CHICAGO—With families shopping for pre-holiday housing deals, the autumn home-hunting season in full swing in Chicago. Now is the time for serious buyers shopping to get off the fence and into a marketplace loaded with great deals and innovative designs, real estate experts say.
Some Chicago developers are pulling out all the stops to liquidate immediate-occupancy home inventory. Others are introducing new, more affordable designs to fit today’s economy.
Regardless of what you are shopping for, buyers must have down payment cash, job security, a good credit score, and be able to qualify for a mortgage, consumer advocates say.
For serious city-home shoppers, C.A. Development has unveiled its autumn “Home Buyer Stimulus Program” which offers a special mortgage buy-down for qualified buyers that lowers the interest rate to 4 percent for two years on conforming loans at Edgebrook Glen, a single-family home community on the Northwest Side.
In addition, C.A. Development is offering discounts of up to $300,000 on model homes at two other Northwest Side communities—Mayfair Crossing and the Residences of Old Irving Park.
“Qualified buyers at Edgebrook Glen also may choose a second financing incentive that offers six months of free mortgage payments—including loan principal and interest on conforming loans—or a $30,000 closing credit or upgrades on immediate occupancy homes or on new homes to be built at Edgebrook Glen,” said Paul Bertsche of C.A. Development.
“We also can offer jumbo loans and 90-percent loans with rates currently at less than 6 percent,” Bertsche said.
“However, our best incentive still is the ‘No Lot Premiums Program’ on the best homesites at Edgebrook Glen,” Bertsche said. “We have sold three homes in last six months on oversize lots which previously would have had $75,000 to $125,000 lot premium.”
Bertsche said these incentives coupled with new pricing that is reduced 20 percent or more under previous pricing makes for unprecedented value opportunities at Edgebrook Glen, Mayfair Crossing and Residences of Old Irving Park.
Details on the homes available for immediate sale at Edgebrook Glen follow:
• A 2-story Arbor II design has 4 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, 3,635 square feet of living area and an attached 2-car front-load garage. Lot 62, a corner homesite, is at the beginning of a private cul-de-sac street which dead ends at the forest preserve. This home, previously priced at $780,000, is now priced at $630,000.
• The top-of-the-line Oak III, a fully decorated model on Lot 44, has 6 bedrooms, 4.5 baths and 4,934 square feet of living area with a full brick elevation.
This home has every imaginable luxury and upgrade including walnut floors, marble entry, whole-house stereo and intercom and a gourmet kitchen. and an attached 2-car garage. This home, previously priced at $1.15 million, is now priced at $895,000.
• A Tudor-style Chestnut II with 5 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, a private master bedroom deck and 4,477 square feet of living area is located on Lot 7. This home, previously priced at $830,000, is now priced at $725,000.
• A Craftsman-style 2-story Oak II is a spacious 6-bedroom design with 4.5 baths, 4,968 square feet of living area, a custom marble shower base in the master bath and an attached 2-car garage.
The home is built on Lot 6, a corner homesite anchored by two mature pear trees. This top-of-the-line home, previously priced at $955,000, is now priced at $795,000.
Other homes planned at Edgebrook Glen are pre-construction priced from $459,900 to $830,000, and offered in three levels of finish and pricing—Silver, Gold and Platinum, according to David Hojnacki, sales manager for Garrison Partners, the exclusive sales and marketing agent for Edgebrook Glen. Two furnished models are on display at Edgebrook Glen.
The sales center and models at 5200 W. Armstrong Ave. are open Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., or by appointment. For more information please call 773-631-9225 or visit www.cadevelopment.com.
• The Residences of Old Irving Park. The final Estate Home is available for immediate occupancy at The Residences of Old Irving Park, located in the Old Irving Park neighborhood on the Northwest Side of Chicago.
The 2-story Elm design at 3846 N. Kilbourn showcases 5 bedrooms, a great room, a family room, 3.5 baths and 4,126 square feet of living area, and an attached 2-car garage with roof deck.
Built on a 63-foot-wide lot, the home features two fireplaces, an all marble master bath suite, a kitchen with mocha maple cabinets and granite counter tops and stainless-steel appliances. A wet bar has been roughed in as a special feature in the massive family room in the lower level of the home.
The home also has a wrap-around front porch, a 16-by-16-foot garage roof deck and a huge side yard and is walking distance to the Metra stop. It was previously offered at $869,000, but is now priced at $570,000 with special incentives available only through November 30th.
