Rate CEO unloads Hinsdale home at discount

Victor Ciardelli, the mortgage mogul behind Rate, has sold his Hinsdale home at a markdown.

The five-bedroom, six-bath property at 622 South Washington Street in Hinsdale closed Wednesday for $2.45 million. Ciardelli and his wife, Sandra, listed the home in April at just under $2.8 million before trimming the ask to $2.58 million, Crain’s reported. The deal closed at about 87 percent of the original asking price.

According to the listing provided by the sellers’ agents — Coldwell Banker’s Stefania Campo and Paula Ciardelli, Victor’s ex-wife — the home was built in 1907 and sits on an 8,520-square-foot lot, but the home’s square footage was not disclosed. The buyers, not yet identified in public filings, were represented by Jennifer Williams of Coldwell Banker.

Ciardelli bought the house in 2013 for roughly $1.64 million. Photos from the listing show a Hamptons-style exterior, airy white interiors, and traditional finishes like wainscoting and multi-paneled windows. Perks include a balcony off the primary bedroom, a basement pub and a sauna.

The sale is a relatively small-ticket move for Ciardelli, who in 2021 dropped $37.5 million on a Miami Beach estate in the Altos Del Mar enclave. His Chicago-area house hunt has been overshadowed by Rate’s own turbulence. Founded in 2000 with $2.5 million from family and friends, the firm ballooned to more than 10,000 employees by 2021. But as mortgage volume shrank in the current environment, Rate reportedly cut staff by nearly half.

Last year, Rate — the Chicago lender whose name is on the White Sox ballpark, Rate Field — originated $26.4 billion in mortgages, good for sixth place nationally, according to Scotsman Guide. But the lender has been dogged by internal scrutiny: a June 2024 Chicago Tribune investigation described a toxic culture under Ciardelli, alleging he frequently berated employees. Ciardelli denied the claims.

The Hinsdale sale looks more like housekeeping than distress for the Rate CEO. With his Miami mansion already secured, Ciardelli is clearly shifting his personal footprint south. But unloading a suburban house at a discount underscores the reality of today’s market, where sellers rarely get everything they ask for.— Eric Weilbacher