South Barrington -- Toll Brothers (Naperville, Arlington Heights: real estate, 2013, renting)

[nkrishna16]

Hi Everyone -- Chet and all. Thanks for all excellent information you guys are providing on this forum. I'm planning to buy a new home at Toll Brothers and want to seek your inputs as I'm new to IL.

We moved to IL last year from Florida and currently renting in Naperville, IL. We've been in Naperville for 8 months now and liked the place. Nice family suburb. However, most of the single family homes are South of Naperville and commuting is a pain. My wife works in downtown and I also go to downtown once or twice a week. So even though we liked Naperville, we crossed it from our list due to commute and also that I cannot look for jobs in the North Suburbs.

After looking at other communities, I seemed to Like Woods of South Barrington. It is right off I90 and it is easy to commute to North or West suburbs. Nearer to the airport. Houses are in 850+ range.

Since I'm new to IL, I just want to take others inputs as well about South Barrington. Some of the questions that I've.

• How is the resale market in South Barrington?
  How do property values hold in SB in general?
  Do any one commute from South Barrington station to downtown? Is frequency of trains and parking good?
  I found from others that Barrington schools are good. Any other things that I should find out about schools?
  We've a 1 year old. How is SB area for rising kids?
  Any other negatives about SB that I should know about?
  

Your help is really appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[chet everett]

The value of real estate in South Barrington is not as solid as it once was. The biggest factor is the employment situation in the greater I-90 corridor is not as solid as it once was -- AT&T has all but shuttered there once massive facility, Sears continues to swirl around the whirlpool of doom, Motorola is a shadow of its former self, card service operation of Chase continue to be scaled back, even insurance facilities from Allstate have seen cutbacks and few smaller firms have taken up the slack given the horrible business climate of Cook Co and the whole of Illinois.

To be sure things are not immune from these forces in the I-88 corridor, which folks at OfficeMax waiting for inevitable relocation of all remaining jobs to Boca Raton, but other firms are doing better with significant events like Navistar making a huge investment in the former Lucent campus as well as sizable investments by Harris/BMO and others. But the biggest plus is that I-88 is sandwiched between the super-speedy BNSF rail line and that only a bit slower UP-W line, this makes access to the employment dense Loop superior.

The other factor is that all indications about tastes / consumer preference for more walkable areas where one need not rely on a car for everything also strongly favor those towns with a rail centric core -- while Barrington's center does have those qualities the mass builders like Toll Brothers have a very different pattern of development, tossing new homes up in a the lower density styles that seem less popular...

While Barrington schools remain mostly desirable if the community continues to age and the loss of employers continues to put pressure on residential property owners there could be significant impacts on affordability / desirability and ultimately performance. Several schools are already in "multiyear improvement plans"... BARRINGTON CUSD 220: Schools In District

While I can certainly understand the appeal of seeing new homes that are more affordable I would caution that compared to infill / tear down homes in other areas the value may not be really be terrific.

[cubssoxfan]

Is that the development along IL 59 and Penny Rd.? I find the name "Woods" of South Barrington silly, because when I cycle or drive by, I don't really see much "woods". I find existing construction in the Barrington area much nicer because it typically is much more heavily wooded, and thus far more charming. If you are wanting to commute to north suburbs or I-90 corridor for work, what about Arlington Heights? Yes it's more densely built and settled, but you are still close to I-90 corridor and mcuh closer to North Suburban job corridor. Shorter Metra ride downtown and you don't have the rte 59 mess that you have in downtown Barrington.

[nikitakolata]

Originally Posted by chet everett

To be sure things are not immune from these forces in the I-88 corridor, which folks at OfficeMax waiting for inevitable relocation of all remaining jobs to Boca Raton, but other firms are doing better with significant events like Navistar making a huge investment in the former Lucent campus as well as sizable investments by Harris/BMO and others. But the biggest plus is that I-88 is sandwiched between the super-speedy BNSF rail line and that only a bit slower UP-W line, this makes access to the employment dense Loop superior.

Chet, how often do you actually take Metra? The BNSF line may have faster service on the schedule, but it has delays all the time. In the past few months there have been delays of at least 15 minutes on the BNSF line nearly every day. Once you factor in the delays, the service on BNSF is hardly superior to any other line, in my experience. I take Metra every work day and I check the website every day so I see which lines are having delays.

To the OP, is there a reason you are not looking for new construction homes that are in a downtown core? At your price point you could get a new house within walking distance to a metra station, which would make your wife's commute much easier. I agree with Chet that there is a preference for walkable areas and I don't see that preference going away anytime soon. From my peronsonal experience, life simply is more convenient when you live in the downtown core and don't have to drive everywhere.