The decorated model home and sales center for the Residences of Old Irving Park is open at 4225 N. Kilpatrick. Sales center hours are 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and by appointment during the week. Call 773-777-8910 or visit www.cadevelopment.com, or call Barbara O’Connor of Koenig & Strey GMAC Real Estate at 773-360-3600.
• Mayfair Crossing. One home is available for immediate occupancy plus 15 oversized lots for custom building at Mayfair Crossing, a development of 26 new-construction single-family homes at Kilpatrick and Berteau avenues in the Portage Park neighborhood.
Base prices range from $450,000 for a 3-bedroom home with attached garage and range upwards to $560,000 for the largest 4-bedroom residence at Mayfair Crossing. Details on the homes available for immediate move-in follow:
• 4225 N. Kilpatrick. The Hickory floor plan is a 3-bedroom home with 2.5 baths and 2,483 square feet of living space and an attached 2-car garage. This fully decorated model home features include a cherry and granite kitchen, a fireplace with granite surround and a 22-footdeck. The vaulted master bedroom has a private deck and a marble master bath. This home is now priced at $475,000 and has financing specials available.
Families interested in purchasing at Mayfair Crossing may tour the model home and sales center located at 4225 N. Kilpatrick from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, or by appointment. Call 773-777-8910 or visit www.mayfaircrossing.com, or call Barbara O’Connor of Koenig & Strey GMAC Real Estate at 773-360-3600.
• Fletcher Row Homes. Pre-sales are now underway for six luxury single-family homes planned in the second phase of Fletcher Row, a 16-unit residential enclave at 2424 West Fletcher St. in the West Roscoe Village neighborhood.
Bluestone Development, a green-oriented home-building company, said it plans to break ground on the second phase of Fletcher Row in spring of 2010.
Fletcher Row’s single-family homes will feature 4 bedrooms, 3.5 baths and approximately 3,400 square feet of living area and price tags ranging from $799,000 to $850,000, said Robert Frankel, partner in Bluestone Development.
“The homes at Fletcher Row will have a masonry front façade and include a large kitchen, living, and dining rooms,” noted Frankel. “A balcony off kitchen is standard, and each home will have a huge yard and an optional deck over the 2-car garage.”
Bluestone Development is a company known for developing quality homes, townhomes and condominiums in Chicago that feature innovative design and abundant landscaping.
Fletcher Row features an out-of-the-ordinary landscaping plan by award-winning landscape architect Jack Gabriel D’Clememnte, said Frankel.
The land plan calls for clusters of 10 townhomes and six single-family homes separated by a landscaped courtyard, so Fletcher Row will showcase trees, bushes and other greenery all year, with flowers in the spring and summer.
Fletcher Row was also designed for quality. Some of the construction features include large bay windows with copper exteriors, masonry on all building sides, Pella windows, Hans Grohe plumbing fixtures, marble bathrooms, and zoned heat and air conditioning.
The first phase consists of 10 townhome residences. Five out of the 10 have been sold and closed. Prices on the remaining units range from $499,900 to $699,900. The townhomes are typically 4-bedroom, 3.5-bath units ranging from 2,170 square feet to 3,044 square feet.
“We designed Fletcher Row especially for wise single-family home and townhome buyers who insist on a high quality residence but refuse to pay $1-million-plus for the detached single-family homes currently being built in Lakeview and Roscoe Village,” noted Frankel,
“Fletcher Row’s custom designed Arts and Crafts-style facades emphasize the individuality of each townhome,” noted Frankel. “The residences showcase solid brick and stone construction for a feeling of permanence and integrity.”
The Fletcher Row sales center, located at 2424 West Fletcher Street, is open on Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. and by appointment. For more information or to make an appointment, call 773-281-6600 or visit: www.fletcherrow.com.
• Park Place Homes. Three different single-family home floor plans are available at this $70-million gated community at 51st Street and Lawndale Avenue in the West Elsdon neighborhood on the Southwest Side.
Base-priced from $359,900, the single-family homes range in size from 1,700 to 2,800 square feet and feature 3 bedrooms, 2 or 2.5 baths, a patio or deck and 1-car or 2-car garage, according to New West Realty Group, the exclusive sales and marketing agent for 5007 Lawndale Corp., the developer.
When completed the Park Place Homes community will consist of 183 single-family homes, townhomes and 3-flats is planned around a clubhouse and a park on a 14-acre tract. Townhome prices begin at $289,900.
Located two miles from Interstate 55, northeast of Midway Airport at 3630 W. 51st Street, it is the largest new-construction residential development planned on the Southwest Side in nearly 50 years.
The sales center located at 3630 West 51st St. For more information, call 773-735-7533, or visit www.parkplacehomeschicago.com.