March 1, 2008 – Back in February we posted about Sutherland Pearsall Development deciding to switch a proposed Streeterville condo to a hotel. At the time, the company said that current market conditions weren’t conducive to selling more condos. Now a recent Sun Times article quoted Mark Sutherland admitting they were also dissuaded because of difficulties in closing some contracts for the recently completed 550 N St. Clair.

Sutherland confirmed about ten percent of buyers at 550 N St. Clair have failed to close on their contracts, which he says “puts earnest money at risk.” He also pointed out that there are only about 20 units still available from a total of 112 condos. Closings and deliveries haven’t been going on that long, so it remains to be seen if that number increases as time goes by. Unconfirmed sources claimed that another building, 600 N Fairbanks, experienced similar problems and the developer has re-listed some units.

Both of these buildings received mixed reviews on the size of the units, with the main complaint being that the kitchens and common areas are very small. But it’s doubtful that reason alone would cause a buyer to decide to forfeit their deposit. In some cases, not necessarily these two buildings, developers have slashed prices on remaining units in an effort to reach a sell-out as the project nears completion. That can cause early buyers to feel that their unit has been devalued. And the plain hard facts may be that the buyer can’t secure financing or in the current market the condo now just isn’t worth the previous price. Whatever the reason, there seems to be a trend for buyers to walk away from contracts for Chicago New Construction Condos.

[tags]550 N St. Clair, Chicago Condos, Chicago Real Estate[/tags]

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 1st, 2008 at 11:56 pm and is filed under Mortgage Information.