Suburban surge: Kenilworth lakefront mansion fetches $7.5M

Demand continues to surge for suburban homes as buyers seek out larger properties with more land as an escape from the pandemic.

The latest example: An 8,200-square-foot lakefront mansion in Kenilworth sold for $7.5 million, making it the priciest on-the-market home sale in more than a decade, according to Crain’s. The house, with its own sandy beach right on the lake, is also the fifth in the Chicago area to sell for at least $7 million this year. At this time last year, only two had.

The Chicago suburbs saw a sharp rise in new-home purchases from April through June with 1,166 being bought — a 17 percent year-over-year increase.

Chicago was a different story: Just 69 new homes were sold over the same period, an 11.5 percent decline from last year.

For the Kenilworth mansion, at 143 Sheridan Road, sellers Craig and Elsa Donohue had listed the property for just under $9 million in April, according to the report. They dropped the price to about $7.75 million just before the sale.

The final price worked out to about $915 per square foot.

The couple bought the five-bedroom, nine-bathroom house for $3.7 million five years ago and made extensive upgrades, Crain’s reported. Built in 1953, the home sits on a half-acre of land.

Linda Rosenbloom of @properties had the listing. David Yocum of Redfin represented the buyers, who were not named. [Crain’s] — Alexi Friedman