A recent entry from Chicago Magazine’s Deal Estate blog describes a ritzy Lincoln Park single-family home at 623 W. Belden Ave. that sold after a six-month tenure on the market.
The key here is the list price. Deal Estate reports that the circa-1895 residence initially went on the market for $1,889,000, was removed at the start of the holidays – and then closed for $1,879,000 after an off-market buyer materialized.
That final price (just $10,000 off the initial listing price, if my math is correct) is a far cry from the butcher’s-block pricing that’s characterized home sales lately, and it suggests that real estate agents are finally getting a handle on pricing in the current market – at least as it pertains to single-family existing homes.
Yo spoke with Marlene Saint George, of Baird & Warner, who brokered the sale on behalf of the seller. Turns out the seller was quite happy in her home, which allowed her to hold firm on her asking price.
When the right offer materialized and the sale seemed eminent, the seller then investigated several new-construction homes before ultimately purchasing two adjacent condo units at 350 W. Belden, a development from Belgravia Group delivered several years ago. The new homes were on the 1900 block of N. Clark Avenue and the 400 block of W. Webster Avenue; prices for both topped $2 million. Ultimately Marlene’s client found a better deal by purchasing the pair of condos at $707,000 each and then combining the units.
Marlene calls the project her “triangular deal,” because she had to broker the sale of three different homes in order to satisfy everyone involved.
“This took all the fortitude of all my experience to keep the deal together,” she says. “Until the very last minute, it could have all fallen apart. I couldn’t sleep for months.”
The deal closed on Dec. 21, 2007.