If you feel like Naperville is too far south, why not look at a town that is more centrally located? Elmhurst is right in the middle and there are homes in the downtown area that are in your budget. Depending on where your employment prospects are Arlington Heights may also be a good option, along with a bunch of other suburbs, of course.

[chet everett]

I have ridden the UP-NW line to Barrington where I have friends and it is signficantly longer / less flexible than either the UP-W line (which I have ridden when I worked in the Loop and had evening clasess at Elmhurst College which is walkably close) or BNSF (which is my home line that I have ridden for the majority of my employment in the Loop).

Weather related delays are certainly not fun but there is no way to use this historic stretch of sub-freezing weather to condemn any of the area Metra service. There were "public comment sessions" last night in Naperville and people were understandly upset but the Metra and BNSF staff emphaized the important of this line to the financial viability of the whole system and only a fool would not understand that the equipment issues are something that no one wants. BNSF and Metra staff work very hard to ensure the best service possible.

[middle-aged mom]

Originally Posted by nkrishna16

• Do any one commute from South Barrington station to downtown? Is frequency of trains and parking good?
  

There is no train service from South Barrington to downtown. One must drive 15 minutes +/- to the Village of Barrington Metra Station and park.

Unlike many Metra stations, there is always parking available in Barrington. It costs $3 /day.

The train commute to the city ranges from about 50-70 minutes, dependent on time of departure, express vs. local trains service.

New planned development of upscale housing in suburbia tends to necessitate a schlep to the Metra.

[cubssoxfan]

Originally Posted by middle-aged mom

There is no train service from South Barrington to downtown. One must drive 15 minutes +/- to the Village of Barrington Metra Station and park.

Unlike many Metra stations, there is always parking available in Barrington. It costs $3 /day.

The train commute to the city ranges from about 50-70 minutes, dependent on time of departure, express vs. local trains service.

New planned development of upscale housing in suburbia tends to necessitate a schlep to the Metra.

Then perhaps, one should consider the more convenient location and charm of living in the village instead of having to schlep because one HAS to have new construction

[middle-aged mom]

Originally Posted by nkrishna16

• How is the resale market in South Barrington?
  How do property values hold in SB in general?
  

Your help is really appreciated. Thanks in advance.

What can I say? It's better than it was 1-2-3-4-5- 6 years ago.

Values appreciated about 12% in 2013 versus 2012 within the 60010 zip code which covers about 100 square miles in 4 different counties.

Parts of South Barrington are known for their over the top, unique " trophy homes". Such properties did not hold value well, even during the bubble. At a given price point, it makes more sense to build one's own castle than buy someone else's dated dream. Know what I mean?

Resale within this Toll Brother's Community competes with new construction as is the case in most new developments. The timing of this development could not have been worse given the collapse of the housing market. That it held together in spite of the downturn and the failure of so many other builders says something.

The elementary school district is split within the Woods of South Barrington, development. It looks like most of the new construction is going to feed into Countryside, which is in Barrington Hills, not local, like Rose school.

[middle-aged mom]

Originally Posted by cubssoxfan

Then perhaps, one should consider the more convenient location and charm of living in the village instead of having to schlep because one HAS to have new construction

Many people prefer the homogenous environment of an upscale planned community and unfortunately, such housing is rarely super convenient to mass transportation.

They often use the commute time to work or for extra " Candy Crunch" time.

If it were me, at a similar price point, I would seriously consider Scarsdale, in AH. Commute time would be halved and the area is a mixed bag of custom new / (er) construction and timeless and tasteful architecture with a few dogs in between.

[nikitakolata]

Originally Posted by chet everett

I have ridden the UP-NW line to Barrington where I have friends and it is signficantly longer / less flexible than either the UP-W line (which I have ridden when I worked in the Loop and had evening clasess at Elmhurst College which is walkably close) or BNSF (which is my home line that I have ridden for the majority of my employment in the Loop).

Weather related delays are certainly not fun but there is no way to use this historic stretch of sub-freezing weather to condemn any of the area Metra service. There were "public comment sessions" last night in Naperville and people were understandly upset but the Metra and BNSF staff emphaized the important of this line to the financial viability of the whole system and only a fool would not understand that the equipment issues are something that no one wants. BNSF and Metra staff work very hard to ensure the best service possible.

I agree that commuting from Barrington will take longer than from Naperville, that much is obvious. My only point is that given the number of times the BNSF line has been delayed in my experience it is really not offering "superior" service over the other lines. The UP west line has far fewer delays. It had fared better in the past two months, for sure.

Personally, I think it is insane to consider South Barrington just in order to have a new house when one spouse works in the loop and there is a budget of $850,000 that could but a new house in a much more convenient location. Having dealt with long train rides recently while living in St. Charles I know it can be draining and makes for a very long day.