Why are homes so overpriced in the Chicago suburbs?

[Kmanshouse]

Originally Posted by mwj119

You aren't taking into consideration: Access to the city/train line, schools, size of the house (ppsqft), and shape of the house. Chicagoland is, by every metric I can think of, one of the most affordable major metros.

I mean, you can live in areas like Oak Park and Evanston, in a beautiful neighborhood that touches the city, for >$500k. Do you know how much homes in an Oak Park, Evanston, Park Ridge would cost in the Seattle area? That is, 10 miles away form downtown, good schools, high income, nice homes. Boston? LA? San Fran?

I mean, you can buy a nice updated house that is walkable to two train stations in Glenview for $400k, <15 miles from Chicago, in one of the highest rated districts. Ditto Elmhurst, Northbrook, La Grange, ditto Park Ridge. In fact, there are very few suburbs in Chicagoland where you can't find a nice house at $400k. And in Burr Ridge, you can by land for <$200K, and homes in the $300s 19 miles from the city.

It may be a bad long term investment, but the QOL in Chicagoland is great.

Agree.

I've looked around, too. Forget the west coast entirely except inland SoCal. And in inland SoCal, where it starts getting more affordable, you are looking at mostly recent Mexican immigrant enclaves, and/or ungodly hot desert. And the "cuter" areas inland, like Temecula? Forget it. Those prices are skyrocketing by the day. The comparably priced areas there have 90-120 minute drives to LA, crime, etc. We're talking places with similar priced homes to say, Wheaton, IL, where there is negligible crime and a 45-55 minute train downtown.


East coast might have some good value in the 'burbs. That's something I haven't researched. But taxes in those states are also very high.

Housing in and around Boston is definitely more expensive than Chicago. And, it's Boston. Not the same.

[mwj119]

Originally Posted by Kmanshouse

Housing in and around Boston is definitely more expensive than Chicago. And, it's Boston. Not the same.

Go easy now!!!!!