The once high-flying Chicago luxury market is now sputtering and one former Boeing chief executive is buckling in for what could be a bumpy ride.
Retired chairman and CEO James McNerney and his wife Haity are looking to sell their Lake Forest mansion at just under $4.8 million, about 37 percent less than what they paid, Crain’s reported.
They paid $7.6 million for the property at 1291 Elm Tree Road in August 2006. James McNerney retired from the aerospace giant as chairman in 2016, and had been CEO for a decade. The French country-style home has five bedrooms and eight bathrooms. It was built in 1930 and sits about a block away from the shores of Lake Michigan. The 2.25-acre property includes a guest house, lap pool and a wine cellar.
The McNerney’s decision to sell at the reduced price reflects the Chicago luxury market’s overall struggles. Home sales fell sharply last year and that slide continued in the first month of 2020.
But that hasn’t stopped some homeowners from listing their luxury properties far above what they sold them for. In Hinsdale, a couple recently put their 12,000-square-foot Hillcrest Avenue mansion on the market for just under $6 million. They bought it for $3.3 million in 2014.
Also bucking the trend are condo units in JDL Development’s Gold Coast condo tower No. 9 Walton. The building recently sold out, and some of its owners — celebrities included — have been flipping units for tidy profits in the last year. [Crain’s] — Jacqueline Flynn