Does anyone think we're entering another real estate bubble? (Chicago: foreclosures, renting)

[My Kind Of Town]

Originally Posted by holl1ngsworth

I agree with Lookout.

I think you both are severely undervaluing downtown Downers Grove. While it may be comparable in size to downtown Glen Ellyn (though it feels bigger to me) it has much more to offer in my opinion and feels much more lively overall. The Tivoli theatre is just awesome. My favorite spot to catch a movie. There are a number of very good restaurants, fantastic bakery, handful of good bars/late night drinking options (including a really neat wine store/bistro), and plenty of ma/pa type stores. Also, there are events year round in the downtown area:

What's Happening | Downtown Downers Grove

To me, downtown Downers Grove is one of the best suburban downtowns in Chicagoland (top 5 to me for sure). I would put it ahead of Wheaton and La Grange and well ahead of Glen Ellyn.

Given that I do not live in Downers Grove, this is a completely unbiased perspective as well.

[destination-unknown]

Said it before and I will say it again. The shrinking middle class is not isolated to Chicagoland or a handful of other major cities as many here seem to think. It's an issue everywhere including the lovely south where there is this common misperception the middle class is thriving.

The middle class is getting smaller - Mar. 24, 2015

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by My Kind Of Town

To me, downtown Downers Grove is one of the best suburban downtowns in Chicagoland (top 5 to me for sure). I would put it ahead of Wheaton and La Grange and well ahead of Glen Ellyn.

I often advocate northern Downers Grove as a nice place to live, and think that they have a nice little downtown area. But it is nowhere near the top five, and not nearly as large, fun, and comprehensive as Wheaton and La Grange. All of these towns have much larger, livelier downtown areas with more amenities: Naperville, Geneva, Evanston, Oak Park, La Grange, Wheaton, Elmhurst, Highland Park, Arlington Heights... Maybe even Forest Park and Libertyville. Downers not even in the top ten.

Originally Posted by My Kind Of Town

I think you both are severely undervaluing downtown Downers Grove. While it may be comparable in size to downtown Glen Ellyn (though it feels bigger to me) it has much more to offer in my opinion and feels much more lively overall. The Tivoli theatre is just awesome. My favorite spot to catch a movie. There are a number of very good restaurants, fantastic bakery, handful of good bars/late night drinking options (including a really neat wine store/bistro), and plenty of ma/pa type stores. Also, there are events year round in the downtown area:

What's Happening | Downtown Downers Grove

Everything you just listed we also have in Glen Ellyn--though I'll give you that the Tivoli Theater is a gem and nicer than our Glen Art Theater, which was carved up on the interior in a really bad way. But it shows really cool "art house" shows and lots of kids movies.

Glen Ellyn has better restaurants, with A Toda Madre being one of the true gems of the western suburbs, and Fire and Wine definitely better than anything in downtown Downers. We have a great old bakery (The Flour Barrel). We have several late night drinking establishments (The Tap Room, Shannon's Irish Pub, The Northsider). We have a neat wine store/bistro (Cabernet and Co/Cab's Bistro). We have another bistro (Bistro Monet). And we have GREAT ma and pa stores, including an independent book store, a bike shop, a craft beer store (Beer Cellar), one of the best independent coffee shops around (Blackberry Market), and a high end cooking store. We have boutiques, salons, an independent old school hardware store, a hot dog stand, places to get ice cream and Italian Ice. We have a ridiculous number of Italian restaurants, Thai Food, Mexican, etc. The only thing I would add would be a specialty grocer and perhaps a Walgreens for stopping on the way home from the train. We also have an endless list of downtown events including a weekly French Market, Outdoor Jazz Fest, Taste of Glen Ellyn, The Glen Ellyn Backyard BBQ, etc.

[NaperResident]

I'm not sure where to find this info but does anyone here know the real estate status in Naperville? From what I can see from listings on Redfin, there still appears to be plenty of homes selling for less than what they sold for during the housing bubble years (05/06/07). I also see many luxury homes dropping there prices massively, and a few being listed for years. Eventually selling after many listings and delistings and massive reductions. For example...

https://www.redfin.com/IL/Naperville.../home/18043365 (2.5 acres / 7000 sq feet for only 1.5 million!!) Down from 3 million.

https://www.redfin.com/IL/Naperville.../home/18042419 (3.5 acres / 8000+ sq feet for only 1.3 million!!) Down from 4.2 million

You put these homes in the North Shore and they get their asking prices. I know these may be extreme examples but still...

