Quote:
Originally Posted by Steely Dan
In that case, no top-tier urban US city will work for upper middle class families ($150K - $250K AGI) that demand nothing less than a renovated/new construction move-in ready detached SFH in a trendy urban neighborhood, unless you come from money or get a big fat inheritance or something like that.
The trendy urban neighborhoods in America's alpha level urban cities are simply way too urban to have anywhere near enough detached SFH's to meet the demand, thus they become the exclusive domain of the wealthy.
Only 10% of Lincoln Park's housing units are highly coveted detached SFH's. Hell, even all the way up here in Lincoln Square that percentage only goes up to 15%. So of course there's a huge price premium for such a staunchly limited, extremely desired commodity.
That pattern is repeated in all of the big urban US cities: NYC, Boston, LA, SF, etc. If you ain't rich, then you ain't getting no fancy SFH in a desirable urban neighborhood.
However, IF you can get over the "shame" of living in a multi-unit flat building, then Chicago does have a wealth of good options for larger family-sized units that people in that upper middle class bracket can very much afford.
And yes one of the reasons those kinds of units are so much less expensive than a comparably sized SFH is the fact that a large percentage of upper middle class people with families simply won't accept anything less than a SFH, so off to the burbs they go.
My wife and I almost ended up following them out there until we came to agree that location was more important to us than a SFH. So, Lincoln Square > Skokie, for us. many other families choose differently.
If you're not stinking rich, you're gonna have to make compromises somewhere along the line.
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Again, I hear you. I grew up in Manhattan, in a small apartment, I understand the trade offs.
However, what I'm saying is the reality in Chicago, upper middle class families typically do not want neighbors above or below them - and more often than not will not consider condos.
Upper middle class families may stick it out in a condo in the city with kids too young for CPS or may even hang around through a few years of K-8, but the majority of Upper Middle Class families will not stay in the condo for their kids entire school age - the MLS data supports this (I'm a licensed RE agent in Illinois) and Condo's typically sell every 5 years.
My bigger point is families who would consider staying in the city and moving to a bigger home, are looking at 2 hurdles in 2019:
1. Property Tax burden: There is too much uncertainty with the City and it's financial mess, and buyers don't want to risk purchasing a SFH at the top of their budget only to find they've had a major property tax increase.
2. CPS: The question I hear quite a bit is "where will I send my kids to High School?" - the vast majority who can afford it, send their kids to private schools. I live 2 blocks from Blaine Elementary (One of the top K-8 schools in the city) and I've yet to see a family have their kid finish there, about 5 or 6th grade they start thinking about HS, and literally 100% of families have bailed for the city for the burbs for a more stable HS situation.
I don't know if it's that the average midwest family requires/desires more space than a typical NYC / SF / Boston family but I see families in those cities sacrifice space in a way that the typical Upper Middle Class Chicago family will not. Just an observation, but my personal experience.