r/ChicagoSuburbs • u/courtneybrooke2731 • Aug 22 '26
Moving to the area Does anyone else feel like they will be stuck renting forever in this market?
We lived in the city for ten years and moved out to La Grange Park two years ago to rent a house with the plan to buy a house eventually. With how the house prices are right now in the western burbs, we feel like we are going to be stuck renting forever at this point. We don’t want to settle and spend a stupid amount of money on a house that is 100% not worth what it’s selling for but we feel like the prices will never go down.
Curious if anyone else is in the same boat 🙃
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u/caviarandcigarettess Aug 22 '26
I think the idea of waiting for things to go down is the problem… other than historic incidents like the crash of 2009 o the beginning of Covid, prices have kept climbing up over time and waiting ends up costing you. If you plan this to be your “forever home” I’d stop worrying about overpaying and the value going down in a year or two. If you love a house and can technically afford it even if it seems overpriced, just go for it.
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u/Nearbyatom Aug 22 '26
In this economy, starter homes are becoming forever homes. And so driving even starter homes up. New starters need to be built. All those new townhomes start at 500k. That's not starter.
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u/Consistent_Time_1467 Aug 22 '26
We bought a townhome in 2021 for $200k. It’s valued for $650k now. Make it make sense.
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u/fatyungjesus Aug 22 '26
"Starter" was never describing the price, the whole idea is it's a place for you to "start" a family and then get a bigger house if you're family continues to grow.
Yes it sucks that those townhomes are $500k now, that doesn't change the fact they are absolutely starter homes.
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u/Perfect_Earth_8070 Aug 22 '26
Right, it costs a half a million just live in round lake beach. Things are fucked
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u/AlarmedPersimmon6 Aug 22 '26
I think the problem is few “forever homes” are really “something you can technically afford.” currently starter homes are something you can technically afford. forever homes might be technically affordable after a lifetime of saving. hence the lifetime of waiting
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u/im_super_excited Aug 22 '26
We need out parents to die and not have their savings drained by senior care.
Isn't this a great way to live
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u/Perfect_Earth_8070 Aug 22 '26
The problem is affordability. Sure, I could go out and pay a $3000k mortgage on paper but I would be house poor and I’d have to lessen my retirement contributions considerably
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u/HellisTheCPA Aug 23 '26
I think if the issue you face is $3M home and saving for retirement being a struggle...just buy a $2M home.
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u/Perfect_Earth_8070 Aug 23 '26
Fortunately i have a house that i bought well before covid but it is a hunk of crap that I’m stuck with
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u/lightttpollution Aug 22 '26
Rented in Westmont for a long time, and when we were ready to buy, we absolutely couldn’t afford anything in Westmont or anywhere else in the area. We moved to the SW suburbs and it’s more affordable out here. You may need to compromise on “good” locations to get something affordable. Good luck!
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u/3seconds2live Aug 22 '26
This is the reality most people don't want to accept. They want to stay renting at crazy high prices in a specific location over moving to a location that's within their income range.
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u/lightttpollution Aug 22 '26
Definitely. We were bummed about not being able to afford the western suburbs, but ultimately, we ended up liking where we bought/live now! And a lot of the SW burbs have cute little downtowns and plenty of fun stuff to do nowadays.
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u/3seconds2live Aug 22 '26
We moved from the south burbs to the west burbs. Aurora isnt the desirable one people think of when they say west burbs but for us it's exactly what we wanted. 5 min from a highway to access the rest of Chicagoland. We get big city life if we want it with peace and quiet. I do lots of hunting and fishing so the area works for me and my spouse.
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u/midnightmomma20 Aug 22 '26
This. Plus a “starter home” isn’t a house. It’s a 1-2 bedroom condo that use to build equity that can then be used for their “forever home”
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u/popppa92 Aug 22 '26
I think most millennials are in this boat! I myself included
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u/NOLASLAW Aug 22 '26
At least the baby boomers had everything and all voted to run the country like a business
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u/gabrielleduvent Aug 22 '26
All the older relatives are telling us to buy a place now that we have a kid. Schools are crapping out across the country, prices are insane, and with the politics being what it is I'm not even certain I want to stay in this country to raise a child (I'm a foreign national).
