I’ve noticed some recent listing activity at the ultra high end (> $6 MM) of the single family home market in Chicago so I decided to check in on this segment of the market to see how the rich and famous were doing. There are currently 12 single family homes on the market priced above $6 MM but in the last 12 months nothing has sold above $6 MM. The most expensive single family home sold was at 1425 N State Parkway for $5.78 MM almost 1 year ago today. That home had 6 bedrooms and 7 1/2 baths in approximately 8,000 square feet. It looks like Chicagoans were more likely to spend the big bucks on condos rather than single family homes since there were actually 5 closings in the last year of condos priced between $6 – 7 MM – nothing above $7 MM.
So here is a sample of the single family homes on the market today at the top end:
Lincoln Park 2520/2550
3 of the 12 homes don’t actually exist yet. They are planned, custom, new construction homes within the Lincoln Park 2520 development on Deming Place near Lakeview Avenue. Actually, I don’t know if this development is called 2520 or 2550. The listings say 2520 and it has been referenced by this name in the past but the 2520 Web site redirects to a 2550 Web site. Go figure.
433 W Deming is the most expensive single family home for sale in Chicago, listed at $10,895,000. It is proposed as a 12,000 – 14,000 sq ft home on a 108 x 80 ft lot. The developer is putting a value of $4.4 MM on the lot alone so the construction budget is assumed to be $6.5 MM.
421 W Deming is proposed as a 10,000 – 12,000 sq ft home on an 81 x 80 ft lot listed at $8,795,000. The lot is assumed to be $3.3 MM.
429 W Deming is also proposed as a 10,000 – 12,000 sq ft home on an 81 x 80 ft lot valued at $3.3 MM but it is listed at $8,595,000. It’s not clear why this one is listed lower than 421 W Deming but I assume they are trying to demonstrate a lower cost alternative for the price conscious.
All 3 homes are envisioned as 6 bedrooms and 6 1/2 baths with a 4 – 8 car attached garage but I’m sure this can change depending upon how the buyer customizes the floor plan. As part of the 2520/ 2550 development these homeowners will have access to “the concierge, a state-of-the-art fitness facility, an indoor lap pool, steam and sauna, massage treatment rooms, the billiards/library, the theatre room, the game room and the Lincoln Park 2550 Club Lounge with catering kitchen.” The monthly assessment for these homes is $696 for the lower priced homes and $928 for the higher priced home. There is also a master association fee which I believe is $3250/ year.
1508 N State Parkway
1508 N State Parkway is the most expensive home on the market that actually exists and it is the most recent one to hit the market. It is a 10,000 square foot house with 35 rooms, 14 bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, 10 fireplaces, 3 decks and a patio listed at $9,950,000. But it only has a 1 car garage??? Well, it was built in 1896, when they didn’t have cars, for Frederick Winston of Winston and Strawn.
As you can see from the slide show below the home has been updated in the past but the kitchen and baths are quite dated. And with the entire front of the house covered in ivy I wonder what that does to the structural integrity of the brick as a result of moisture retention and root attachment.
2466 N Lakeview Ave
2466 N Lakeview may be the most prominent of these homes since it was once owned by the Wrigley family and is consequently known as the Wrigley Mansion – or more appropriately, the Jannes, Theurer, Wrigley Mansion. It has been on the market for 297 days at $9.5 MM without a price drop. Sadly it appears to be in foreclosure, with a Lis Pendens filed back in May 2011. They previously had it listed at $11 MM back in 2005 and 2006. Records indicate it was purchased for $6 MM in April 2004 but some sources indicate it was purchased for $9 MM. The home is owned by Chicago attorney Ted Tetzlaff and his wife, Sarah.
Built on an 85 x 120 lot the home has 15,000 square feet with 9 bedrooms, 6 full baths, 3 half baths, and parking for 5 cars. The Italian Renaissance style home was built in 1894 and has been listed in the National Register of Historic Places since 1980. Wikipedia actually describes the home as being 20,000 square feet but that has to be wrong since a real estate agent would never underestimate the square footage of a house.
ChicagoMag.com has the best slide show of the Wrigley Mansion, with 46 photographs so I won’t even try to produce one here. What it shows is a spectacular home with incredible elegance from an era long gone. The kitchen appears to be very dated but in this case it’s part of the charm of the home.
21 E Cedar St
This one is interesting because it belongs to Demetris Giannoulias, a member of the family that raised eyebrows with the way they ran the failed Broadway Bank. I previously ran a post when this Giannoulias home was originally listed for sale at $7.5 MM. Just a few days ago they cancelled that listing and relisted it at $6.6 MM. It is now the cheapest of the 12 homes listed above $6 MM.