All of these factors explain why the city is booming and the suburbs are kinda wavering.
I was in the doctors lounge the other day and two older Indian doctors were talking. They were both lamenting how they had bought their pricy homes in the north burbs 20 years ago, and both had lost value. They were talking about high property taxes, Madigan, and how disappointing it all was.
One commented how, when he came here 30 years ago, Chicago was such a “great city” but that now he has some regrets. His kids are in Boston and Seattle.
I didn’t like to hear this, and I’m sure you guys are rolling your eyes at some of those comments. But we can’t change the fact that a lot of suburban people feel this way. There is a visceral gut punch when your home loses value in 20 years. Period.
I know that not everybody experienced this, but I think the suburban market was probably a bit too frothy in the 90s/early 2000s when Chicagoland was on a major high. We just haven’t recovered. And now the bills are due—roof repairs, new kitchens, new siding, electric outlets, etc etc. Its gotta really suck for some people.
And the high property taxes are the second gut punch. They are up a lot—even though home values are not. Today’s Crains just reported that Chicagoland property taxes are higher than in over 95% of the nation. This is real.
Homeownership makes less sense in this region unless you buy a smaller home. It’s better to own a 2 flat and draw rent to help pay the mortgage. We need more multi family, I think. But for sure, Madigan and the State really screwed things up with the property tax scam.
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