Amid Chicago’s luxury housing market lull, there is life in Winnetka

Chicago’s luxury residential market has significantly cooled after a banner year in 2018, but deals are still being done.

In the latest, a local manufacturing executive and his wife have traded mansions in Winnetka.

Michael and Jennifer Larsen have sold a nearly 10,000-square-foot home in north suburban Winnetka for $3.17 million, and picked up another mansion in town for $4.25 million, according to the Chicago Tribune. Michael Larsen is the chief financial officer of the manufacturing firm ITW.

The newly purchased home, which is 6,800 square feet, is undergoing renovations and was not publicly listed, according to the Tribune. Jena Radnay of @properties had the listing.

For the home they sold, the Larsens received slightly less than their original purchase price. The couple bought the home from the developer in 2014 for $3.2 million, according to the Tribune.

The couple weren’t the only residents of Chicago’s wealthy suburbs to see their luxury homes sell for less than what they paid. Earlier this year, a former Lockheed Martin executive sold his Winnetka mansion for $4 million, less than his cost to acquire and renovate, and a significant discount from its $5.4 million asking.

So far this year, Chicago’s luxury suburban market has taken a sharp hit, with buyers choosing instead to invest in new luxury developments downtown. Even lakefront mansions have suffered.

Last year, Winnetka recorded the two priciest home sales, with two Sheridan Road mansions trading for $12 million each.

[Chicago Tribune] — Joe Ward