Building a house in Lake Forest (Evanston, Hinsdale: for sale, assessor, broker)

[ETM77]

Soliciting feedback via this forum has been very helpful in the past, so giving this another go.

My family would like to settle in Lake Forest. Our preference would be to buy land and build a house (3500-4000 sq. ft.) to our liking. It seems that there aren't too many parcels of land listed for sale. Ones that are listed for sale are in upper $400 - $500K range.

Any suggestions on where to look for land that might not be listed for sale? Also any guidance or words of caution as we go down the path of building in Lake Forest?

Thanks in advance!

[OPRFmama]

That price range sounds in line for the area and market; not sure what better deals you might find otherwise. A local broker should be able to research the tax records for owners of land the size you’d want to build on and try to make the connections on your behalf.

[NYEddy]

Agree with OPR - that's probably about market-rate right now.

I don't want to take the thread off-topic, but if you can wait 18-24 months, I'd suggest to hold off. There should be more property coming onto the market as rates rise. My firm is expecting interest rates to rise 1.5 to 2%+ in the next 3-5 quarters, and that going to take some bids out of the market, while sellers who missed the highs will likely start chasing the offer-side.

We're starting to see this happen a bit more with commercial, as smart investors are looking further out the curve. On the residential front, give the assessor another year or two to raise property taxes and holders will think twice if they are going to want to hold through another looming recession.

[Hiruko]

Lake Forest has very strong preservation laws relative to other North Shore communities, so expect a lot of scrutiny and delays over everything. The city, like Evanston to the south, has tried very hard to avoid looking like Winnetka, Glencoe, or Hinsdale where hundreds of original homes have been replaced by relatively tacky spec homes thrown up in only 6-8 months time. Many of the subdivisions in west Lake Forest, like my own, have strong restrictions on roofing materials. Most only allow cedar shake roofing, with some also allowing tile.