16.4% Below 2004 Price – Another Bucktown Deal Or Not?

Here is another single family home that recently sold in Bucktown for what appears to have been a bargain basement price and this time there doesn’t appear to be any shady dealings going on. Or maybe it wasn’t such a bargain. You tell me.

This home at 1932 N Hermitage last sold in January 2004, well below the bubble peak, for $625,000. According to the listing the owner put additional money into it. It closed in October at $522,500 after being on the market for 7 months in 2009 but only 27 days in 2010 listed at a much lower price.

The reason I flagged this home is because of the amount of space it appears to have for the price it sold at – a lot for Bucktown. The room dimensions alone add up to over 2300 square feet but admittedly over 500 square feet of this space is in the second floor loft. Also, to put this in perspective Chicago single family home prices have dropped 14% on average since January 2004.

Nevertheless, the seller did put an unspecified amount of money into the property after they purchased it and the finishes appear to be fairly high end. And this home appears to have sold for a lot less than other Bucktown homes of similar size and finish – i.e. I don’t think quality Bucktown home prices have fallen like the average. Here is the description from the MLS along with some property stats:

A steal!!! Gorgeous contemporary home w/ incredible finishes in Bucktown! 1st flr: livng rm w/ fp, mstr bdrm w/huge wic, mstr bath w/granite, Jaczzi tub & sep shower, incredible eat-in kitch w/Subzero, Viking, Thermador, Bosch, granite & cherry cabinets. Lg deck , 2 car grg. 2nd flr: Loft (currently used as mstr bdrm) granite bath w/shower. Lowr lvl: large family rm w/sep. entrance, wet bar, 2 brs, bth. AMAZING!!!

 Seller wants a quick sale! This is an amazing price…check out the layout because it isn’t a standard single family home floor plan. Your clients can move in immediately! Sellers paid $625,000 in 2004 and put more money into the home!

• 3 bedrooms
• 3 bathrooms
• 2 car garage
• Standard sized lot (a lot of Bucktown lots are shorter)

Check out some of these interior photos:

The initial pricing of the home was not conducive to a sale. They started at $699,000 in May 2009 and dropped the price 3 times before ending up at $599,000 in October 2009. But by then the market had died down and it might have been too little too late so they took it off the market at the end of that year. Then in August 2010 it came back on the market at $549,000 and went under contract within 2 weeks.

The fact that the home did not get an offer when it was listed at $599,000 (I guess that’s a somewhat reasonable assumption) is an indication that it wasn’t really worth anywhere near that amount and maybe the final sales price reflected a reasonable valuation. The home had some challenges to overcome, not the least of which was the location – very close to the highway and right across the street from the back of the Howard Orloff dealership. Location, location, location. The layout was also a bit disadvantaged – the bedrooms were split between 2 floors and the 2nd and 3rd bedrooms were in the basement. I have not been inside this home but if anyone else has I’d be interested in their thoughts.