Sales update: Prices drop at Converge
Posted 4/30/2008 by Joseph Askins
It appears that Peak Development has dropped prices at Converge by $40,000 to $60,000 in hopes of selling the building's remaining two-bedroom units.
Technical difficulties kept me from talking to Danny Glick of @properties for more than a few seconds, but that was enough time to learn that the six unsold units at 744 W Fullerton Ave are now selling from the $410s to the $450s. That's less than the $470s-to-$490s range still listed on the @properties site, or the $480,000 pre-opening incentive we reported during the project's infancy.
Branching out into the surrounding neighborhood, the two-bedroom condos northwest of Converge at 919 W Altgeld St start in the $520s, while the two-bedrooms two blocks west at 926 W Fullerton Ave start in the $610s, so Converge is bringing up the rear, price-wise. Will this latest adjustment be enough?
Comments
4/30/08
Stokes said:
What a chop job! That looks about 1/100th as good as the marketing image. No wonder they're not selling.
Stokes said:
Original design here…
http://www.atproperties.com/development/10123
paulj said:
You'd have to be a lilliputian to live in those units. Notice there are no dimensions on the floor plans. Is the master even 10×12? These will sell in the mid 300's.
Carter said:
…and yet another development that promised lush, beautiful trees on a street that doesn't appear to be wide enough to allow them.
yoreader said:
I was in one of these units in March - felt very, very small. Great building for those that have a lot of photocopying to do though
Joe Zekas said:
paulj,
Instead of indulging your prejudices you could have gone to Realtor.com and learned that the master bedroom dimensions are 11 x 15. Or you could have made a phone call to the agent or developer.
If you were incredibly lazy you could have used the bathtub as a rough scale and learned how wildly off-base your guesstimate was.
You do your credibility no good when you take wild, unsupported shots.
Your price opinion is just as valid as your opinion on the dimensions - worthless.
Danny said:
Youch! Well I'll be sure not to make any speculations on the dimensions of anything. However, I will say I really wanted to like this building. I don't mind being on a busy street for the right price, but when I walked by a few weeks ago, the building looked incredibly cheap. It's a great example of something that looked decent on paper, but when you let everyone put in their ugly window treatments and start piling up their junk near the windows, the place immediately starts to feel messy and slummy.
5/1/08
paulj said:
Joe, I clicked on unit 204, I think you are mistaken. The master is tiny, not 11×15. Other plans seem to have larger masters bedrooms.
And enough with your child-like barbs about being worthless. It really brings you and your site down a few notches. Show some restraint. My pricing opinion is just that, an opinion. Dimensions, on the other hand, we can measure.
I think mid 300's is a reasonable price in this market. Let's check back in 3-6 mos. Deal?
Joe Zekas said:
paulj,
Is 204 one of the units on the market? I haven't checked. Have you? I linked to a unit that is on the market.
Read what you said. You didn't say "unit 204." You said "those units … these will sell" without any qualification.
Have you been to this project and seen Unit 204? Doesn't appear so. Seen the comps? Have a solid familiarity with the location?
An overbroad unsupported opinion is worthless. That's going to be as true 3 to 6 months from now as it is today. What brings our site down is allowing worthless opinions to go unchallenged.
Kurt said:
Joe, what you are failing to see here is that this "unsupported" opinion is an example of what a prospective buyer will be thinking. They don't care about what some arrogant developer thinks of the place they're selling; they care about what they can get for their money. If they know they can get more for less elsewhere, that's where they go. In a buyer's market, buyers will just gloss over any place that seems overpriced or too small. They won't even waste their time to visit or call the sales office. As a former developer yourself, I can see why you view it the way you do. A decade-long sellers market made developers incredibly arrogant, with a take-it-or-leave-it attitude directed at buyers. Well, the shoe is on the other foot now. Pay attention to what the buyer wants, or leave your place unsold.
Joe Zekas said:
Kurt,
Paulj's not approaching this the way a home buyer does. Real buyers do some homework and don't just pop off about something they'll never buy.
The buyers today are a lot more sophisticated and knowledgeable than you're giving them credit for being.
John said:
A little over two years ago I moved back into the city. My life situation changed so my move was quick and I decided to rent because I was new to the market. I started to watch this site two years ago to help educate me in the housing market and it has been very very useful. Having said that, I also find a very marked change in tone with the comments. I agree with Kurt. The arrogance with developers is, in my view, almost a prerequisite. Two years ago, I was treated as a rube because I did not bring my check book with me and unwilling to sign a lease immediately. With all the building going on then, as it is now, I never felt the need to panic. However, two years ago the developers, with easy credit, did have the upper hand. I had to settle for a very nice place in the west loop. It was not my first choice but it sufficed. Recently the developer that I rent from for the past 2 years wanted to raise the rent , I replied that the rent should go down. We both laughed at each other. I now live on the east side my original preference and at a lower price. I did this through negotiation and the person who owns my unit was happy to do so after having no income for the past 8 months. It is a buyers market. That is my experience and what seems to be the tone from comments on this site. Joe is right, buyers are sophisticated and knowledgeable as a whole. Unfortunately, easy credit has made the "genius" developers just the opposite. The market will prevail and wash out these tiny condos at prices a lot lower than even paulj and imagine. Sorry Joe. Great site though!!!