St. Charles Home Values ???

[aga412]

Why do people on this board care so much about train lines and living three seconds away from them? People are aware they can easily drive to the train lines right? In Batavia, I can get to the Aurora train in about 10-15 minutes, and there seems to be ample parking there.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by aga412

Why do people on this board care so much about train lines and living three seconds away from them? People are aware they can easily drive to the train lines right? In Batavia, I can get to the Aurora train in about 10-15 minutes, and there seems to be ample parking there.

It's not just people on this forum, it's people across the entire region. "Walk to train" locations are in demand and go for a premium across Chicagoland. Any time you add another leg to your commute, it adds time and complication.

Of course there are plenty of homebuyers who don't care about "walk to train" locations, but enough people do to drive up the prices, particularly in suburbs with good schools (no one cares about "walk to train" in Maywood or Berkley).

[nikitakolata]

Originally Posted by aga412

Why do people on this board care so much about train lines and living three seconds away from them? People are aware they can easily drive to the train lines right? In Batavia, I can get to the Aurora train in about 10-15 minutes, and there seems to be ample parking there.

Believe me, those 15 minutes each way really add up when you take the train every single day. That's why people want to be close to the train stations (or why I do, anyway). In my experience there's more variability in driving than with walking, as well. If there's one accident that 15 minutes can easily turn into 18 and I've missed my train. With walking, I can time it so that I'm walking up to the station right as the train pulls up. That has value for me.

If I didn't work downtown and commute via metra, then living near the stations wouldn't be worth a huge premium to me, but in the last 11 years and 5 jobs, I have always needed to be downtown.

Not to mention, if I was a 15 minute drive from the train that means I'm also a 15 minute drive from the downtown core. So, I'd be driving there for restaurants instead of walking. There's some value in being close to downtown even if I didn't use the train.

[flamadiddle]

Wondering if OP ever made the jump?

Regarding being close enough to walk to the train, that is huge in my book. I worked downtown for many years and lived in homes both close and far from the train station. Being able to walk to the train was a huge plus IMO. No worries about driving, traffic, parking, warming up the car, shoveling snow, accidents, etc. You just just head out the door, walk a couple blocks and you're there. Nice to get a little extra exercise too.

Anyway, I've been looking at St Charles too because I'm currently working from home, but fear that I may eventually need to consider work downtown. The amount of homes on the market in St. Charles seems really high for such a relatively small town. Anything happening in that area that I should be aware of?

*The main attraction to St. Charles are the large lots and good schools. We really want a ~1 acre lot with excellent schools for around $600K or less. Can't seem to find anything like that in Wheaton, etc.

[aga412]

Well St. Charles won't put you a couple blocks from a train if that's super important to you... Batavia puts you near the Geneva and Aurora Metras, and I-88. Geneva puts you near the Geneva station. All towns are great and would have something like that to offer. If you're so enamored with Saint Charles and want large acreage, maybe you could look in Campton Hills.