After 2 Years Last University Village Developer Units Sell $200,000 Below Original List

Over the last couple of months the last 2 developer townhomes in Chicago’s University Village quietly sold. Several months back the developer removed their sales center from the corner of Halsted and 14th Place but the two townhomes at 711 W 15th Place and 745 W 15th Place remained on the market and after almost 2 years finally sold once the prices were slashed to be in line with the other homes for sale in University Village. Here are the details:

711 W 15th Place

The exterior of this unit is pictured above. It is a 3000 square foot (the University Village developer has always included garage space in that number) 3 bedroom townhome with 3 full baths on 3 levels with a lower level storage unit (I’ve never seen this in University Village before and wonder if the listing is incorrect) and a 2 car attached garage. Here is the description from the MLS:

NEVER LIVED IN / This is it! Over 3,000 s.f. of living space. Designer finishes diagonal WALNUT hdwd floors/Gourmet kitchen/Ivory Maple Cabinets/custom design island with luxury granite & matching backsplash /stainless steel appliances/PRIVATE kitchen BALCONY/Master Bdrm w/walk-in closet, private den/Both baths with exquisite marble countertops/ sep shower/stereo surrd./ROOF TOP DECK w/downtn views. UPGRADES GALORE…NEW & NEVER LIVED IN / DEVELOPER OWNED… NO OTHER HOME IN UNIVERSITY VILLAGE LIKE THIS! OVER $70,000 IN UPGRADES.

With a $287/ month assessment, it was originally listed in the MLS back in October 2009 for $600,000. Then in February of 2010 the price was raised to $700,000, probably because they upgraded the finishes but by August 2010 the price was whacked back to $600,000. Then in October of 2010 they raised the price to $650,000 for one week followed by a price drop to $550,000 where it sat until it closed on December 16 for $509,300. Do you think that maybe the listing agent was playing pricing games with this one? They even relisted the property several times.
I haven’t actually walked over to this part of our development recently but I believe from the photos that this unit backs right up to the underside of the Dan Ryan, which could have made it a real challenge to sell.

745 W 15th Place

This townhome is 2320 square feet with 2 bedrooms, 2 full baths, and 2 half baths also on 3 levels and a 2 car attached garage. Here is the description from the MLS:

SIMPLY GORGEOUS/TOWNHOME MODEL now available. Professional, custom design. Upgraded from ceiling to floor. Kitchen w/Clove Maple cabinets, St. George custom granite countertops, designer appliances. Heated foyer tiles on 1st floor, walnut diagnl floors on the rest. Huge Master Bath Rain Shower & marble floor. Custom closets, stereo surround, w/chic, lighting thru out. Finished roof deck w/skyline view…*****BUILDER’S MODEL***HERE’S THE “WOW” YOUR CLIENTS ARE LOOKING FOR***DESIGNER FURNITURE AVAILABLE FOR SALE TOO***

From the photos this unit looks more elegant than 711 W 15th Place to me. With a $222/ month assessment, it was originally listed in the MLS back in October 2009 for $631,000 but the price was raised to $790,000 in February 2010. By August 2010 the price was dropped to $635,000 and then raised again to $825,000 for one week in October. The price then went down to $690,000 until April 2011 when they dropped it to $650,000 and then again dropping it to $550,000 in September 2011 where it sat until it closed on February 3 for $500,000. Does this pricing strategy look familiar?
Both of these sales were a dual agency situation, though the prices at which they sold seem reasonable for the market. Yet, I never understand why buyers put themselves in these situations with the developer’s agents.

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