As Patrick and I go back through the Yo archives to find developments in need of updates, one thing becomes more and more certain: Sales figures at a lot of places are the same today as they were six months ago.
We all know why. Holidays and headlines had buyers thinking twice about signing a contract on a new home during the winter months. For every Aqua we come across, where a developer’s reported sales figures magically jump by 6 percent from one week to the next, there are three or four projects where sales just won’t budge beyond a particular percentage. (The reliability of “percent sold” claims is a subject worthy of its own post, I’m sure.)
Anyway, Metropolitan Tower, Metropolitan Properties‘ conversion of the old Britannica Tower (or Straus Building, if you prefer) at 310 S Michigan Ave, still has about 25 of its 245 condos for sale, just as Barry Pearce reported back in October. Developers are still including free upgrades on kitchen countertops, floor and wall tile, appliances and showers, although the specific upgrades differ from unit to unit.
Prices start in the mid-$300s for one-bedrooms, the mid-$500s for two-bedrooms and the $900s for three-bedrooms. All can be ready for delivery in 60 days.
With such easy access to Millennium and Grant parks and Michigan Avenue, what’s keeping buyers from picking up those less expensive condos? Is the conversion up to snuff? Are people skeptical of its advertised assessments? When will we see Metropolitan Tower get over the 90-percent hump and close in on closeout?