Astronaut’s former home listed at 50% markup from two years ago

The former home of Apollo 13 astronaut Jim Lovell in Lake Forest has hit the market for $4.55 million, a 50 percent markup compared to what the home last sold for in 2022. 

Built in 1995, the five-bedroom property at 964 Lake Road spans 5,200 square feet and is situated on 1 acre in one of Lake Forest’s most sought-after neighborhoods, Crain’s reported. The asking price comes to about $875 per square foot.  

Lake County public records show the home was last purchased by Stephanie Burke, CEO of Deerfield-based health information publisher Veritas, in October 2022 for about $3 million, or $576 per square foot.  

The median home price in the Lake Forest area has increased about 8.6 percent from the same time in 2022, according to the Chicago Association of Realtors.

Recent upgrades to the home include kitchen renovations, articulated paneling in the foyer and a fresh repaint throughout the interior. 

The home is being marketed by Ann Lyon and Kim Campbell of @properties Christie’s International Real Estate.  

Inventory is low in the North Shore. Among 12 Chicago suburbs that comprise the submarket, including Lake Forest, 20 percent fewer listings were counted earlier this month compared to last year. Lake Forest had the most listings, with 81, but that was 9 percent fewer than last year. The lack of inventory means that homes prices in the $1.5 million range sell fast, real estate agents have said.

Meanwhile, luxury home sales — a market driven by wealthy all-cash buyers — increased across the nation last month even as sales under $1 million lagged.

When Jim and Marilyn Lovell sold their house after 23 years, both were in their 90s. Marilyn Lovell died the following year after 71 years of marriage. Jim Lovell’s astronaut career began in 1962. He flew on the Gemini 7 and Gemini 12 missions, the Apollo 8 mission, and the 1970 Apollo 13 mission. 

Tom Hanks portrayed Lovell in the 1995 film about Apollo 13, and Lovell himself played the captain of the recovery ship. He retired from NASA in 1973 and entered the corporate sector, moving to Lake Forest with his wife in the 1980s and purchasing their Lake Road house in 1999.

— Andrew Terrell

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