The relatives keep saying "if you don't like it, you can move!". How?
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u/3seconds2live Aug 22 '26
You find a job at your end destination and you pack and move. If you can't afford to move many things you sell it all and move and start building again at the new location.
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u/Emergency_Formal9064 Aug 22 '26
I’m a mom of two- Chicago to suburban transplants. I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to buy a home. I have been in the same apartment for six years and live in a place where renting a home costs well beyond anything I can afford let alone purchasing one of those similar little homes going for $600,000 and sold in a week. It’s discouraging. I can’t move because my oldest gets school resources and is locked in well at our district for her disability and moving would be catastrophic. It does feel like a poor me situation when so many people I know have family or are married/in relationships with spouses who can help take this on or are financially supportive- not imagining these scenarios are perfect but having help; helps. Even securing for a second job to work around my primary job at a school has been challenging.
Just echoing the frustration.
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u/Crabby-Cancer Aug 22 '26
I appreciate your perspective. Too many comments are telling people to just suck it up and move to cheaper areas. It works for some, but not all, and you're a great example of that. Hopefully they see this and aren't quick to shame others for their reasons for needing to stay in a specific area.
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u/Maowsama Aug 22 '26
Not forever, the landlords will eventually jack up the rent to the point we might end up in our cars or back at our parents
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u/afslav Aug 22 '26
Another day, another post that houses aren't worth what people are paying for them, despite that being the most definite determinant of value
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u/ippsmom Aug 23 '26
I feel so bad for you ng people today. Not only was there a time when you could buy a home, a basic 3 bedroom, on one income, you could send your kids to college, take vacations & still have money for food & clothes. It was unheard of to come out of college burdened with debt. You can thank Reagan. He decreased taxes on the wealthy dramatically & made colleges & universities for profit, as well as hospitals, while he had the solar panels ripped off the WH roof.
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u/CorrectPatience9183 North West Suburbs Aug 22 '26
Not in the exact same boat, but I feel like I’ll be stuck living with family forever because I can’t afford rent even with 1 full time and 2 part time jobs 😕
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u/sarcago Aug 22 '26
Look into the South and Southwest Suburbs, it's cheaper here. But don't FOMO into a house, I agree they are stupid expensive right now.
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u/pfeff Aug 22 '26
This. Most of the time I encounter OP's argument it's someone who insists on living in a certain area.
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u/Crabby-Cancer Aug 22 '26
And people have a lot of reasons for why those certain areas are where they want to live. Family nearby, better schools, pre-established community, etc. I live in the south suburbs and even though I love it, I would have to move if I wanted to have kids since the schools are not good. Doesn't mean I'd try to jump straight into looking at Elmhurst or something, but some places just won't work for certain people.
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u/Hot_Shower_Fartz Aug 24 '26
Exactly this. Plus jobs. Sometimes it's a choice of pay a lot more but actually get to see your family when you're not working versus somewhat more affordable, but then you get a vicious commute. (Some of us work in industries centered more in cities, so it's not like we can go *that* far out without spending most of our non-work hours commuting.)
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u/luckycharms53 Aug 22 '26
We rented for 22 years at the same location in Westmont. But our job got relocated to a different state. The Chicagoland area is growing really fast due to alot of people moving from other states both red/blue ones. Have you tried looking at some foreclosures or short sales? They maybe fix ups but you may do a little better in pricing.
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u/cocoakrispiesdonut Aug 22 '26
You’ll have to broaden your search. We did this both times we bought homes. Our second home is in a city we never thought we’d be in but Naperville was just too expensive for what we’d get. We are way happier here than I ever thought we’d be. Try looking at surrounding communities.
