A 44-unit courtyard apartment building in Ravenswood sold for $9.72 million after three days on the market, reflecting the submarket’s strength as Chicago rents rise.
Kiser Group’s Lee Kiser, Andy Friedman and Jake Parker brokered the sale of 5017 North Wolcott Avenue, which sold for $220,000 above the listing price, the firm said in a statement. Horizon Realty Group sold the property to an undisclosed buyer.
“High quality properties in Ravenswood such as 5017 N Wolcott don’t trade very frequently – and when they do, they don’t last long,” Friedman said in the statement. “This one was under contract a few days after first tours and was fully non-contingent shortly after.”
The sale was helped by its high occupancy rates and strong rental rates, said Kiser spokeswoman Hannah Jacko. The buyer already owns five similarly sized properties in the Ravenswood area and was seeking to add to his portfolio, according to Kiser.
Horizon sold the property as part of a reverse 1031 exchange, in which real estate investors can trade one property for another without incurring capital gains taxes, in order to pick up a luxury apartment complex in Edgewater at 5600 North Sheridan Road, said Jeff Michael, the firm’s chief operating officer.
“It was always our plan to sell another asset,” he said.
Horizon, which had owned the property for over 20 years, had to decide whether to pay for extensive capital improvements on the building or to put those resources into the North Sheridan Road building, Michael said. Ultimately, the latter was a better fit for Horizon’s portfolio in terms of geography, size and vintage as well as added value. The firm manages and rents about 25 apartment buildings, mainly on Chicago’s North Side.
“We were pretty keen and aggressive with that building so that’s why we purchased it,” Michael said.
According to Kiser, about a quarter of the Ravenswood property’s units have new kitchens or bathrooms. Parker said the building provides the new owner with the opportunity to renovate the remaining 75 percent of the units and then raise rents.
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