A few weeks ago, Sutherland Pearsall Development Corp severely cut the prices on the 32 remaining homes in 550 St Clair, the 112-unit high-rise at 550 St Clair St in Streeterville. According to Ron Ruby from Weichert Realtors First Chicago, the trick is working, because he has sold seven homes in the past two weeks. “We’ve been busy,” Ruby says.
“Our prices are kind of like if a bank were to take back a building, or if they were auction prices. This is the price that you could buy these at an auction for,” Ruby says. “But at an auction you’d be bidding against 100 other people, and you’d be paying a buyer’s premium of 5 percent on top of that.”
Ruby says the developer had actually considered auctioning off the remaining homes. Instead, they chose a more discreet route, taking the units off the MLS and cutting the prices. As a result, Ruby says buyers feel like they’ve stumbled across something secret and special, and residents that have bought in the building don’t have to come home to big “Auction” banners on the side of their building, like the folks at the McKinley Park Lofts.
Here’s a breakdown of the price points, before and after the price reductions:
One-bedroom / one-baths:
Then: From the $510s to the $580s
Now: From the $310s to $440s
Two-bedroom / two-baths:
Then: From the $580s to the $660s
Now: From the $430s to the $520s
Three-bedrooms:
Then: From the $860s to $1.54 million
Now: From the $660s to the $880s
Price reductions have not been advertised for penthouses, but buyers are encouraged to negotiate with the developer. Ruby says the biggest price reduction on a single unit so far, not counting the penthouses, was for $252,500.
– Rate and review 550 St Clair at NewHomeNotebook.com.