Barrington, IL lifestyle for my young family? (Schaumburg, Evanston: 2015, houses)

[Hiruko]

The Illinois Department of Education is very talented at removing previous years report cards from easy public view, but in 2018 the percentage of white non-Hispanic students at Barrington High School was 66%. By 2022, that figure was 58.7%.

[ToriaT]

Also check out Wheaton, Glen Ellyn, Downers Grove, La Grange, and Elmhurst.

[G in MP]

Hiruko's post is pretty right on. Me and the wife have lived in the city and all over the NW burbs, and now live in unicorp Barrington outside of town. As far as I know, schools here are great. I will second the opinion that downtown Barrington is not a big draw unless you're big on walking to the handful of diners/restaurants and/or commute via train. I would say that if you're looking for a suburb with standard sized lots and a downtowny area nearby, I'd look at Arlington Heights or Palatine. Des Plaines has a great downtown, but you'd probably give a side-eye to the schools there, I dunno.

Anways, back to Barrington, outside of town it's mostly 1-5 acre lots (or more), but yet there's definitely a neighborhood feel to it. So it's not like you're out in the boonies or anything. As far as pricewise, you're gonna be at the top of your budget for a nice house. Barrington Hills is probably the most expensive, but also has the huge estate lots...just can't imagine a bunch of neighborhood kids hanging out together unless they already know each other from school. North Barrington is more neighborhood-like in that regard (outside of town). Houses are a bit closer together, so more conductive to neighbors knowing each other.

I'll also add that Barrington is the nicest, most serene area I've ever lived in, and I am forever spoiled by how gorgeous it is around here. I'll never move out of this area by choice. Even just driving to shopping in Lake Zurich, these woodsy roads, just awesome, love it.

[GoCUBS1]

Originally Posted by Hiruko

There are many other nice areas in the northwest suburbs in addition to the Village of Barrington and the Barrington Area. The Barrington Area is very unique because it is the least densely populated enclave in Cook and Lake counties. Outside of the Village and South Barrington, there are still many equestrian properties, especially in Barrington Hills. The area is very bucolic and immediately outside of the Village of Barrington, you can feel like you are in the countryside.

At your price point, there are a healthy amount of options on the market within the Village. Home values in the area recovered substantially during the pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, it was a pretty depressed market. It was generally considered unfashionable given the distance from the city. Like elsewhere, it has cooled off, but homes are still selling for significantly more than they were in 2018 and 2019. Prices back then look like an astounding bargain. I assume you have factored in annual taxes, which can be a multiple of what similarly priced homes in California come with.

The public schools are highly reputable, but the semi-rural nature of the district boundaries and spread out student population (nearing 9k students over 72 square miles) can diminish the community feel that you might be expecting. The district has rapidly diversified and some area schools are predominately minority. The overall district is now 60% non-Hispanic white, and this is a dramatic change that the district is grappling with in a short period of time.

Downtown Barrington is walkable, but it is very small and business hours are short. There are many other significantly more vibrant downtowns nearby. I would not describe it as a destination of any sort for anyone besides people from the immediately adjacent area headed to the grocery store or a breakfast joint.

I think Barrington could be a good option for you to consider, but I'm not sure it is objectively "nicer" than Hoffman Estates or Schaumburg. I think most people will recognize it as more aesthetically pleasing, but "nicer" is highly debatable because there are so many factors related to one's personal situation.

I think the biggest cons of living in the Barrington Area for you are going to be less walkability than you anticipate, less community due to the spread-out nature of the area, congestion on country roads, and more difficult access to the City of Chicago.

I think that Arlington Heights and to a certain extent Palatine, Mt. Prospect, Elmhurst, Wheaton, Glen Ellyn, and, yes, Naperville, might be closer to what you are looking for.

Barrington is not undergoing “a dramatic change that the district is grappling with in a short period of time.”
There is one elementary school (Carpentersville) that has always had a larger Hispanic population, and South Barrington elementary school has larger Indian and Asian populations. Because of this, Barrington instituted one of the most successful dual language (Spanish, Mandarin) programs decades ago. Native English speaking students also become bilingual in these programs.

Barrington was not “unfashionable” and “pretty depressed” in the past. It is a close knit community and Barrington School District 220 encompasses all schools in the town (PK-12). This means it’s one of the rare districts where all elementary and middle schools feed into the same high school. This builds a strong sense of community amongst the students since they go to school with each other from PK through 12th grade.

Also the walkable downtown has plenty of great shops, restaurants, bars, etc.

I raised my three kids in this district and it’s wonderful. All three are attending top 10 universities (per U.S. News) and are happy and thriving. I attribute a lot of their success to the community in which they were raised.

