Why there aren't any condos for middle class families? (Chicago: middle-class, apartments)

[chuylopezba]

.

[chikid]

Can you specify?

There is. I mean they are not all over the place but there is. The problem is condos really aren't family oriented. Families tend to buy houses, so there probably isn't much of a demand for condos that cater to families.

Here in the U.S., most people that have kids usually want a lot of space. I mean there are plenty of 3 bedroom condos in places like Avondale, Irving Park, etc that are affordable to the middle class, but the thing is families could probably get a house in the same neighborhood that could probably provide more space for around the same price.

[Vlajos]

Why do you say that?

[Chicago76]

You can also make more money as a developer building a greater number of smaller units than you can doing fewer large units.

A smallish 1BR/1BA in neighborhood X might go for $150K.
Combine 3 of those into a single large 3BR/2BA family condo and you're probably only getting around $300K for it in the same area. It's cheaper to build the larger 3BR than it is 3 1BRs due to fewer bathrooms (3 vs. 2) and kitchens (3 vs 1). The lower cost isn't enough to eat up the 150K difference though. Plus, it's easier to rent the 1 and 2 bed stuff if you can't sell the units.

[andrewesque]

Most middle-class families, by their very definition, are going to have two important considerations (among other ones):

- Good schools for their children: the "family" part
- Price/value-conscious: the "middle-class" part

Take these two considerations along with the way that housing/homeownership/school systems are set up in Chicagoland and in the US as a whole, and for the majority of middle-class families, it makes more financial and personal sense to get a house as opposed to a condo: If you want good public schools, they are likely to be in the suburbs, where detached houses are typically much more common than condos. Mortgage tax incentives, price, and the desire for cheaper/more space for kids also mean houses make more sense than condos.

Of course, you could send your kids to private school in the city, where there are more condos/apartments, but the staggering cost of many private school tuition would probably mean that many of those families aren't really "middle class" at all ("middle class," of course, being one of the vaguest socioeconomic terms ever.)

This is a simplification, of course, and there are definitely condos for middle-class families. They're just not that common.

[ole69]

you're not looking very hard

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by ole69

you're not looking very hard

Pretty much

[jdiddy]

Sadly, that one condo I posted about a week ago is now listed as Pending, before a final price reduction to $220,000.

Of course, with Austerity! all the rage now, I'm not too concerned about home prices rising a year from now.

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by jdiddy

Sadly, that one condo I posted about a week ago is now listed as Pending, before a final price reduction to $220,000.

Of course, with Austerity! all the rage now, I'm not too concerned about home prices rising a year from now.

You're right, austerity will only make things worse.

[nJohn]

My family and I lived in Prairie Shores when I was little. Definitely not posh, far from it, but it served its purpose.