Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I think that the recovery has been very lumpy where some areas have mostly recovered and others are still in the tank. I read that in Buffalo Grove, prices are about where they were in 2003. I know for my house, that is correct. When my dad died in 2008 I had to do a valuation of the house in BG at that time for estate purposes. That model house is selling for about 25% less now than what it would have in 2008 assuming it was updated. In the case of the Lake County side of BG, even though Stevenson HS is a huge draw, the real estate taxes are insane. I think people have figured out they can pay more for a house but save a lot in RE taxes and move to Northbrook and still get great schools, and come out ahead financially.
The high end homes in BG have been killed. A house just down the road from me was sold new in 2006 for $1.1mil and recently sold for about $650K. And it was not a foreclosure or short sale. Now, I always thought it was crazy to build homes that expensive in BG. It is just not that kind of place. If you want a huge house and want to spend a million, go a mile west and buy in Long Grove.
Real estate taxes are a huge drag in BG. Insane would be a better word. And at least in my case, 75% goes to various school districts and their pension plans. It's too bad. It was not always like that.
With the bigger homes I don't even think they rebounded at 2003 levels, when I say big I mean 3000 plus square feet. No one is looking to pay a $15,000 dollar tax bill on those homes.
There might not be another subprime meltdown, but the housing cost/property tax squeeze in Chicagoland isn't sustainable in the long term.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fighting Fungus
No one is looking to pay a $15,000 dollar tax bill on those homes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by wjj
Real estate taxes are a huge drag in BG. Insane would be a better word. And at least in my case, 75% goes to various school districts and their pension plans. It's too bad. It was not always like that.
This ^^^^^^^^^^^
Out of control property taxes are going to slaughter the Chicagoland real estate market in the future. It is totally unsustainable. Even more so if Rahm Emanuel gets his way with yet another giant Cook County property tax increase..... Which he will. The Chicago motto has always been, when you have a problem, throw money at it. They're running out of money. Homeowners are being bled dry. Over the decades Chicago has seen it's AAA bond rating drop to all but junk bond status. These unsustainable pensions of both city workers, and school teachers are going to have to be renegotiated to much lower levels. And they won't stand for it. They would rather economically collapse the city. And they will.
Chicago is well on it's way to becoming the next Detroit. It's just going to take longer because the employment is more diversified. But it's already slowly happening. Like most uber liberal, Democratic stronghold cities, Chicago's best days are behind it. They have become a victim of their own damn creation.
Last edited by petlover8; 10-13-2015 at 07:48 AM..
I hate to break it to you, but if you Chicagoland people had unloaded your real estate 10 to 20 years ago and invested in California real estate, you'd be a WHOLE lot better off now. Do the math!
Chicagoland real estate appreciation sucks. I see no change in this forecast. It's a combination of: lousy climate, corrupt government, congestion, high taxes, crappy roads. Why would anyone want to invest in Chicagoland? I wouldn't.
This alone is going to destroy any "appreciation" you think you might have in Chicago real estate, and the surrounding tri county area for years to come.
This alone is going to destroy any "appreciation" you think you might have in Chicago real estate, and the surrounding tri county area for years to come.
Did you even read the article you posted? That is a City of Chicago property tax increase. It is only levied to residents of the city, so it will have no effect on suburban areas. If anything, it may make the suburbs more attractive compared to the city, since the city has enjoyed lower property tax rates than most suburbs for quite some time now.
Chicagoland real estate appreciation sucks. I see no change in this forecast. It's a combination of: lousy climate, corrupt government, congestion, high taxes, crappy roads. Why would anyone want to invest in Chicagoland? I wouldn't.
I know plenty of people who made a lot of money on real estate appreciation in Chicago before the Great Recession. Things have been more shaky since the housing peak in 2007, but all of your factors listed above were in place when the housing market was booming too. So your "analysis" leaves a lot to be desired. Seems more like "trolling" to me.
Did you even read the article you posted? That is a City of Chicago property tax increase. It is only levied to residents of the city, so it will have no effect on suburban areas. If anything, it may make the suburbs more attractive compared to the city, since the city has enjoyed lower property tax rates than most suburbs for quite some time now.
Keep dreaming. If you don't think this will transcend into the suburbs, you're being foolish with your assessment. It already has. Look at property taxes in Lake and Dupage County. They are equal to, or greater than comparable homes in Chicago, and are among the highest in the nation. The whole tri county area in and around Chicago, Illinois is insanely over taxed in regards to real estate value. You want an example?
In 1985 we built a new 2,600 ft. 4 bedroom, 3 bath, 2 story in Lake Zurich, (Lake County). When we moved in the property taxes were $2,600.00 a year. When we sold and moved to Arizona 6 years later the taxes were just north of $4,000.00 a year. Today, (2015), the property taxes on that same home are $9,885.00. We sold the home for just over $200K. Today it Zillow's for just under $340K, (less than $140K in appreciation IN 18 YEARS), while the property taxes have increased over 3-1/2 times. All these Lake and Dupage County suburbs are faced with the same under funded pensions for teachers and city workers. They all have the same crumbling roads and infrastructure. (Drive down Rt. 12 from Chicago to Fox Lake if you don't believe me).
No, Chicago suburbanites are in for the same treatment, because they're faced with the same problems. Underfunded schools and pension plans that will drive them into insolvency if they don't raise property taxes to even higher insane levels.
Last edited by petlover8; 10-15-2015 at 09:12 AM..
