Is Elmwood Park worth moving to? (Chicago, Elgin: apartment, rent, insurance)

[kindrakindra]

Originally Posted by allen2323

As much as some people talk about it on city data, in the real world market school performance has little effect on real estate values. I find that the number of foreclosures on the market in an area, median household incomes, and local regional area home sales trends have more of an affect on home prices.

?
Just not sure this is correct.

[Humboldt1]

Allen,

Why do you continue to believe that people do not pick homes based in large part upon schools? I know many of us do. I certainly weigh in a school district when looking to buy my primary residence.

[allen2323]

Originally Posted by Humboldt1

Allen,

Why do you continue to believe that people do not pick homes based in large part upon schools? I know many of us do. I certainly weigh in a school district when looking to buy my primary residence.

Whoa, I didn't say anything like that. I clearly acknowledged that neighborhoods with good public schools tend to attract more younger middle class families with school age children. I said some people do and alot of other people don't care. It's important to acknowledge that there is alot more age diversity in some suburbs, especially some of the more established ones. Where you might find more established folks in there 40's and 50's wanting to move up to a nicer home in a more age diverse neighborhood. Everyone who lives in the suburbs doesn't want to be completely surrounded by families with school age children. Even those who have school age children.

[ajolotl]

My experience in home buying has been that the market more or less adjusts to what people really value. If it an equivalent property is cheaper, there is a good reason. The only variable is what one individually personally might value more or less than average. For me I put zero value in the quality of the public school system since I had chosen a private school for the kids anyhow. Thus, I looked for a nice home in a crappy school district with low property taxes. This saved me a lot of money. I pay no attention to the local school and have no aspirations for it.

Maybe this doesn't make me the typical buyer, but it isn't all that unusual -- lots of people in the neighborhood were in a similar position.

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by Humboldt1

Allen,

Why do you continue to believe that people do not pick homes based in large part upon schools? I know many of us do. I certainly weigh in a school district when looking to buy my primary residence.

It's definitely a factor, and an important one at that. Communities with underperforming public schools should strive to make them better. And our state's school funding system needs to be completely overhauled so there is more parity between school districts. How you may feel about that will probably depend on how much you paid to live where you live but this is going to bury us in the long term if not addressed.

That said, I don't think public schools are (or should be) the end all, be all that some make them out to be. There are many middle and upper middle class people who do not care about public schools. And that's a good thing. We should want to encourage adaptive reuse and economic diversity in the City and inner-ring suburbs, so the region stays economically viable for a long time.

[allen2323]

Like the saying goes "it's the economy stupid". Jobs, proximity to jobs, and neighborhood quality is way more important to most people when looking for a middle class or affluent suburb. Quality and size of home #1, median household income of the neighborhood, safety,quality of life amenities such as golf courses, nature preserves, low traffic, train access to downtown, quick non congested expressway access to work, etc., are much more important in the long run. Being located in one of the relatively few public school districts that have comparable overall test scores to private schools does not rank as highly on the list for alot of folks as it does for those folks who have school age kids and plan on them attending public schools. Certainly not enough to sacrifice paying more price per square foot or moving further out if you don't even have school age kids or prefer private school for you school age kid anyway. Established private schools have a much better track record of not changing and remaining excellent. Some public schools will fall in and out of favor every decade or so, certainly not something I would base a longterm investment on.

[linicx]

I agree with Allen. I flipped houses for a number of years, too, but not in Chicagoland. What I learned was if a house was in an area with good city services, if the house had curb appeal, if it was was staged well and if it had the amenities the buyer wanted, every thing else was secondary - even schools. It was about creature comfort and family life at home.

Yes there are families that buy homes based solely on school ranking. I never met any. Most people won't buy a house they do not like just so they can send their child to a perceived perfect school (that does not exist). They look for the 'happy medium": good house, good shool, safe neighborhoods in a diverse community with convenient shopping.

[ajolotl]

I don't believe that most people pick based on the diversity of the community. If schools are secondary than that hardly registers on the list of priorities for MOST people (not everyone, of course).

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by allen2323

Some public schools will fall in and out of favor every decade or so, certainly not something I would base a longterm investment on.

Excellent point. Even the once-mighty York H.S. in Elmhurst hit a rough patch, as a certain poster is fond of saying. Demographic changes can change school scores in a hurry, and obliterate the extra investment you made if the community doesn't have other attributes -- like good housing stock, proximity to public transit, proximity to the Loop, good private school options, etc.

The top two attributes I'd personally look at right now would be walkability and public transportation access to downtown Chicago. Cheap fuel is not going to be with us for much longer, due to rising Chinese and Indian demand for oil. Just like certain types of students can tank a high performing school, other types of students can turn poor performing public schools to a positive direction. The problems of some inner-ring public school systems might take care of themselves, in other words.

[linicx]

People do buy houses based on diversity in communities - which is not a code word or a secret handshake for white. IE: the things a family can do together as a family unit that does not require driving, say... 50 miles to the nearest park. A family friendly walkabile town, nearness to extended family and church, and low real estate taxes are the most desired criteria.

It is important to understand there are states where education takes second place to sports, and a touchdown is more important than any A on any test. The criteria for chosing a home is far different that in areas where high performing schools are revered almost as much as a personal deity.

Originally Posted by ajolotl

I don't believe that most people pick based on the diversity of the community. If schools are secondary than that hardly registers on the list of priorities for MOST people (not everyone, of course).