Lassoing the Moon and Brokers Who “Aspirationally” Price Chicago Homes
We have passed the threshold of December 1st and upon us soon are the holy trilogy of holy events: Christmas, Hannukah and Kwanzai.
And as thoughts ceaselessly shift in my mind like so many waves along Lake Michigan the stutteringly smooth tones of George Bailey ring in my ears as he asks Mary on their first date in It’s a Wonderful Life,
What is it you want, Mary? What do you want? You want the moon? Just say the word and I’ll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. Hey. That’s a pretty good idea. I’ll give you the moon, Mary.
A lasso is a perfect tool for a real estate broker in today’s Chicago and North Shore market. Not only are we looking to heave our gilded rope skyward to snare the home of our clients’ dreams but in certain and distinctive ways we need to wield the rope like our dogey-chasing kinfolk on cattle drives of yore.
Except we are not chasing steer we are steering fellow realtors as we navigate the oddly contoured market, using our metaphorical lasso to do the steering.
I saw an interesting piece earlier this week that said more than 75% of home sellers across the country are failing to follow the data dictates of the market and are pricing their homes higher than the market appears willing to bear. When I am confronted with such “aspirational pricing,” I will reach out to the broker on the other side of the equation and seek their input as to the WHY behind their pricing. Thus I toss my lasso.
The point of this exercise is manifold. In the first place if they are relying on comps that I missed, I need to know so I can share this info with my buying clients. Honestly, though, I tend to crunch numbers exhaustively to derive an overview of value. And so the lasso I heave is more an effort to draw my professional real estate colleague into my own numeric corral. As the conversation goes on I suggest to the listing agent that my comps (which I share) suggest a different value than where they are priced. And on the basis of such comps how my client would act, if we were to proceed. Bottom line any offer would be seasoned by our reading of the market.
As the market has become increasingly challenging some brokers have really upped their games. I love working with these brokers who put in great effort to understand the market and valuation, working earnestly to serve the interests of their clients. Dialogs with these folks are stimulating and edifying.
The flip side of the coin are the brokers who offer no answers when asked what the basis of their list price is when it seems out of whack with the market. I recently had a conversation with such a broker who told me, “My pricing philosophy is irrelevant.”
But it is relevant, especially when third party financing is at stake and a thorough and exact reading of comps will determine if a loan is approved or denied.
And so the lasso is within easy reach when needed when working with my buying clients in Chicago and the North Shore. I even employ it with my prospective listing clients to establish a value range for their homes coming to market in this current environment that so significantly favors buyers.
As ever, I am ready and available for all of your questions and showing requests in the Chicago and North Shore real estate markets. You may reach me at 773.848.9241. Or email me at tom@therealestateloungechicago.com.
A Celebrity Seller with an Unsold Gold Coast Condo
On Sunday I met a couple at my Gold Coast open house at 1224 N Dearborn. As we talked about the overall Chicago market and more specifically the Gold Coast they told me that one of their primary considerations is square footage. For some reason this triggered in my mind a single floor residence at 1500 Astor that essentially has been in something of a free-fall since it first came to market in September 2008 at $5.5M.
This 3700 square foot slice of magnificence at the McCormick Mansion has since originally listing experienced four price reductions with three different listing agents and brokerages trying to respond to the needs of their celebrity client. So far, no luck as Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins remains both the owner indeed and in deed.
Today’s list price of $2.85M is $100k under what Corgan paid in 2002. With only two bedrooms and two and a half baths, this oversized square footage condo with monthly assessments of more than $2200 and annual taxes of more than $21k represents what can be best-termed a vanity purchase. At the end of the day the single question becomes where it will land.
Overarching analyses are moot in terms of cost per square foot and there aren’t real life comps to offer a road map as to value. In the truest sense the prospective sale of this residence is how the market will respond – when will one party come in and make an offer that will result in a conversation with the seller that leads to the consummation of a deal that closes. And if the market continues to not respond, how will the seller respond?
If the past three years are any indication the seller will move to another brokerage while footing monthly service costs of roughly $5k (assuming the original purchase was cash).
Where will it end? As this home is not my listing I can only look at it through the prism of what my clients say. And what they say is for two bedrooms and as many baths with one powder room and a tiny galley kitchen this home is severely overpriced. And with more than three years on the market now this home is terribly stale.
One important consideration, though, is what this home represents. When first listed this condo came to the market at $5.5M. At that point and at that price it was terribly and unrealistically priced. Would it have sold at a more realistic price? Maybe. When something is so egregiously mispriced what occurs is the listing atrophies. And that is what this Gold Coast listing has done. The only folks who seem to be engaged in vanity purchases are international clients or domestic purchasers who prefer fuller amenity buildings.
But should this property (or any other Chicago or North Shore property) intrigue you, feel free to contact me directly to make a private showing appointment at 773.848.9241.
A Stunning Penthouse Rises at The Elysian in Chicago
Searching for gold.
