prices may go down, which means less demand, and lower prices. HIgh-end homes like that get killed in such a market.
“This is in the Blaine school district”
The listing says it is in Burley. Maybe that’s why it’s still on the market?
It’s in Burley’s boundaries, and no, that’s not the reason. Burley has been producing test scores equal to or exceeding Blaine’s for a number of years now.
Really? Then why don’t most of the listings in that district say “Burley school district” like they do when they’re listed in Blaine or Bell? I know nothing about the schools- so I’m just asking this as a general question. Why isn’t Burley as much of a selling point as Blaine then?
Let the customer pick’em must be the rationale, it’s a “custom” home!
“Why can’t developers put knobs and handles on kitchen and bathroom cabinets and drawers?”
Burley doesn’t have the city-wide notoriety as Blaine. It also casts a wider net for students. Hamilton is improving and Audubon is very popular but you don’t hear about them because the track record is shorter (especially in the case of hamilton.
Hamilton was about to close, but was saved due to its good test scores. It only goes unti 1:45 and starts early at 7:30am.
Burley’s kindergarten is at Prescott due to space issues because of its popularity.
The knobs and handles might be missing because they might want the new owner to pick what they want and have it installed. Could be included in the purchase price.
Right, I have lived across th street from Hamilton for a while and the change there has been pretty breathtaking. High levels of parent involvement, a big push for all day kindergarten.
If they would take an offer of 1.75 – 1.8mm this place would sell very quickly.
Most people on here also grossly underestimate the number of people that can put down $250k plus on a home. Chicago is a large city with a number of highly compensated individuals.
clio?
No, jw. Just cognizant that there is a meaningful amount of wealth in the city (vs trying to feel better by claiming “nobody can afford these homes” like most on this site do). As of 1999 (most recent detailed census information), 26,031 households in the city of Chicago made >$200k per year. Over the past decade, wages for high earners have grown much more than the average wage growth of the overall population.
http://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-Midwest/Chicago-Population-Profile.html
I’m not claiming that somebody making $200k can afford a $2mm house, but pointing out that when you adjust for (i) inflation on earnings; and (ii) look at the additional 100k households a decade ago making +$100k, there are a lot of high wage earners in Chicago.
As another point, 20% of Chicago households make >$100k and most of that wealth is concentrated in a few areas in Chicago – the median income for LP is $71k vs the average for the area of ~$40k (and this median is pulled down by the concentration of subsidized row housing just north of North Ave – i.e. there are a lot high earners as demonstrated by the 2nd graph where a meaningful % of LP households earn >$200k)
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20100614/PAGES/2399/daley-income-map#axzz19bltds5Q
http://www.city-data.com/neighborhood/Lincoln-Park-Chicago-IL.html
Not everybody is poor or average.
The house to the south appears to be resting on this house. Only a matter of time before that building falls over. Unreal
Trying to figure out where some of the negative comments come from! True, it is not Lincoln Park, but there are several homes that have sold for over 2MM in the past 5 years on both Lakewood and Henderson. I lived on Lakewood, one block north in a nearly identical house built by the same developer for four years. Fabulous neighborhood that many families actually prefer to LP, and a fantastic home. To those of you who were wondering,the point of the 2nd floor “piano nobile” main spaces is to allow for a large entry foyer, a private first-floor home office, and a full guest suite that can be entered or left without ever disrupting the family spaces. It also lets people who like formal living spaces have a large living room with lots of light. It might sound weird, but I personally find more “standard” floor plans I’ve seen to be awkward. Why do I want to have people walk in my front door and suddenly find themselves standing on a tiny landing strip of tile that offers them no room to move and is basically in the middle of my living room? If you like to entertain or work from home, the way this house is laid out is great. I’m sure it would “sell quickly for 1.6 or 1.3” as someone pointed out, but that’s not going to happen, because the developer is not in trouble and can afford to wait to get what it’s worth. To the person who was wondering about the last photo, it is not a “hallway to nowhere”…ever seen a wine cellar before someone puts the wine in?
This one finally sold at $1.89 million.