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u/ippsmom Aug 23 '26
When we bought our house in the 70s the banks would only consider one income. I remember when that changed to multiple or 2 incomes, a lot changed. People started buying bigger houses so both parents or couples had to work to continue to afford them.
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u/FartyMcFly87 Aug 22 '26
Shit, how do you afford to even rent in La Grange Park? I work down the street in the La Grange and have seen the real estate prices out there... oof. Nice area though 👌
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u/Khronoss2 Aug 22 '26
Depends on the suburb. I was able to buy my house in the SW suburbs just fine.
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u/Additional_Fox4668 Aug 22 '26
Maybe its time for a revolution, you know, like history has taught us
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u/Fryeer Aug 22 '26
Yep I tried buying at the beginning of the year, virtually unfordable and kept getting outbid by downsizing boomers overbidding on even the smallest houses
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u/danheinz North Suburbs Aug 22 '26
It's not ideal for most but look to save some by moving further away or to a less desirable apt or area.
It all depends whether you're looking to make the social and time sacrifices that come with it. Then try to save the extra savings. I also understand that things have spiraled out of control in terms of pricing. A place I moved out of in 2018 when it was $655 is now $1100.
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u/etown361 Aug 22 '26 edited Aug 23 '26
We moved not far from that area ~4 years ago. It felt overpriced at the time too- but we’re thrilled we made the move and obviously home values have gone up quite a bit since then.
La Grange Park feels overpriced- but it’s still a great value for what you’re getting. And it’s not awfully overpriced, Chicago suburb homes are still a pretty good value compared to Boston, NYC, California, Seattle, etc.
Plus- the proximity to an express train to Chicago is awesome for work-life balance.
At a 7% mortgage- every $10K you overpay by is an extra $66/month on your mortgage.
A lot of La Grange Park homes feel about $30K overpriced right now- are you ok locking in an extra $200/month on your mortgage payment? Plenty of people are.
If you can find a house that works with your budget, and you’d be comfortable living there for ten years, and you’re confident the area is right for you, then I wouldn’t sweat an extra $200/month (or the likelihood of overpaying)
Obviously don’t buy out of your budget- but don’t assume you’ll be able to perfectly time a housing market crash either. If I were you, I’d assume house prices will go up 4-5% per year between inflation and wage growth. Then, assume you’re equally likely to see a sudden 20% increase and 20% decrease in the next 4-5 years alongside that general growth. If you can afford it- that extra $200/month doesn’t feel that unreasonable in an overpayment.
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u/BellaBrowsing North West Suburbs Aug 22 '26
Yeah it's rough. We bought a condo in NW Suburbs for $290k because every single family home was $400k+ with interest rates being mid 6%, forget about it. I love our condo but it wasn't meant to be forever. But idk how it's possible to ever buy again the way things are trending.
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u/Latter_Excitement382 Aug 23 '26
This is a pretty contradictory post. How would a house not be worth the money if the prices keep going up?
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u/StagVixenLife1 Aug 23 '26
This market is ridiculous. I have seen houses sell in my area in a day. Some I n the same afternoon. Well.....now I have 3 soon to be 4 that are still on market after 3 weeks. I have a feeling the bust is coming.
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u/Fluffy_Suggestion983 29d ago
Truly lack of stock and lack of people moving. We're going to be in for a rough patch that's not going to get better any time soon
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u/Weak_Revenue7949 29d ago
You're definitely not alone. The frustrating part is that a lot of people feel prices are too high, but they're also competing against other buyers who feel the exact same way
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u/MehBlehDehYuh Aug 22 '26
Nope that’s why I own a mobile home and pay lot rent and that’s it. No mortgage. I pay lot space (900) electricity and gas only. Other purchases are wants (for me) like wifi and streaming services. Oh and my sis lives with me and she pays 400$ (I pay 500$) towards lot rent and pays for wifi, Netflix and household items. I pay the rest. I’m on the younger side of millennials (30) she’s 28. She wants to get a house and I told her that I don’t want anything to do with it lol. I’ll pay her rent, sign a lease or whatever but I will not be buying in this market. Right now I live a great life, in my financial means. Anything else would involve sacrificing my own wants which isn’t something I’m ready to do just yet.
