See more photos in the gallery below.
List Price: $799,900
Sale Price: $799,900
The Property: Its contemporary exterior helps this newly built residence fit into the dynamic mix of old-line homes and dramatic new structures in Ukrainian Village. And its price evidently fit well into somebody’s budget, because buyers snapped it up in just 46 days.
It’s the third of four new houses to go fast for DenMax, a former condo builder that lately has been putting up single-family homes. Ivona Kutermankiewicz, who represents the homes for DenMax, says the first went last October and the next in January. This one closed April 27, one more is under contract to close soon, and Kutermankiewicz took an offer on a fifth last week.
Price, she says, is the key to this string of successes. “There’s a huge shortage of the $700,000–to–$800,000 homes in the city,” Kutermankiewicz explains. “We can’t build them fast enough.”
DenMax isn’t the only builder feeding the demand for midprice urban homes. In March, I reported on a company that has sold a few dozen since early 2011. Last week the agent for some new townhomes in Logan Square that are priced from $399,800 told me that the first of them is already under contract, before construction has even started. And agents tell me there has also been a recent upswing in demand for new construction at the very high end of the housing market.
As you can see from the photos below (which were provided by the developer), today’s house has an open-plan interior with few flourishes and a streamlined look. The panelized exterior and the simplified interior make it possible to build inexpensively—and quickly. The developer bought this lot in December. “They just get in there and do it,” Kutermankiewicz says. “They can deliver in 90 to 120 days.
Aside from its finishes and price, this home also appeals with its location, a short walk from the Chicago and Damen intersection, site of one of my favorite places to eat, Sunrise Café. Chickpea, Sprout Home, Sweet Cakes Bakery and a Dominick’s grocery store are also close by.
Price Points: According to the Cook County Recorder of Deeds, the builder paid $187,000 for the lot in December. That’s about $200,000 less than pricing during the boom years, according to Kutermankiewicz, who has been the agent for many new-construction homes, including this one and this one. Back then, she says, lots in the neighborhood were going for “close to $400,000. I heard of instances when people paid over $400,000.”
Listing Agent: Ivona Kutermankiewicz of Koenig & Strey; 312-475-4588 or ivona@ivonahomes.com