National Association of Realtors Median Home Prices 2nd Qtr (Wheaton: sales, home sales)

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

These numbers might make Chicago look affordable, but it's really a two-tiered housing market where the nicer areas are increasingly unaffordable, and there are miles and miles of undesirable areas with cheap housing. Good luck finding a $230,000 house in a decent school district.

I know there are all kinds of folks that won't see past the one car garage and the kitchen crying for an update (as well as sadly bland bathrooms...) but for a very modest sum one could get a livable home in a town with quite acceptable schools -- http://www.redfin.com/IL/Wheaton/170.../home/17571044

[pvande55]

Reasonable housing prices are a draw. Of course if you're coming from Cleveland, Detroit, or Buffalo it would be a big shock. But I read something on the Denver forum about a couple that's moving to Chicago suburbs citing substantially lower housing costs and traffic. You think traffic is bad here, some places it's worse.

[anja7]

Originally Posted by pvande55

Reasonable housing prices are a draw. Of course if you're coming from Cleveland, Detroit, or Buffalo it would be a big shock. But I read something on the Denver forum about a couple that's moving to Chicago suburbs citing substantially lower housing costs and traffic. You think traffic is bad here, some places it's worse.

that would be me! yep, the suburban chicago housing market is looking good to us compared to the nightmare that's been unfolding out here on the front range. never thought i'd say this, but i'm looking forward to coming back home to the midwest.

we moved out to the denver area from the chicago burbs 2 years ago, and in that time the real estate market has completely exploded. prices are through the roof and inventory is a record lows (for both rentals and purchases). when a house goes on the market, it will most likely be under contract in a day or two (but sometimes within hours). not many people even bother putting signs on the lawn. when a place is listed for rent, there will be a herd of people showing up to duke it out over even the shabbiest of homes.

our neighbor's tiny little 900 sq ft 3BR 1BA no basement went on the market for 240k. over the course of 1 weekend, we watched a parade of realtors and buyers go in and out (about 50 or 60 showings total). the house sold for 20k over asking with multiple offers. and here's the kicker...it has known structural damage. the damn thing is sinking and there was still people fighting over it.

so, yeah, it's a really bad scene out here if you're a renter or prospective buyer and your price range is under 300k. unfortunately, denver wages have not kept up with the increased housing costs. yes, there are lots of jobs here, but many of them are not high paying. what's sad is that people who have lived here their whole lives cannot afford the rent increases and a lot of them are being forced to move to more affordable cities/states. or live with multiple roommates ski-bum style to cut costs. and people who *could* potentially sell their homes and cash out can't because they wouldn't have anywhere to move to...since there's really not much available to buy.

the one good thing about CO real estate is the taxes...an average 3BR SFH will run about $900-1500/yr. no joke. wish i could bring that back to IL. heh.

oh, and the traffic in denver itself really isn't bad at all compared to chicago. what *is* horrendous is the traffic on I-70 going into and out of the mountains. it's pretty much the only way to get to keystone, breck, vail, etc. there are times (especially on the weekends and always during snow storms) where it will take you 3-5 hours to get out to the resorts and 3-5 hours coming back to denver. without traffic, that drive should be 1-1.5 hours each way...but it very rarely is. if there is an accident (and for some reason there are lots of them out here) they will shut down 70...and then you sit...and wait. even on a nice, sunny summer day it might take you 3 hours to get up there due to the sheer number of cars packed onto the highway. we moved out here for all the mountain-ish activities, but it's gotten to the point where we don't want to even bother driving to the mtns, because the traffic will make you want to pull your hair out.

i used to roll my eyes at the local bumper sticker that says "no vacancy" on a background fashioned to look like a CO license plate. but, you know, they are right. there really is no room in the inn out here.

see chicago, things could indeed be worse.

[OccidentExpress]

Originally Posted by DougStark

The 2015 2nd quarter results have just been released. Chicagoland median home price is at 230K.
For a big, world class city like Chicago, these numbers aren't very impressive IMO.

