Is Gold Coast luxury real estate poised for a comeback?

Three listings in the affluent neighborhood are under contract less than a month into 2023

1421 N Astor St, Chicago, 1316 N Astor St, Chicago and 65 E Goethe St APT 4E, Chicago (Google Maps)
1421 N Astor St, Chicago, 1316 N Astor St, Chicago and 65 E Goethe St APT 4E, Chicago (Google Maps)

Two homes in Chicago’s high end Gold Coast neighborhood went under contract this week, possibly signifying a strong year for an area of the city where luxury properties were stalling on the market before selling.

A third, which was already contingent in December, also went under contract.

One of the properties is a condo on Goethe Street, and the other two are single-family homes on the historic Astor Street.

Despite a rush of activity in the new year, the posh area of the city’s housing market has been stagnant in recent years. High-end deals haven’t closed quickly, either. Seven of the nine Gold Coast homes currently listed for $4 million or more have been on the market for more than 100 days. And only six homes sold in that price range in 2022.

But the sluggish market in the historic neighborhood might be accelerating some.

The 4,000-square-foot Goethe Street condo has three bedrooms and three bathrooms. The property last sold for $3.8 million in 2004. It has been on the market since April, when it was listed for $4.6 million.

The 10,000-square-foot home on the 1300 block of Astor Street has five bedrooms and nine bathrooms. Now seeking $4.2 million, the property has been on and off the market since 2020, when sellers originally asked nearly $6 million. It last sold for $4.28 in 2014, so if the property sells at or below its asking price, it will mark a loss for the sellers.

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The mansion in the 1400 block of historic Astor Street went under contract after four years on and off the market and six price cuts from its initial listing, amounting to a 55 percent reduction.

After slashing the asking price to $4 million in December, the 9,300-square-foot was originally listed in 2018 for nearly $9 million.

The final sales price isn’t yet known for any of the three properties, yet luxury sales in the city lately have come in well below listing prices on many of the most expensive properties, despite strong sales volume in the high-end segment of the market.

Should the three homes sell at or near their asking prices, they would join at least five others that closed at or above $4 million in the Chicagoland area since the new year.

Within the Windy City, there have been three sales so far, according to public listing sites. That’s above the average number in January, according to last year’s data from the Chicago Association of Realtors. In 2019, 2020 and 2021, there was only one sale per year over $4 million in the month of January. In 2022, there were five.