Will infamy help or hurt Blagojevich home sale?
It may help sell books, but will ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich's notoriety help with the sale of his Chicago home?
Blagojevich's Ravenswood Manor residence at 2934 Sunnyside is on the market, listed for $1.07 million by River Realty, the brokerage firm of the former governor's wife, Patti Blagojevich.
The house, where FBI wiretaps caught Blagojevich talking about profiting from naming someone to President Barack Obama's former U.S. Senate seat, was put on the market Sunday. The former governor is awaiting sentencing for his June conviction on 17 corruption charges.
The five bedroom, three bath “fortress”-like home is one of the largest in the neighborhood with more than 3,800 square feet of living space and a 2,200-square-foot basement with gym, three fireplaces, music room and library.
With the interior improvements the Blagojevich family has made since buying the house in 1999, it should sell itself, said Marissa Hopkins, a Coldwell Banker residential brokerage agent.
“And that's true with celebrity homes, the homes have to sell themselves,” said Hopkins, who has experience with selling a famous residence. She's currently marketing the stately Winnetka home prominently featured in the 1990 film “Home Alone.”
The residence, situated on a half-acre lot two blocks from downtown Winnetka, is listed for $1.95 million.
“(With) the ‘Home Alone' house, the home is the celebrity, not the people who reside in it,” Hopkins said. “Whoever buys that home, you know it has a cache in that regard. But whether or not that adds value, my answer would be no.”
Hopkins said in today's housing market, the larger challenge is finding buyers for luxury homes.
The price of another “celebrity” house, the steel-and-glass Highland Park residence made famous by 1986's “Ferris Bueller's Day Off,” recently dipped by more than 30 percent due to market conditions. The two-building complex, including the main house and a pavilion, is priced at $1.65 million, down from $2.3 million in September 2009, according to Housingwire.com.
The Blagojevich home, situated on a double lot with no backyard, has undergone a lot of cosmetic improvements, including the addition of air conditioning, a refinished basement and updated kitchen, Hopkins said.
“It is a very pretty house,” she said. “Most of the corner homes are unique homes in Ravenswood Manor. But to the celebrity question, again I'm not sure that's adding any value.”
Selling the house of an infamous person versus selling a celebrity house is significantly different, said Hopkins.
“I'm sure (the Blagojevich residence) is still considered a celebrity home. But I still think it needs to be competitively priced in the neighborhood,” she said. “It's an excellent representation of a Ravenswood Manor home, which is a very special neighborhood in the city.”
Ÿ Daily Herald news services contributed to this report.