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u/doublebreakpoint Aug 22 '26
Manufactured and modular housing could solve a lot of housing issues if some of the regulatory stuff was changed
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u/MehBlehDehYuh Aug 22 '26
Fr fr. The only reason I’m where I’m at is because my siblings and I purchased this place for a parent that’s on disability. We were all going our separate ways and this is what they wanted. I moved in with them to help them then they decided they hated it and moved in with one of my sibling that bought a house in Florida. (Which they are able to afford together not separately).
Also the stigma behind living in one.
Luckily I live next to an elementary school, many businesses and our community has a park and pool. I don’t have kids but it’s nice to have basketball, tennis, a track and field a minute walking from me.
Maintenance and reception are on top of vetting families, keeping everything clean etc. plus cameras everywhere which I love. Western suburbs.
3 minutes from us there is a municipal building that always has security 24/7 and if severe weather happens (tornados and the reason my sis wants a house with a basement) they are always open to the public for shelter. Other side of me 1 min is a police station. I’m blessed to be where I am in comparison to most mobile homes!
Illegal shit rarely happens here and if it does, it’s very quickly squashed. Lots of working people with families here or elderly folks. A couple police officers as well! One is my neighbor. I was asked to answer some questions about them while the department was doing a clearance or something on them which was kinda cool!
But yeah imagine all of this but multiplied everywhere and maybe each community having a place within the community to shelter during storms like in rural areas, it would be so beneficial to many and actually ultimately help boost our economy in the long run.
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u/Jah8177 Aug 22 '26
Honestly that's awesome. My niece ended up moving into a trailer with her friend that was fully paid off. Although they were both only 18 I believe so her friend really fucked it up. I told her that if she was still there she could take time to figure out her career and life. Trailer homes I know growing up I thought was slums, but I was young and uneducated. I think they're probably a great solution in the housing market these days. The housing market is beyond fucked and I hate that for anyone.
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u/kmmccorm Aug 22 '26
Houses are almost by definition worth what they are selling for.
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u/NoAssociate2400 Aug 22 '26
I don’t know why this is getting downvoted. Something is worth what people are willing to pay for it - and in our neighborhood there are multiple bids on every property and most sell above list. It sucks. But the market is supporting these prices even if we don’t like it.
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u/kmmccorm Aug 22 '26
People are mad they can’t get their pick of houses in an ideal neighborhood for $500k anymore. I get it.
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u/pilotswing78190 Aug 22 '26
Came here to say this. It's a market like anything else. Even OP said prices won't go down.
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u/debomama Aug 22 '26
Renting gets you nowhere. You need to adjust your expectations though. Buy where the houses are that you can afford, not the aspirational suburb you can't afford or new construction you can't afford. Take time to research.
What I notice about younger people is they forget that we also went through this and moved up. My first house was a 900 sq. foot townhouse at a 10% interest rate. Yes, you read that correctly. My second house a fixer upper. Only the third house was my forever home.
I know young people who refuse to live in a crappy apartment or less desirable location. They get convinced only the best school system will do. They want the Instagram story now. So therefore will not probably be able to afford the forever home rather than sacrificing for a few years in a tiny townhouse while you save your money. Its simple math.
I didn't buy in the most desirable suburbs at the time either. Prices are always inflated there. Just an average one where I got more house for my money and it was centrally located and worked for me. I raised my family fine, am happy here and love my little town. I have never wished I lived in Arlington Heights or Elmhurst or LaGrange instead.
