In the interest of full disclosure, yeah I live in Chicago’s East Village, so I’m a cheerleader for the neighborhood. I also keep a close eye on the real estate market here so when a transaction like 1703 W Huron comes along it gets my attention. Not only was this transaction at the upper end of the price range we normally see here (though they are becoming more and more frequent) it also netted the sellers a 30.6% gain on their March 2, 2010 purchase – or close to $305,000. That’s incredibly good when you realize that the Case Shiller price index for Chicago was up maybe 5% in that same time period. Oh…one more thing…the house was sold before it ever got a chance to be put on the MLS.
I spoke with the listing agent, Ted Mortellaro, who was kind enough to give me some of the background on the property and he also sent me some photographs which I put together in a slide show that you can see below. The photographs, which were taken by Ted, were for his own benefit and not intended to be used on the MLS. He never got around to shooting professional photographs because the property sold so quickly. But these photos still look pretty darn good for amateur shots.
On the buy side the current sellers benefited from a highly motivated builder who was selling as the market was still heading downwards. So they got a really good deal. On the sell side there just happened to be the perfect buyers waiting in the wings for a house exactly like this one in a market with very few choices available. When the buyers heard that this house was coming on the market they pounced quickly and decisively and didn’t mess around on the price. The sellers got exactly what they wanted. Normally I don’t like it when houses are sold like this but it sounds like the sellers got a fair deal. All the planets just happened to align.
Here are some of the specifics of this house that made it worth the $1.3 MM price tag and you can see from the slideshow below that this house has top of the line finishes.
- 26.5 x 124 lot – so the house is wider than most, which gives it a more spacious feel
- 4400 square feet – also larger than most
- Built on 4 levels
- Loads of outdoor space
- 2 fireplaces
- Includes a sauna
The description below is from the original listing since Ted had no reason to write up a full description:
Modern Indulgence. Wide Expansive 4400+ sqft New Construction Single Family 26.5 Wide Lot. Fluid Intergration of Ionized Aluminium, Tmbled Stone, Modular Masonary, Opaque Glass. Professional Kit, 48″Jenn Air, Dble Viking, Gaggenau Coffee/Espresso Dble Fsher Pykel, 2 Wfrplcs, Radiant Heat, Zoned HVAC, Central Vac, Infrared Sauna, Steam, Wet Bar,Endless Outdoor Space.
BTW, the circumstances of this sale make the point that I think is really hard for sellers to get and realtors don’t like to admit. So much of selling a house is random. It all depends upon who is looking to buy in your market at that particular time and what other choices are available at that particular time. And you never know how it’s going to turn out ahead of time.
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