In comparison, Denver metro's median home price is 362K. Wow. Will Chicagoland ever regain its glory of years gone by?

Unlikely with huge debt, taxes and the Democratic machine in place.

Denver has a much nicer metro than Chicago because the people who built those suburbs learned from the mistakes of the older, larger metros. Denver also isn't saddled with a large black underclass, although the hispanic underclass is growing rapidly. Its economy was never as heavy industry/manufacturing-based as Chicago, either.

[MSchemist80]

Originally Posted by anja7

what's sad is that people who have lived here their whole lives cannot afford the rent increases and a lot of them are being forced to move to more affordable cities/states.

A lot of the people here can't afford the skyrocketing property taxes and are leaving especially the elderly/retired. A modest $200-300k home can now be charged >$10,000 per year in taxes. People on fixed incomes can't pay that and neither can many middle class home owners.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by chet everett

I know there are all kinds of folks that won't see past the one car garage and the kitchen crying for an update (as well as sadly bland bathrooms...) but for a very modest sum one could get a livable home in a town with quite acceptable schools -- http://www.redfin.com/IL/Wheaton/170.../home/17571044

Huh, jumping on the Wheaton train with holl1ngsworth now, eh? I was just talking to a guy this past weekend who wanted to live around here, but wasn't considering Wheaton because of it's dated Bible-thumper conservative image (and he was even somewhat conservative himself). I have to think this is actually affecting housing prices there. I tried to tell him that most people in Wheaton are quite normal, but that old stereotype does persist.

I will point out what I pointed out before... You can surely pick off a bargain of a house occasionally like this, but the options for truly shopping that lower price bracket don't really exist in Wheaton. You really need about $350-000-$400,000 to start shopping houses in Wheaton that are up to typical minimum American middle class standards. At least you do if you want to look at more than two or three houses, and most house shoppers like to view several options.

[anja7]

Originally Posted by MSchemist80

A lot of the people here can't afford the skyrocketing property taxes and are leaving especially the elderly/retired. A modest $200-300k home can now be charged >$10,000 per year in taxes. People on fixed incomes can't pay that and neither can many middle class home owners.

no arguments there. IL taxes are indeed out of hand. it's terrible for the folks who have lived in those high tax areas forever (i have family members who are in this predicament right now).

it definitely gave me pause when considering moving back. thankfully, the areas we are looking in seem to be falling in the 3-5k range.

[ToriaT]

I have looked recently and there are actually quite a few homes in Wheaton at lower price points. You won't get the latest and greatest in terms of being up to date but you will get a functional house in a great town with excellent safety and schools. If you look at Redfin there are more of these. There are quite a few modest areas in Wheaton, if you know where to look. There are always the misinformed people who keep identifying Wheaton with a bible thumper image. True, its not the People's Republic of Oak Park, but its diverse. Most of the homes are well kept that I have seen on Redfin.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by ToriaT

I have looked recently and there are actually quite a few homes in Wheaton at lower price points. You won't get the latest and greatest in terms of being up to date but you will get a functional house in a great town with excellent safety and schools. If you look at Redfin there are more of these. There are quite a few modest areas in Wheaton, if you know where to look. There are always the misinformed people who keep identifying Wheaton with a bible thumper image. True, its not the People's Republic of Oak Park, but its diverse. Most of the homes are well kept that I have seen on Redfin.

I guess there are 31 3BR or larger houses currently on the market under $250k in Wheaton or "unincorporated Wheaton". I'm surprised by that, but then I look at the houses... I wonder how many will be teardowns.

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

These numbers might make Chicago look affordable, but it's really a two-tiered housing market where the nicer areas are increasingly unaffordable, and there are miles and miles of undesirable areas with cheap housing. Good luck finding a $230,000 house in a decent school district.

Munching on my popcorn and watching how the Suburbs unfold We've got poor people moving out of the City to get away from some terrible 'hoods and the paranoid bourgeoisie trying to get away from them. This ought to be good, LOL!