The Next “Hot” Neighborhood (Chicago, Berwyn: loft, buyer, movies)

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by Justabystander

I am not sure if it is because of the BLM riots or covid, but the real estate market in the suburbs, mine included, is red hot, and there is a lack of inventory and a rise in teardown activity and new builds. EG, in Hinsdale, there are now 96 properties under contact, with 16 of them priced at over 2.3 million ( 2.3 to 5.4 M) There were traditionally a lot of houses for sale, and tough to sell upper end. I think the trend is out of the city, at least it seems for the near future.

Well, that could be but I highly doubt the activity you cite is driven by young people who would normally rent an apartment in Bucktown or Logan Square. Therefore, this does not reflect a trend out of the City.

[jonnynonos]

I read the housing market everywhere is hot because no ones building due to COVID.

[thinkertinker]

Originally Posted by BRU67

Well, that could be but I highly doubt the activity you cite is driven by young people who would normally rent an apartment in Bucktown or Logan Square. Therefore, this does not reflect a trend out of the City.

I really don't get where people are seeing it's a trend out of the city. The city is building like crazy at the moment too. If people really believe all of a sudden people are now moving out of the city because of the pandemic it's just people being presumptuous and being dishonest. There is no data to support this, because we haven't been in this pandemic long enough to see a trend.....

After a year we can compare. But way too early to say right now that there will be a mass exodus to the suburbs. If anything, everyone I know is staying put. Staying put in their job, where they live, etc. because things are so uncertain at the moment. Now is not the time to make rash decisions if you have a stable job and live in a good place regardless if you live in a suburb or city. If anything I don't see a mass exodus, I see a mass freeze of people staying put until the coast is clear.

Heck, I was planning on buying at the end of the year, but now I am waiting it out, til this pandemic is under control. Things are too unpredictable right now, so I, like many others, I am just staying put.

[midwest1]

Northwest Indiana.

[dtcbnd03]

Originally Posted by Bardot

Agreed, and this was the point I was trying to make earlier. For some reason, many posters understood "fleeing the city for smaller cities" to "fleeing the city for suburbs". Millennials and Gen Z would rather be poor in the city than middle class in the suburbs, no doubt.

Smaller cities, and again I'll list examples: Detroit Metro, Asheville, Madison or Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Baltimore (say what you will, there is strong hipster presence here), have areas just like Logan Square and Pilsen in them. Amazing music scenes, hip bars, strong independent art scenes, vegan restaurants, quality record stores...all of that can be found in these smaller cities now. Some of them even have decent downtown architecture from their golden eras, and when more of these places start to legalize weed I think there will be even more attraction.

I'm not saying there won't always be hot areas in Chicago, but I couldn't even guess what the next one would be at this point because I think the next demographic to make that decision will end up spreading all over the country. In my building alone, several tenants (all under 40) have moved out of state within just the past few months. And it's not just Chicago, under 40s are becoming increasingly priced out of LA, Seattle, and of course NYC. For 20 somethings, who are even more debt-ridden, this is increasingly relevant.

You nailed it. Watch these young hipsters flock to these cheaper mid tier cities and the vibrant restaurants, bars, art, music scene, etc. will explode even more there. This is exactly what happens in Chicago hoods with Logan and Pilsen. Even Wicker and Bucktown back in the day.

[thinkertinker]

Originally Posted by Frugal Audiophile

Entire city of Asheville is only slightly more populated than Logan Square, I don't see how they could offer anywhere near the same vibe or amount of amenities as Chicago. People that want big city life go to a big city, people that want small town living go to small towns. There's a reason recent college grads from all over the Midwest come to Chicago and skip Detroit, Toledo, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, etc...

When I was in my 20's I had zero interest in living in a small town, now that I'm older with a family I would love to live in a smaller city but I'm not single and 22 anymore.

Exactly. I was visiting a friend in Lombard this weekend, and I could totally see why he, his wife and two young children are living out there. Now a 23 year old who is single fresh out of college? What the hell are they going to be doing in Lombard?

I think it's dishonest for people to say that this pandemic all of a sudden has created a 180 in people who have lived in the city and enjoy it or have wanted to live in a city. It's BS. You are just basing this on your own beliefs without any proof, because there is no proof yet. We haven't been living long enough in this pandemic to determine that.

I find my outdoor options to be far superior up here in Avondale than in Lombard. I have the lakefront, 606, the Logan Square Boulevards, Humboldt Park, Horner Park, Avondale/Roscoe Village river walk, the Albany Park river walk, Portage Park, etc, all within a 10-20 minute drive, and many of these I can walk to. Heck doesn't even have to be parks, I can still walk around Milwaukee Ave and be totally stimulated by all the different architecture, people, sights, sounds and things going on. If I want something queiter I can walk the beautiful residential streets of Logan Square.

Walking around Lombard? It's still as dead as ever and unstimulating as hell.

[Bardot]

Originally Posted by Frugal Audiophile

Entire city of Asheville is only slightly more populated than Logan Square, I don't see how they could offer anywhere near the same vibe or amount of amenities as Chicago.

You just proved my point. The young people that move to cities only come here for trendy/hipster/arty/liberal neighborhoods like Logan Square. So if you remove Logan Square and drop it into the mountains of North Carolina...you get Asheville! You get the trendy city neighborhood without the high cost of city living. About 15-20 years ago, Asheville was not comparable to Logan Square. Today, it nearly is. That's what has changed, and you'll see the effects of this within the next decade. I guarantee it.

By the way, I'm currently trying to by a home in one of these middle tier cities and it's nearly impossible. Homes are selling within 24 hours. There are insane bidding wars. I'm seeing this firsthand.

[Bardot]

Originally Posted by Frugal Audiophile

Entire city of Asheville is only slightly more populated than Logan Square, I don't see how they could offer anywhere near the same vibe or amount of amenities as Chicago.

You just proved my point. The young people that move to cities only come here for trendy/hipster/arty/liberal neighborhoods like Logan Square. So if you remove Logan Square and drop it into the mountains of North Carolina...you get Asheville! You get the trendy city neighborhood without the high cost of city living. About 15-20 years ago, Asheville was not comparable to Logan Square. Today, it nearly is. That's what has changed, and you'll see the effects of this within the next decade. I guarantee it.

To reiterate, we're not talking about "small towns" or "suburbs", and I'm not talking about leaving to start families (young people aren't doing that en masse anymore).

By the way, I'm currently trying to by a home in one of these middle tier cities and it's nearly impossible. Homes are selling within 24 hours. There are insane bidding wars. I'm seeing this firsthand.

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by Frugal Audiophile

People claiming that the burbs or small town America will be the next hipster destination are either delusional or have some sort of stake in those communities, unless their idea of hipster is a 40 year old couple with 2 toddlers. If that is then I'd have to really question their judgement

I think the mid-tier cities as that term is being defined here are limited in potential. You need the social employment opportunities to draw them in. Sure, they'd love to live in Ashville but how many jobs are there for them? That's why it's important for Chicago to continue to try to attract employers and create a business friendly climate. Without that, you become Detroit!

[Bardot]

Originally Posted by BRU67

I think the mid-tier cities as that term is being defined here are limited in potential. You need the social employment opportunities to draw them in. Sure, they'd love to live in Ashville but how many jobs are there for them? That's why it's important for Chicago to continue to try to attract employers and create a business friendly climate. Without that, you become Detroit!

That was also a point I made earlier in the thread: post-covid work-from-home is what's driving the ability for people to finally make this move. Permanent work from home policies are key to this. Many companies are now adopting it, some are not, but it is the future (regardless of COVID).