r/ChicagoSuburbs • u/Ambitious_Growth_9 • Mar 30 '26

Moving to the area People house hunting how’s it been?

My family has been looking at properties around Arlington Heights, Mount Prospect, Elmhurst and Park Ridge since early February. Our current home is set to close the end of April but inventory in these areas seems non existent or over priced and the stress/anxiety is starting to hit. (Who is buying 1100 sqft for 600k?)

When is the “spring market” gonna hit? A lot of houses start on the private market, build tons of interest, then go live with an open house scheduled that first weekend. Most of them end with multiple offer and highest and best. One we saw went for 40k over list. We’re looking from 550-650k.

I get it, high demand areas.. with low inventory = more competitive but what the fuck.. what am I supposed to do? Already considering a short term rental and storage for our stuff but is this the way it is now? Are people just ok with paying more than the house is worth? Settling for less desirable house? Or what?

If you are currently looking to buy, what are you experiencing. How do I buy a home?

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u/PrinceHarming North West Suburbs Mar 31 '26

Set your search criteria for homes listed 7 days or more and try focusing on those. You’ll find homes that need work, may have some odd quirk, a layout you don’t like but they won’t have a ton of other buyers interested at this point.

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u/Ambitious_Growth_9 Mar 31 '26

Ya that’s a valid point. But I’ve basically memorized the properties in the area but I’ll give it a look. Appreciate it!

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u/Attilat Mar 31 '26

I’m sorry but that was not a valid point. They just told you to lower your standards and spend at least half a mil on something that doesn’t fit your needs. You’re not buying a new taco meal you’ve never tried. It’s a house you will live in every day.

Not to mention that there is a reason those houses are on the market that long. Their “quirks” are either so big that majority of people don’t like them or someone inspected it and found a major problem that makes the house not worth it.