Keep dreaming. If you don't think this will transcend into the suburbs, you're being foolish with your assessment. It already has. Look at property taxes in Lake and Dupage County. They are equal to, or greater than comparable homes in Chicago, and are among the highest in the nation. The whole tri county area in and around Chicago, Illinois is insanely over taxed in regards to real estate value. You want an example?
You posted an article about Rahm Emanuel wanting to raise the tax levy in the city. That will not affect the suburbs in any way. This thread is specifically about the suburbs.
Yes, property taxes are high in the Chicago suburbs, but this has nothing to do with the article you posted. Nothing.
Also, there is no "Tri County Area" in Chicagoland. No one refers to this. Usually the Chicago metro area is referred to as the "Seven County Region" or you hear talk of the five "collar counties".
You posted an article about Rahm Emanuel wanting to raise the tax levy in the city. That will not affect the suburbs in any way. This thread is specifically about the suburbs.
Yes, property taxes are high in the Chicago suburbs, but this has nothing to do with the article you posted. Nothing.
Also, there is no "Tri County Area" in Chicagoland. No one refers to this. Usually the Chicago metro area is referred to as the "Seven County Region" or you hear talk of the five "collar counties".
You are ignoring reality, and in the process picking fly $h!t out of pepper in a poor attempt at deflection. The tri county area, (This refers to Cook, Lake, and Dupage County, better known as the Chicago suburbs), regardless of how you wish to define it, or play grammar police. (That's the picking fly $h!t out of the pepper part), is greatly effected by what happens in and around Chicago. If you lived in Illinois for any length of time you know, or at least should know, Chicago runs Illinois, not Springfield.
As Chicago goes, the suburbs go. And in many ways, the rest of the state goes. This is especially true tax wise. In fact they're, (the suburbs) are worse, (i.e. more expensive), as you yourself mentioned. Chicago is in massive debt. So are much of the suburbs in the surrounding counties. Chicago has under funded school teacher and city worker pensions that are bankrupting it's treasury. So do the surrounding suburbs. Chicago has a crumbling infrastructure. As do it's surrounding suburbs. It was recently reported the Illinois State Lottery is broke, and cannot pay off it's winners. If you remember back in 1976, (if you were even alive then), when they sold the concept of a state run lottery to the citizens, they did so by saying all the proceeds would go to funding education, and in the process help ease that tax burden. We all see where that went.
All of these towns and villages that border and surround Chicago are all faced with the exact same problems, which are going to take a fortune to fix. The fact you don't want to see, recognize, and or admit this to yourself, means nothing. To me or anyone else. The fact remains they are in the exact same financial boat. And that boat is sinking, and sinking fast. The "fix", as temporary as it may be, is going to be monumental property tax increases, on top of an already overburdened property tax base. This is already taking place in the city of Chicago, as well as it's suburbs, as I've proven in my personal example. There are tens of thousands of others if you don't like mine. They all point to the same thing.
Throwing money at every problem that comes along is in itself a poor "fix". It becomes even worse when you run out of money to throw. Both Chicago, along with it's surrounding suburbs have. Anyone with a 4th grade education in math can figure out the rest.
Last edited by petlover8; 10-15-2015 at 10:26 AM..
The tri county area, (This refers to Cook, Lake, and Dupage County, better known as the Chicago suburbs), regardless of how you wish to define it, or play grammar police.
No one calls it that. You'd be leaving out counties that directly border Cook like Will and Kane. There is no "Tri County Area" here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by petlover8
is greatly effected by what happens in and around Chicago. If you lived in Illinois for any length of time you know, or at least should know, Chicago runs Illinois, not Springfield.
It's "affected", not "effected". Now there's some grammar policing for you! Sure, Chicago(land) runs Springfield. It's a matter of population. No one is debating that. But a tax levy in the city is a tax levy in the city. You don't seem to understand our system of taxation. The city has been collecting an artificially low property tax levy for years, and now it will go up. Having looked at Rahm's plan, it will make it harder for high-end properties in the city, but houses worth under $500k will probably only have modestly higher bills. But this may actually make the suburbs more favorable by comparison.
Quote:
Originally Posted by petlover8
As Chicago goes, the suburbs go. And in many ways, the rest of the state goes. This is especially true tax wise. In fact they're, (the suburbs) are worse, (i.e. more expensive), as you yourself mentioned. Chicago is in massive debt. So are much of the suburbs in the surrounding counties. Chicago has under funded school teacher and city worker pensions that are bankrupting it's treasury. So do the surrounding suburbs. Chicago has a crumbling infrastructure. As do it's surrounding suburbs. It was recently reported the Illinois State Lottery is broke, and cannot pay off it's winners. If you remember back in 1976, (if you were even alive then), when they sold the concept of a state run lottery to the citizens, they did so by saying all the proceeds would go to funding education, and in the process help ease that tax burden. We all see where that went.
I agree that the fortunes of the City of Chicago are closely tied to the suburbs, and even the rest of the state, and certainly worry about the regional economic impact of higher taxes. But many suburbs (including mine) do not have debt or pension issues of their own. We will be responsible for whatever the State doles out, but many suburban governments are actually in pretty good financial shape. Some are not. But once again, this has nothing to do with the city raising property taxes. YOU are the one deflecting now with a "straw man".
Additionally, the Lottery is not broke. They are just prohibited by law from making payments above a certain amount until a budget is passed. It's a "government shutdown" issue, not a matter of having insufficient funds. But if you had actually read the article you posted again, you would know this.
Look, I am not arguing that everything is rosy, and I agree with you that high property taxes are a big problem here. But you (and many others) are exaggerating the problem with hyperbole and false claims. We have major problems here, but lets focus on the real ones and not the imaginary ones.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
