River Forest Condo sale breaks record

The recent sale of a condominium in River Forest was one for the record books: The Ashland Avenue unit garnered the highest condo sales price in recent history in Oak Park and River Forest.

Ideal Location Oak Park's Eli Schultz, managing broker and founder, and Mary Christine Pacer, broker and realtor, brokered the sale for their clients and said that while the sales price speaks to the attributes of the condo, the sale also said something broader about the local condominium market.

Located at 444 Ashland, the condo is one of only six units in the building. Schultz said that the unit was not the penthouse but was one of two units that spanned an entire floor of the building. The interiors encompassed roughly 3,400 square feet and the three exterior spaces offered another 1,500 square feet, which Schultz said is "unheard of" in the local market.

"That's what made it a very sought-after building," Pacer said. "It was so unique. To find that amount of square footage in a condo is appealing if you want single-floor living but don't want to give up space to entertain."

The condo boasts 3 bedrooms, a den that could serve as a fourth bedroom, two-and- one-half bathrooms, and an elevator that opens directly to the unit.

Their client sellers were the original owners of the condo, which was part of a new development in 2005. When they purchased the unit, the couple worked closely with the designers to create a space that catered to their lifestyle and enjoyed having enough room to host charity events and even a family wedding in the space.

In today's fast-paced market, Schultz thinks that being tied in to the local community helped his firm seal the deal to represent the sellers in the transaction. He said that the wife of the couple worked at Trinity High School in River Forest for over forty years.

"My daughter is a fourth generation Trinity grad, and Mary went to Trinity when our client was working there. I brought Mary in to meet them because she's a great agent and works on our marketing, but it was also a nice personal connection," he said.

While making a connection was natural, it was a bit more challenging to price the condo because there were no comparably sized condominiums in River Forest or Oak Park to look at for a price comparison.

"Mary and I had to go through some of the larger units that have sold recently and do a price per square foot analysis," Schultz said.

He said their asking price of $1.2 million was spot on in terms of price per square foot, but said you'd have to look to suburbs like La Grange or Western Springs to find this price point in a condominium.

With several interested parties, the eventual buyer closed the deal for a bit less than the asking price. Schultz said that at over $1 million, the all-cash deal was a great result for his sellers. He thinks that if there had been similar-sized and finished condominiums on the market to provide comps, getting asking price would have been attainable.

Schultz and Pacer agreed that if priced right, there is a high demand locally for condominiums, particularly for those with three bedrooms.

"For people who are downsizing and want to stay in the area, there's definitely a need and not enough inventory," Schultz said.

He cited as an example recent clients in their retirement years who looked for a three-bedroom condo for more than two years and ended up paying well more than the asking price because of multiple offers.

"There's definitely a need for more of these types of buildings in the area," Schultz said, referring to 444 Ashland.

"We could use buildings that have a mix of price points from the mid-$500's to $1.5 million. There's a real lack of buildings like this. A lot of older buildings don't have a lot of outdoor space or a lot of light."

Recently built apartment rental buildings in Oak Park offer smaller units and are more expensive, making them less appealing to some locals who might be considering selling their homes but want to stay in the area.

Schultz said he believes that more developments like the Ashland building would benefit the market as a whole, by increasing the number of homes on the market, adding, "if there were more of these, it would help with people being convinced to sell their homes when they are empty nesters.

"If you could replicate this building, you could sell it ten times over, and fast," he said.