Why a Chicago Condo Sold for $5M Less Than 2015 Price

A trust benefitting Barbara Bluhm-Kaul sold a condo on Chicago’s East Lake Shore Drive last week, and took a near $5 million haircut to offload their property in the process.

When the entity originally bought the home in 2015, they paid around $10.37 million for the five bedrooms at 189 East Lake Shore Drive. On Thursday, they sold it for $5.2 million, but without roof rights and a couple of garage spaces, according to Crain’s.

Buying the condo 11 years ago was a move only meant to secure the roof rights holistically, according to the outlet. The 18th and 19th floor condos, both of which were owned by the trust, shared the roof rights until 2015. Bluhm-Kaul’s ex-husband, real estate baron Neil Bluhm, directly said that they acquired the condo on the 18th floor to snag the roof rights.

Separating the amenities doesn’t fully account for the massive price drop. Mera Kordic, one of the Re/Max agents who represented the buyer in the transaction, told the outlet that the price drop was a blend of two factors: the loss of the roof rights, and that the sellers shelled out top dollar in 2015 to secure the condo. The new owners of the 18th floor condo don’t plan any sweeping renovations to the space, but might tinker with the kitchen and bathrooms, according to the outlet.

The condo was also sold in 2006 for $8 million. While the $5.2 million figure is a substantial drop from prices paid across two separate decades, it’s still marked as the second-highest condo purchase in the East Lake Shore Drive area in this decade. Last November, former Fruit of the Loom CEO Bill Farley and his wife sold their area condo for $7.5 million. The Farleys originally listed their home in 2023 for about $16 million.

— Hunter Cooke