Chicago Condo Directory

This morning it was announced that Oprah Winfrey, a name known by all, would be buying a $5.6 million co-op in Chicago’s Gold Coast community.

The East Lake Shore Drive property, whose asking price was a confirmed $6 million, was listed by Koenig & Strey GMAC, a real estate firm known to have done business with Winfrey in the past.

What does this have to do with the Luxury Buyers Market?

Well, Oprah will be listing her Water Tower Place condo and of course many individuals throughout Chicagoland would love the opportunity to purchase the Chicago celebrity’s former palace. Many Chicagoans will be disappointed, as the terms “luxury” and “upscale” have been used for $500,000 to $2 million dollar home purchases, but this type of purchase falls into it’s very own category.

Listings like the selling of Oprah’s former residence at the Water Tower typically are not listed in the MLS searches nor are the readily available to unqualified buyers. What this means is that realtors will make the listing private and subject to certain terms. For instance, Gold Coast Agent, Jeri Dry, stated:
“Any time I have a very high-priced listing, when a Realtor calls and asks for a showing, I say, `Can you tell me anything about your buyer?’ My seller needs to know before showing the apartment. It’s not unusual. If I have the buyer, they will ask me the same questions.

“I can’t think of a time, ever, when somebody has called for a showing without an agent.”

Potential buyers in the “ultra-luxury” bracket should expect that they would need to be pre-qualified.

Paul Boomsma, executive vice-president of a national marketing firm in Chicago, centered around real estate agents dealing in the high end real estate market, explains, “You might have to have a letter from a bank or from a financial institution that says you basically qualify to purchase a home in that price point.”

Buyers looking for the ultimate luxuries will need to dig deep and also have deep pockets. Many of the celebrity homes and [real estate available to this price bracket are only known by a handful of realtors and passed along through word of mouth.

Individuals currently living in homes with this value would be suprised to find that many times they could be living in a celebrity home however many realtors are kept quiet and cannot use the celebrity names for leverage in marketing as several celebrities have been known to require non-disclosure agreements before viewing, purchasing or selling.

If you want to find out about luxury homes, new construction developments or possibly Gold Coast properties, search the Chicago Condo Directory. Many properties typically not found on general MLS or posted for the public can be found.

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