Open House Visitors and Conversations about Chicago Real Estate
The funny thing about yesterday’s open houses is that both the Lincoln Park manse listed at $3.5m and the Lakeview condo at just more than one tenth the price did not attract visitors until the last five minutes.
At the Stuart Rose home at 2662 Geneva Terrace a young couple came first followed by an older couple self-described as empty nesters. For the young couple their preferred home cocktail is a three bed with a price cap that maxes at $700k. And while there’s a good amount of inventory in both Lincoln Park and Lakeview that responds to this criteria, the first question that peeps out of the shadows is whether they favor a duplex down.
In the past five years we have witnessed (in my opinion) a down turn in public confidence in duplex down stock. In large part this stems from half the home being below grade. And in many newer homes each of the three bedrooms is on this lower level, further dampening enthusiasm.
On the positive side there is often enough space to work with – between 2400 and 3000 square feet. And typically there’s a garage top deck to go along with a rear balcony. But most of my clients today are not interested in the duplex down, with price tags typically north of $650k and sometimes in excess of $800k, unless the price is mitigated AND the condo is in a school district like Blaine, Burley, Nettlehorst or Alcott.
This was the sentiment of yesterday’s couple who had more interest in a top floor three bed with a rooftop deck. Even this commodity has been sorely impacted in the current environment with pricing of one condo at 3118 Sheffield listing flat at $650k, the same level where it sold three years back and probably a good five (if not more) points over where it might sell in the current environment. Another example is 855 Buckingham which lists at the odd $615k, $10k less than where it sold in 2007 and who knows how much higher than where it will sell now.
The great thing about the penthouse units is they trend toward spaciousness (typically 1650 – 2100 square feet) and this room is augmented beautifully by a rooftop deck that makes the abode seem that much larger. The outdoor space also can be outfitted with container plants and often has a city skyline backdrop. With an interior staircase, the deck seems like another room.
Four to five years ago there tended to be waiting lists for these condos, which completely favored developers. And while I noticed one developer unit having closed in the last six months of this type at 625 Buckingham, while topping the market at $675k it still closed for $50k less than its $725k ask price. An important consideration amid all the hubris is that the cost of building and completing this 2000 square foot home was much more exorbitant in today’s banking environment than when the last surge of finished extra wide condos in 2007.
Bottom line? It’s a great time to buy. But when your purchase is tied to the sale of a currently owned place, as I explained to the couple yesterday, you face the prospect of your for sale commodity taking it on the chin.
The second couple through, with a home in the suburbs, an in-town downtown and another residence in Florida had in mind something that is not typical to the Chicago market – a single family with master suite on the main level.
In Chicago, especially in northside neighborhoods like Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Roscoe Village, Bucktown and Lincoln Square, the lots upon which homes are built are one of three types: a standard lot is 25 feet wide and 125 long. Anything wider than this is, go figure, a wide lot and upon it is heaped a premium. We most often see in the wide column either 30 feet or 37.5 feet. A super wide of 50 feet is simply nabbing two side-by-side standards. What results on these lots includes 4200 sf homes on standards and, depending on zoning with the wider lots, as much as 8000 square feet.
And thus the terminology “McMansion” as homes span 20 to 35 feet of width on these lots, leaving a front collar of green and a sliver of space between the home’s rear and the two to three car garage. These homes tend to offer between four and six bedrooms with 3.5 or more baths. But no main level bedroom, master or otherwise.
None. Nada. Zilch.
The main level features formal living and dining rooms, kitchen and great room. Downstairs atop heated floors is a family room, laundry and usually two beds. Upstairs are bedrooms and baths, including the master suite. A wide lot will have four beds while a standard lot has three.
And that in a nutshell is a blue print for how newer Chicago homes lay out.
Questions about this or any other commodities in the Chicago market? Call or text me at your convenience at 773.848.9241 or email me at tom.mccarey@atproperties.com.
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