Today I showed 3 bedroom condos in the River North, West Loop, South Loop and Loop. One of my buyers’ “must haves” is an outdoor space such as a balcony. What I’ve noticed in showing numerous condos with balconies is that the location of the balcony is often more important to buyers than the size of the balcony.
The balcony shown left is accessed from the living room of a penthouse we viewed in the South Loop this morning. The access is also close to the kitchen area minimizing the distance food needs to be carried to and from a grill on the balcony.
Unfortunately, many condos only have balcony access from bedrooms. Most of us would rather not have our friends (no matter how close) walking through our bedroom to get to the balcony. It also increases the distance food has to be carried to and from the kitchen when grilling or just eating outside which increases the chances that something will get spilled.
A lot of developers haven’t quite figured this out yet. We looked at a very nice new development in the West Loop on Monday where the developer put a tiny balcony off the dining room, but a 25 ft. balcony off the master bedroom.
When balcony location is important to my buyers, I’ve started contacting the listing agent to find out where the balcony is located before forwarding condo listings to my buyers.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Fran Bailey shows, previews and tracks downtown Chicago homes for sale giving her the insights needed to help her clients negotiate the best price and terms. Fran has been quoted in numerous Chicago and national publications. To schedule showings of listings regardless of broker or to contact Fran email her at fran.bailey@bairdwarner.com or call 773.793.4516. Learn More
Fran Bailey, Realtor
