Poor Vince Vaughn has been trying to sell his super deluxe triplex penthouse condo in the Palmolive building since 2011. I first wrote about his ordeal in June 2012: More High End Luxury Penthouse Condos Hit The Market In Chicago.
The whole mess started when the poor guy bought the top 3 unfinished floors of the Palmolive building, totaling 12,000 square feet on floors 35 – 37, in 2006 for $12 MM and then created the ultimate bachelor pad. He first tried, unsuccessfully, to sell it privately in 2011 for $24.7 MM and then listed it for sale in June 2012 for $18.4 MM. The price was subsequently cut to $16.75 in September 2012 and then withdrawn from the market 5 months later so that he could try to once again privately market it – this time for $14.9 MM. It then came back on the market in February of last year for $13.9 MM only to be withdrawn once again in February of this year.
Apparently the feedback was that the place was just too big for most buyers – even in this price range. So on Monday of last week they put it back on the market but this time in two pieces:
- They were asking $4.2 MM for the 4292 sq ft 35th floor with 3 bedrooms and 3 1/2 baths.
- They were asking $8.5 MM for 7880 sq ft on the 36th and 37th floors with 3 bedrooms and 5 1/2 baths
So the total asking price was again a new low of $12.7 MM and there are definitely logistical issues in making these work as two separate units. For starters I’m sure that only one of these units has a real kitchen. In addition, as the Chicago Tribune points out, the internal staircase between the 35th and 36th floors would need to be removed and “the 35th floor largely would need to be redone”.
Well, oddly enough, on Monday of this week both units went under contract. Now how does that work? Different buyers on the same day? Whoever bought it…how did it happen so quickly? Were the buyers waiting in the wings the whole time? And if it’s the same buyer and that buyer had been identified ahead of time then why bother to create two separate listings?
And one other thing I want to point out while I leave you to ponder these minor mysteries of the universe. You see the history of this listing? Granted…higher priced listings like this are a real challenge to sell but it really does confirm what I always say: a property does not have a single value and real estate agents can never quite be sure what a home will sell for. There is just way more randomness in this business than most agents want to admit to.
#VinceVaughn #FamousHomes #RichAndFamous #ChicagoExpensiveHomes
Gary Lucido is the President of Lucid Realty, the Chicago area’s full service discount real estate brokerage. If you want to keep up to date on the Chicago real estate market, get an insider’s view of the seamy underbelly of the real estate industry, or you just think he’s the next Kurt Vonnegut you can Subscribe to Getting Real by Email using the form below. Please be sure to verify your email address when you receive the verification notice.