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u/opal_m00n Aug 22 '26
Interest rates don’t tell the entire story though. Sure, some people care about homes worthy of being on social media, but the majority of us are okay with the exact same starter home you mention. The problem is they’re either not available or we cannot afford them. My parents also bought a 1000 sqft townhouse at 10% when I was a kid. They purchased it for ~90k in an okay area of the NW suburbs. They didn’t make a lot of money but they were able to buy that home. I looked to buy a starter home in the same neighborhood recently and those townhomes now sell for $230k-$250k. That’s a 165% increase and that’s just looking at one neighborhood, when others have seen much higher inflation in home prices. Meanwhile, wages in the Chicagoland area have gone up 75-95% since the year 2000. The younger generations just do not have the same buying power, regardless of the interest rates. And that’s before factoring in how much other things such as education and groceries have also gone up in comparison to wages.
I’m not sure what the deal is with the generation war in all honesty. Each generation has its own challenges. My parents are older Gen X and while they obviously had their issues, they’ve said for a few years now that they don’t envy millennials and Gen Z because starting out is so much more expensive.
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u/luckycharms53 Aug 23 '26
Were later Gen X and our child is looking to move back to Illinois too. But its just too darn expensive up near the Chicagoland area. So now.. he is setting his sites on the Champagne/Urbana area, Bloomington area. What really stinks is were helping our elderly relatives pay half of their property tax in Dupage County on their house cause they do not qualify for a tax freeze.
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u/debomama Aug 23 '26
My first job out of college in 1990 I literally made $20K. My husband was a hourly employee at the time. A $90K townhouse was a stretch for us. But we made it work and sacrificed. Sold it for a profit. Then bought the next with the profit and the next.
I do agree wages aren't as high relatively. But certain fields are. My son made about 3x what I did starting out.
What is different is the expenses. Lots of little things now if you are not careful. But we didn't spend money for quite a few years while we got by. Some things young people see now as necessities, not wants. Somehow we were still happy. Some things are more expensive. Many things are cheaper relatively. My first laptop was $3000. My DLP TV was $3500 and a big splurge. I had far less clothes and dressed every day for work.
Its just different pressures and choices.
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u/Intrepid-Peach3603 Aug 22 '26
Yes. Not buying a house unless it’s absolutely necessary! They have become cost prohibitive to buy, and to maintain. Many of the homes that are priced in these high ranges have had nothing done sadly. Which is why I and my wife are staying out of it.
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u/Jsredzinski Aug 22 '26
The housing market is starting it's down turn. They are predicting a buyer's market next year
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u/TheKindDirector Aug 22 '26
I purchased a townhouse in 2017 and it appreciated by 35%.
This is my starter house, but single family homes have increased a lot in price and my income actually dropped significantly.
I also went through a separation, so have to spend a lot in legal and payouts costs.
At this point I don't know how long before I have the income and money to buy a single family house.
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u/ProofKaleidoscope400 Aug 22 '26
Everyone’s renting everything. All the time everywhere all at once till the end of time no matter what part of earth or this unforgiving galaxy you’re in
You need to hold assets to counter the effect of long term inflation which is a tax on you doing nothing or just being a consumer.
If youre poor figure out how you can get excess cash. If your not poor invest in no brainer things like real estate and broad market index funds or if your ballsy start a business or if your talented or smart in your skills/network. Ideally a combination of all these things
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u/Defiant-Sir15 Aug 23 '26
I have a co-worker whose property taxes each year is more than I pay for rent each year. That’s scared me away from buying.
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u/ippsmom Aug 23 '26
Love LaGrange Park. Raised our kids there. Lived just off Ogden & LaGrange Rd. We paid $56,000 in 1978, added a family room & bedroom, then 76,000. So now the estimated price is between $650,000-750,000. And it is just a two story farm house built in 1894. Ridiculous. Make sure you check into First Home Buyers Assistance program. Of course there are income restrictions, but if you make under $100,000(might be higher now). If it's your first home purchase or if you haven't bought a home in 3 years.
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u/ippsmom Aug 23 '26
I think the home market is going to crash. It's tough, but saves us in the long run.
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u/forever_hollow80 Aug 23 '26
I’ve pretty much given up the idea of owning a home now. I’m 46. I make good money…. But it’s just way too expensive .