Hiruko is not the purveyor of words of wisdom. He is a realtor from a competitive market.

[Hiruko]

Not sure when I became a Realtor...

I actually live in the North Shore-Barrington Association of Realtors boundaries...

Before the pandemic, the Barrington area was a depressed market just like other farther out suburbs. This is not controversial or an opinion.

[Hiruko]

CRAIN'S 2018: The weakest housing market among Chicago's affluent suburbs is...

"The luxury property market has been weak in many suburbs this year, particularly those that lie far outside Chicago, but nowhere as weak as in the Barrington area, which includes the towns of Barrington, North Barrington, South Barrington and Barrington Hills...From Burr Ridge in the southwest suburbs to Lake Bluff at the northern tip of the North Shore, no other place had as negative a combination of indicators..."

[chicagocpa22]

I think calling Barrington a depressed market pre-pandemic is a bit dramatic. It wasn't depressed but I would describe the overall area as having good values for the square footage and acreage that you get relative to suburbs closer to the city. Property values definitely increased during the pandemic. The article above is specifically talking about the 'luxury property market' - AKA multi million dollar properties which is not reflective of the average homes in the broader Barrington area. Yes if you buy a multi million dollar mcmansion, its no surprise that future buyers may not value it as much as you did. In the Barrington area neighborhood I live in, there is hardly ever turnover of homes and it seems that many of the residents have lived here happily for 25+ years.

[G in MP]

Originally Posted by chicagocpa22

I think calling Barrington a depressed market pre-pandemic is a bit dramatic. It wasn't depressed but I would describe the overall area as having good values for the square footage and acreage that you get relative to suburbs closer to the city. Property values definitely increased during the pandemic. The article above is specifically talking about the 'luxury property market' - AKA multi million dollar properties which is not reflective of the average homes in the broader Barrington area. Yes if you buy a multi million dollar mcmansion, its no surprise that future buyers may not value it as much as you did. In the Barrington area neighborhood I live in, there is hardly ever turnover of homes and it seems that many of the residents have lived here happily for 25+ years.

Yup. I can't vouch for in-town home sales coz I don't track those, but I will say me/wife follow Barrington home sales (larger lots) via Zillow as a hobby, just to compare to what we got.

So, tracking this for the last 7 yrs we've been here, here's what we see. $1+ mill homes, those do tend to sit, yes. But below that, especially -$700k sitting on 1 acre+, they go fast. Unless there's something really wrong with them, in which case, once the seller comes down to earth with the pricing, sold.

[Pseudonym18123]

If you limit your search to Barrington proper, you can easily find something with your budget. Downtown Barrington is charming (Carlow Theater is great) and it’s overall a nice place to raise a family. You could even try in areas like South Barrington or Lake Barrington for more sprawl. Barrington Hills is extremely sprawly and expensive, but it’s nice. The schools are also excellent. They’re not as high-performing as nearby schools like Stevenson, but Barrington High School is also very economically and racially diverse (since many kids come from Carpentersville). It’s a nice town and area you should definitely check out.

[Hiruko]

In 2018, the average market time for SFHs under $1 mil in the Barrington Area was 160 days for closed listings. Median sale excluding $1 mil was $491k.

For calendar year 2022, the average market time was down to 48 days with average sale price $610k (excluding $1 mil+).

Compare to Naperville with same parameters (SFH under $1 mil):

2018: 80 days and $454k

2022: 28 days and $584k

Compare to Schaumburg with same parameters (SFH under $1 mil):

2018: 65 days and $344k

2022: 28 days and $431k

Compare to Glenview Golf Area with same parameters (SFH under $1 mil):

2018: 96 days and $540k

2022: 39 days and $605k

Compare to Elmhurst with same parameters (SFH under $1 mil):

2018: 87 days and $486k

2022: 43 days and $537k

Compare to Evanston including Skevanston with same parameters (SFH under $1 mil):

2018: 65 days and $520k

2022: 31 days and $591k

Compare to Wilmette with same parameters (SFH under $1 mil):

2018: 87 days and $633k

2022: 35 days and $674k

Even in 2022, market times are appreciably longer for the Barrington Area. In the last decade and a half, it has been a consistently weaker local market relative to others of similar caliber. It is most similar to the Lake Forest market:

Compare to Lake Forest with same parameters (SFH under $1 mil):

2018: 151 days and $688k

2022: 50 days and $722k

160 days on market for the average home is pretty darn 'depressed' when the regional average for the same year (2018) was 82 days... And this is just what actually sold, not what failed to sell.