Much like 49er’s in days of old, sifting at the river bank for ingots, nuggets and glimmers of gold. That’s what a modern-day Realtor is like, helping clients discern between fools gold and the real thing.
A few days ago a new Gold Coast luxury listing caught my eye, suggesting that it is the real thing.
Located at The Elysian at the corner of Rush and Walton, the unit is offered for $6.35M USD and features 6500 square feet on a single level with 360 degree views in a Five Star setting. Delivered unfinished, the home has four bedrooms, an office, a library, and a terrace.
But perhaps the singular difference maker in this mansion in the sky is a 20-foot window in the living room that sports unmatchable views.
The word “soaring” comes to mind. Efficiently, effectively and effusively describing what you witness as you stand in the midst of this home.
Spying something akin to a view forever, whether you peer upward to the clouds veritably lofting by your windows or as you look toward the ground and find your view punctuated Chicago’s magnificent skyline and bracketed by the azure of the lake.
Either way you look, things are looking up from this luxurious abode in the heart of the Gold Coast where anything you might want is a short walk away whether it’s the casual luxury of Gibson’s or the timeless style of Louis Vuitton, 11 East Walton is ensconced in the rattle and hum of a world class district.
And should staying in be more to your liking, The Elysian offers world class services via in home dining, spa services, and an absolute spectrum of services associated with a five star hotel.
If you have any questions about this property, wish to view it or any other luxury listing in Chicago or the North Shore, I invite you to contact me directly at 773.848.9241.
And don’t hesitate to share this information with someone who may have interest in this unique and appealing home.
Plumbing the Depths . What’s in my Pocket Today?
What’s in your pocket?
Today, I bet, what’s there is different than what was there five years ago. And of course it’s different than when you were five years old. Every stage there’s something different taking up space in our pocket(s).
I thought of this yesterday as my hand struggled into and out of the pocket of my fleece jacket.
The jacket has two marsupial side pockets. Plus there’s a single exterior breast pocket beneath the Patagonia insignia. Relying only on my right hand to try to find my SUV keys so I could head to a showing appointment in Lakeview I stumbled across an iPhone ear piece, a clump of my sons’ silly bands, some intact Starbucks napkins (perfect for my ubiquitous runny nose) doing battle with ATM slips and Target receipts and a few single floating pieces of gum.
Just a few short years ago, I thought, more than likely this pocket would have held a pacifier, readily available to soften the mood of one of my two boys . Before I became an award-winning Chicago and North Shore Realtor buzzing around town showing single family homes and condos to my buying and for my selling clients this pocket may have held a CTA pass, to bounce me to some downtown desk for a day in the life.
Occasionally the same pockets would hold funny fortunes from fortune cookies that I always intended to save but never quite got around to it. Ticket stubs from both movies and Cubs games would wind up in there along with loose change, spare keys and random bits of this and that simply stopping for a moment before the next destination.
The next destination. Sometimes we know it’s off in the horizon and we await its arrival. Last year at this time Nicole and I and the boys were prepping for a trip to Paris. This year we are getting ready for a family adventure that has us driving to New Mexico and Texas for the holidays.
Sometimes the next thing is an unknown thing. Earlier this summer we had no idea that come fall the boys would be at Baker Demonstration School in Wilmette, thinking instead that the fall would have Jackson in Kindergarten at Nettelhorst and Lucas hanging out with mom and dad with a year to spare before heading to school.
The point, I guess, is things change. The goal, perhaps, is to be able to adapt easily and comfortably. Not that I always succeed.
What I have noticed, though, is that when it comes to my real estate practice, I tend to make the shifts pretty smoothly, pretty gracefully. And like carrying the items in my pocket that are relevant to me today my “tool kit” related to my work as a Chicago and North Shore real estate broker is geared to seamlessly respond to my buying and selling clients’ needs as they are today.
To roll old school with air quotes clawing the space in front of me this is a “win win.” Clients are happy. I am happy. And life goes on with giggles and grins just like in musicals and fairy tales.
Speaking of giggles and grins, the market right now is extremely active in the city and the North Shore. So if one item you are thinking of adding to your pocket is a set of new house keys, let me know. I will be more than happy to help you realize this goal.
My direct line is 773.848.9241. Giggles and grins are complementary.
By the way, the dance card is pretty full Sunday with my Andersonville townhome at 1801 Winnemac Unit C open with Mitch Aronson from 11-1, 1224 N Dearborn in the Gold Coast hosted by me from 11-1 and 3315 N Lakewood in Lakeview with me from 1.30-3.30.
Every Day a New Beginning (Mind, That Is)
Beginner’s mind.
Zen teacher Shunryu Suzuki brought this notion to full flower when he said – In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, in the expert’s mind there are few.
For more than 10 years I have assisted buyers and seller in the Chicago and North Shore real estate markets with their real estate transactions. The trust placed in me by my clients since I became a Realtor has placed me among the highest echelon of real estate brokers associated with the Chicago Association of Realtors.
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