This is all quite disheartening for me as I personally bought my home in 2005 and highly doubt I could get now, 10 years later, what I paid for it. Now I don't plan on selling anytime soon but am I wrong to say the situation is pretty darn bad here in Naperville?

[4122]

Naperville Home Prices and Home Values | Zillow

[NaperResident]

Originally Posted by 4122

Naperville Home Prices and Home Values | Zillow

Thanks, so if I read those stats correctly Naperville is at about the 2005 level of home prices. Not good. I know the stats also say Naperville is doing ok compared to some other areas but that doesn't exactly make me feel better.

[holl1ngsworth]

Originally Posted by NaperResident

I'm not sure where to find this info but does anyone here know the real estate status in Naperville? From what I can see from listings on Redfin, there still appears to be plenty of homes selling for less than what they sold for during the housing bubble years (05/06/07). I also see many luxury homes dropping there prices massively, and a few being listed for years. Eventually selling after many listings and delistings and massive reductions. For example...

https://www.redfin.com/IL/Naperville.../home/18043365 (2.5 acres / 7000 sq feet for only 1.5 million!!) Down from 3 million.

https://www.redfin.com/IL/Naperville.../home/18042419 (3.5 acres / 8000+ sq feet for only 1.3 million!!) Down from 4.2 million

You put these homes in the North Shore and they get their asking prices. I know these may be extreme examples but still...

This is all quite disheartening for me as I personally bought my home in 2005 and highly doubt I could get now, 10 years later, what I paid for it. Now I don't plan on selling anytime soon but am I wrong to say the situation is pretty darn bad here in Naperville?

$3mm+ homes are exceedingly rare, even on the north shore, and they typically sit on the market for a very long time. The smattering of $3mm homes that traded hands in Winnetka and Glencoe over the past several years were mostly lakefront.

Overall, the Naperville market has fared much better than most other Chicago suburbs. 4-bed SFH prices are back to ~'05 levels. Many north shore communities are still below that mark.

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by destination-unknown

Said it before and I will say it again. The shrinking middle class is not isolated to Chicagoland or a handful of other major cities as many here seem to think. It's an issue everywhere including the lovely south where there is this common misperception the middle class is thriving.

The middle class is getting smaller - Mar. 24, 2015

Of course this is happening around the country, is anyone disputing that?

[Vlajos]

Zillow's "zestimates" are completely useless. They regularly grossly underestimate values in my area.

[My Kind Of Town]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

I often advocate northern Downers Grove as a nice place to live, and think that they have a nice little downtown area. But it is nowhere near the top five, and not nearly as large, fun, and comprehensive as Wheaton and La Grange. All of these towns have much larger, livelier downtown areas with more amenities: Naperville, Geneva, Evanston, Oak Park, La Grange, Wheaton, Elmhurst, Highland Park, Arlington Heights... Maybe even Forest Park and Libertyville. Downers not even in the top ten.




Everything you just listed we also have in Glen Ellyn--though I'll give you that the Tivoli Theater is a gem and nicer than our Glen Art Theater, which was carved up on the interior in a really bad way. But it shows really cool "art house" shows and lots of kids movies.

Glen Ellyn has better restaurants, with A Toda Madre being one of the true gems of the western suburbs, and Fire and Wine definitely better than anything in downtown Downers. We have a great old bakery (The Flour Barrel). We have several late night drinking establishments (The Tap Room, Shannon's Irish Pub, The Northsider). We have a neat wine store/bistro (Cabernet and Co/Cab's Bistro). We have another bistro (Bistro Monet). And we have GREAT ma and pa stores, including an independent book store, a bike shop, a craft beer store (Beer Cellar), one of the best independent coffee shops around (Blackberry Market), and a high end cooking store. We have boutiques, salons, an independent old school hardware store, a hot dog stand, places to get ice cream and Italian Ice. We have a ridiculous number of Italian restaurants, Thai Food, Mexican, etc. The only thing I would add would be a specialty grocer and perhaps a Walgreens for stopping on the way home from the train. We also have an endless list of downtown events including a weekly French Market, Outdoor Jazz Fest, Taste of Glen Ellyn, The Glen Ellyn Backyard BBQ, etc.

I guess we will have to agree to disagree