Portage Homes for Sale? (Gary, Hammond: real estate, crime, house)

[Quiggs1982]

I'm in the process of trying to buy a home in NWI. Right now I'm looking at Valpo, Chesterton, Crown Point, or Hebron.

What's with the mass selling of homes going in Portage? I'm new to Porter County, but something has to be going on when there are this many homes for sale. Nice ones too, and the prices seem super low compared to the surrounding areas.

[MovingForward59]

Originally Posted by Quiggs1982

I'm in the process of trying to buy a home in NWI. Right now I'm looking at Valpo, Chesterton, Crown Point, or Hebron.

What's with the mass selling of homes going in Portage? I'm new to Porter County, but something has to be going on when there are this many homes for sale. Nice ones too, and the prices seem super low compared to the surrounding areas.

Probably the Illinois exodus. It will get even bigger next year when their idiot governor raises taxes yet again.

[svillechris]

I took the original question as “why are so many people in Porrage selling?” as opposed to the first response here.

I think in short, Portage is just not as desirable as its immediate rivals in Porter County (Chesterton and Valparaiso). Schools are just ok, and long term some people have doubts as to its desirability given the housing stock (smaller older and less expensive) being a draw for migration from Portage’s neighbors to the west.

[Exwyocowboy]

Originally Posted by svillechris

I took the original question as “why are so many people in Porrage selling?” as opposed to the first response here.

I think in short, Portage is just not as desirable as its immediate rivals in Porter County (Chesterton and Valparaiso). Schools are just ok, and long term some people have doubts as to its desirability given the housing stock (smaller older and less expensive) being a draw for migration from Portage’s neighbors to the west.

Portage has always been a third tier town. Not flashy like Chesterton or Valpo. Plenty of good union built homes.

[valpofan11]

Portage is getting worse. It's never been a great city, but was once a strong blue collar union family community and the people had a lot of pride in being Portagians. But it has never had rich people there. Most of those people went to Valparaiso, unincorporated Porter County, and when the outskirts of Chesterton grew, lots of wealth went there too.

Portage has been seeing a lot of change since the early 2000s, its last growth period. Demographically, the white population continues to decline while the Hispanic population has boomed, and the black population has grown considerably. The people moving to Portage continue to come from Lake Station, Gary, Hammond, EC, as well as a decent amount from Merrillville and even poorer areas in the Chicago south burbs and city. Home building has declined significantly since the Great Recession, although there's been a little more interest recently.

Crime isn't terrible but isn't getting better. There's more spillover now from Lake County which creates issues. Schools are pretty poor compared to the rest of Porter County (with the exception of the Michigan City Area Schools portion of Pine Twp).

Portage is popular for the lower middle class and lower class, especially Hispanic, black, and biracial households. There's still a stronghold of blue collar whites in the city, but with very few whites moving in, the demographic shift is continuing, albeit at a slower pace than other major shifts like we saw in the Chicago south suburbs. I personally wouldn't live there but you might like it, so do as you please.

[valpofan11]

Originally Posted by Quiggs1982

I'm in the process of trying to buy a home in NWI. Right now I'm looking at Valpo, Chesterton, Crown Point, or Hebron.

What's with the mass selling of homes going in Portage? I'm new to Porter County, but something has to be going on when there are this many homes for sale. Nice ones too, and the prices seem super low compared to the surrounding areas.

Like I alluded to in my first post, it is possible that older Portagians who have the ability to move are doing so because they think the city is getting worse, or it might be that they cannot afford to live in a house anymore (recession currently) and have to sell. Portage has a lot of decent middle class homes but very few executive options, Austin Hills is the only super nice subdivision that would be on par with a lot of subdivisions in Valpo or Crown Point.

You honestly might love living in Portage if you don't have any kids in K-12 schools, or just plan on sending them to private schools. Get a much cheaper home in P-Town as opposed to Valpo, Crown Point, or the newer parts of Chesterton. I would suggest looking in Winfield if I were you.

[flamadiddle]

*Old thread revival Alert!

Was perusing retirement homes for an inlaw and noticed some good deals in Portage. Crime stats per CD seemed to have actually gone down since this thread started.

https://www.city-data.com/city/Portage-Indiana.html

Any thoughts on the current condition and future of Portage? Schools would not be important since they are retired, but schools do play into the appreciation of real estate. No one wants to buy a home that will not increase or possibly decrease in value over the years.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by flamadiddle

*Old thread revival Alert!

Was perusing retirement homes for an inlaw and noticed some good deals in Portage. Crime stats per CD seemed to have actually gone down since this thread started.

https://www.city-data.com/city/Portage-Indiana.html

Any thoughts on the current condition and future of Portage? Schools would not be important since they are retired, but schools do play into the appreciation of real estate. No one wants to buy a home that will not increase or possibly decrease in value over the years.

Portage could be seeing some improvements, but they have a very long way to go before ever coming close to what Chesterton or Valpo offers. Educational attainment is very low in Portage compared to nicer areas of Porter County.

[Kathy884]

How is Ogden Dunes these days? I know it has a Portage zip code.

[valpofan11]

Originally Posted by Kathy884

How is Ogden Dunes these days? I know it has a Portage zip code.

Solid even as it ages. Seems to be a lot of empty nesters that live, especially wealthy retirees, many of whom are from Lake County or Illinois. Fewer families with school age children, as Portage Township Schools suck. I know there are some that choose to live there because they know they'll send their kids to private (K-8 and then Andrean or even Marquette) and Ogden Dunes is cheaper than a lot of other places in Lake or Porter County because the public schools suck.