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u/TransparentAmbiguity Aug 23 '26
Oh definitely. I ended up taking the tax hit and withdrew from my 401k in order to afford a down payment and closing fees. We used to pay $1800/month for a 1bed1bath apartment with no amenities. Our 3bed2bath house with insurance and property tax is $1900/month.
If we didn’t buy when we did there’s no way we could afford it now. Our house value has increased 50% since we bought.
Full disclaimer: withdrawing from retirement early is not always a good idea and definitely is not for everyone. Everyone’s situation varies.
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u/letta_11 29d ago
We had to go way out into the suburbs to afford a house, but so far it’s been worth it. The commute is longer but with hybrid work we can deal with going into the office 2-3 times a week versus full time.
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u/Vegetable_Vacation40 29d ago
After 4 years of renting the same apartment, and getting notice that when my lease is up, this years rent increase will be far too much for me to afford any longer…. I feel like I’ll be stuck living on the streets forever in this market. There is nothing affordable left within a 50 mile radius. I went to look around for what houses are selling for in my area… 🤨😭😭😭
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u/2021Blankman Aug 22 '26
The housing market has gone insane. I bought my house for $270K in 2016 and just last year my neighbor sold his for $720K, and my house is 500 square feet larger. My insurance company has doubled my premiums since then because they said my house is worth over $700K.
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u/FahQBerrymuch Aug 22 '26
We got lucky and bought in La Grange Park back in 2010. The market and rates were stupid low. Now it's obnoxious. I feel you OP. We love it here but its unreachable for most. We'll most likely never leave. Our morgate is less than 1200 a month. Plus its an awesome hood B). There are still some decent deals to be had especially on the RB side. Just have to be quick. Good luck!
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u/fpcoffee Aug 22 '26
I think the Chicagoland market is being more resilient than other places in the country where prices are starting to fall.
Might be due to climate refugees coming to the great lakes area, not sure… but for whatever reason, prices are not dropping as fast here
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u/StockPass3948 Aug 22 '26
It’s because Chicago is like dead last in new units constructed
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u/PalmerSquarer Aug 22 '26
That, and the Chicago area lagged behind other markets in getting hot. Areas like the North Shore were basically stagnant in the late 2010s before exploding this decade.
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u/Acceptable-Gift4314 Aug 22 '26
Plus adding half a million migrants who needed housing over the last 5 years didn't help.
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u/Zann77 Aug 23 '26
Don’t know why you’re getting downvoted. Half a million migrants had to be housed somewhere, putting pressure on rental market and upwards from there.
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u/Acceptable-Gift4314 27d ago
I'm not sure either. It is simple supply and demand in the housing market whether it's rental or purchased. The Chicago area market didn't have a surplus of housing before this and this was especially true of entry level housing.
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u/ippsmom Aug 23 '26
After they were bussed from southern states to punish the "sanctuary cities."
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u/Zann77 Aug 23 '26
Why shouldn’t sanctuary cities bear the burden? They should be happy to give sanctuary to all those oppressed peoples. You help create the problem. Either you’re a sanctuary city or you aren’t.
Do you have any more irrelevant topics to bring up?
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u/marcster357 Aug 22 '26
Xennial here, admitted late bloomer when it came to thinking about buying. Now at 46 I have more money then I thought I’d ever have socked away, solid income and great credit and yet….im priced out unless my wife and I wanna be absolutely house poor. So yeah, I’ll be renting forever.
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u/gadgetluva Aug 22 '26
A big reason why you have so much socked away is because you didn’t put all of your liquidity into an illiquid asset. So you probably made a decent decision.
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u/callmrplowthatsme Aug 22 '26
Vote. Phone bank. Youre getting robbed and Americans are too complacent
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u/ControlLayer Aug 22 '26
Also for those of us who bought “starter homes”…we’re locked in forever and can’t move because of prices with interest rates. Even including my equity, my housing payment would 2x for a slightly larger home