Progress In Berwyn (Oak Park, Forest Park, Itasca: 2010, city hall, new home)

[dmann304]

Ive lived in Berwyn since late 94 and there has been very little progress here.

I don't know whats with the local government but they must not want progress.

Example the so called downtown isn't very pleasing Most of the storefront windows are empty.

Not a place people want to visit or tour for the day.

They don't have bigbox stores either.

Pretty much not a cool place to hang out.

Why is Berwyn so behind the times with progress?

Anyway as soon as i sell im out of Berwyn.

[gardener34]

Why don't you get involved and try to change that? Go to some meetings and find out what's going on.

[janetp]

I agree.... you really need to get out more! Have you tried some of the classes at the park district? We've made a large group of solid, decent friends just by doing this. If you enjoy reading, volunteeer at the library a few hours a week and see all the interesting people you will meet. We are not drinkers, but we have gone to some of the local bars from time to time, and it's always fun. We do need more of a downtown area, and there is definitely room for improvement here, that's a given. The difference between what you purchased you property for and what it will sell for now is a testimony to how desirable Berwyn is becoming. You need to check with city hall to find out when there are community meeting, and then you need to go. Voice your opinion instead of just sitting back and letting others do all the work. How do you think any community grows? People get involved! Get out there and meet your neighbors. I think you might be delightfully surprised. If you want this to be your commmunity, you have to make it your community. Property value here has been on a steady rise of about 8-10% per year for the past 8 yrs. The national average is 4%. We are close to a lot of things. It's an easy location to commute from to get to almost anywhere. If people like you who will take the time to get on a site like this and voice your opinion would only go to the meetings and voice their opinions as well to help contribute to the growth of this town, we would be more advanced than what we already are. Join us. If you don't get involved in your community no matter where you live, you will never be happy where you are.

[cavewoman]

I tried to go back.... and I have 20 years of Economic Development experience under my belt and I grew up there. Idiots in the development office., I should of had that job ten times over... they wouldn't even hire me as an assistant taking a 50% pay cut. Idiots!

[BerwynMom]

We bought our house for $198K 6 years ago and it's worth $210K now. That is nothing to be happy about!!! We have put that much money into imrpovements. It's a wash as an investment.

[cavewoman]

The market is soft now and you paid to much at the time.
Your close to the City, and cannot get to much closer to the City. In Chgo., you'd be paying double that with alot less i am sure.

Not sure what you are looking for, at least the value has not dropped like everywhere else.

[Humboldt1]

Going from $198K to $210K in Berwyn is not a good investment. That means they bought in 2002 and only went up by $12K. I bought a place in Itasca in 2004 and it went from $215K to $250K, not impressive but way better than the price appreciation they have in their house in Berwyn. Had I bought the same place in 2002, it would have cost about $198K. So, Berwyn vs. Itasca is a worse investment. My Itasca property is not the best investment by any means, though it does provide me with a positive monthly cashflow and virtually no upkeep as the association takes care of all external repairs and the units are fairly new (1997), so no repairs internally.

Berwyn Mom,

It is actually a loss as far as an investment, because you would have to pay 5% commissions to get it sold.

[Johnny Northside]

There is the theory that housing prices are going to return to their inflation adjusted pre-bubble prices. In "second-tier" near-western suburbs such as Forest Park and Berwyn specifically, the bubble started in 2000 when Oak Park became too expensive for a lot of new homebuyers and they started looking nearby *in droves*. On the basis of the previous poster's numbers, her house may already be at that mark (depending on the value of repairs/upgrades). It was probably worth a lot more in 2005-06.

[Humboldt1]

I guess my point was that it is not a great time to buy in Berwyn. Certainly, prices were higher in 2006 than they are now, but I think they will continue to go down for at least the next 1-2 years before hitting bottom in 2010. In inflation-adjusted terms, prices may actually come in at below 2000 values for 2nd tier suburbs like Berwyn and Forest Park as many people who were formerly priced out of areas such as Oak Park are able to buy in Oak Park and not forced to go to cheaper areas.

[BRU67]

According to Zillow.com, Itasca’s property values increased 12.5% over the last 5 years and 68.9% over the last 10. In Berwyn, those percentages are 6.1% and 72.7% respectively. So Itasca has done better over the last 5 years but Berwyn has outpaced Itasca over the past 10. The one year performance of both communities is almost equally pathetic – they are down 12.2% and 12.8% respectively.

I definitely think that Berwyn suffered from some speculation during this decade that probably drove prices way beyond what was reasonable or sustainable, as Johnny Northside pointed out. If this person had sold in ’05 (probably the peak), he/she’d have made a royal killing. That probably at least partially explains the relatively poor 5 year performance. Prices are adjusting at this point.

I don’t know if I’d look for any major price drop in Oak Park. I think it will remain a desirable (and expen$ive) community for the foreseeable future. The 2nd Tiers like Berwyn and Forest Park will always remain desirable alternatives for first time homebuyers who like this area.

But, of course, none of us can sit here with any certainty and predict what the next 1, 5 and 10 years will be like. And if you can, send me a PM. I’d like to retire early!