Record sale in North Center’s multifamily market

Renovated 32-unit apartment buildings traded hands for $14.1M

1822-1832 West Irving Park Road (Compass, iStock)
1822-1832 West Irving Park Road (Compass, iStock)

A pair of newly renovated multifamily properties in Chicago’s North Center traded hands for $14.1 million in the area’s priciest sale since at least 2007.

A local investor bought the two newer buildings of the three properties at 1822-1832 West Irving Park Road from a local seller, said Kate Waddell, Compass’ KWG, who represented the seller.

“We had a lot of institutional buyers look at it,” said Waddell. “People from New York, California, etc. So it made it a little tricky to price, but we had multiple offers and sold very well.”

With 32 units between them, the properties offer more units than is typical for multifamily buildings in the residential neighborhood, which has access to public transportation, Waddell said. Listed in October, the properties went under contract two months later.

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No other multifamily property has sold for more than $10 million in North Center and neighboring Lake View, according to the Multiple Listing Service.

Apartment buildings have become an appealing investment option given the migration pattern in Chicago during the pandemic, with heightened interest in the suburbs. Larger multifamily properties with a prime location were at the top of buyers’ wish lists.

A 100-unit Arlington Heights multifamily property recently sold for $10.4 million. This month, a brick walkup with 12 apartments in Wrigleyville sold for $6.23 million, or $518,750 per unit, the highest price-per-unit sale in the area since 2019.

Chicago multifamily sales totaled $2.8 billion in the 12 months through November, double the previous year’s figure, according to Yari Matrix. Developers completed 30 multifamily projects totaling 5,360 units in the first 11 months of 2021, accounting for 1.5 percent of the existing inventory.