Market Watch: Owners of Evanston mansion once home to billionaire Harry Crown lose $630K on sale
Illinois' highest-in-the-nation property taxes are eroding home equity and depressing home values across the state. This report is part of a SYHN News Service series on recent home sales that demonstrate the consequences.
The home: 900 Edgemere Court, Evanston
The 8,919-square-foot Tudor-style mansion has six bedrooms, seven baths, an indoor swimming pool and an elevator. It includes a four-car garage with a coach house and is just a block from Lake Michigan.
Built in 1927, the three-story mansion was home to Material Service Corp. founder Henry Crown from the mid 1930s until his death in 1990.
Built in 1927, the three-story mansion was home to Material Service Corp. founder Henry Crown from the mid 1930s until his death in 1990.
The sellers: Jacqueline A. and Philip J. Crihfield
Philip Crihfield is senior counsel at the Chicago office of Sidley. He specializes in technology and IP transactions.
He and his wife reportedly paid $3 million cash for a waterfront home across the street in 2016, according to Crain's Chicago Business.
The purchase: The Crihfields purchased the home in 1997 for $1.55 million, or $2.43 million in today's dollars.
The sale: According to Zillow, the couple sold the home for $1.8 million on Dec. 5, or $630,000 less than the original purchase price, in today's dollars.
The Crihfields originally listed the home for $2.95 million in September 2016. The price dropped in February 2017 to $2.88 million and a month later it was down to $2.65 million. In May 2017, they lowered it again to $2.5 million. By November 2017, the Crihfields had taken the home off the market.
They relisted the home in February 2018 for $2.5 million and by May of that year the price was down to $2.3 million, where it stayed until the sale.
The property taxes: Between 1999 and 2017, the Crihfields paid $779,196 in property taxes, or 43 percent of the sale price.
