How Have North Shore Home Values Held Up Since 2006?

Alice Riley July 20, 2012 at 02:40 am

Coming from an out of state upscale suburban town, I find the house prices here along with the taxes way too high considering the lack of area restaurants, upscale pubs, shopping, and other amenities.

Lydia DeLeo July 20, 2012 at 03:31 pm

Depends on your priorities...... I find people are drawn to the North Shore due to the proximity of the Lake and to the City. The highly acclaimed schools, expansive park district programs, close knit communities and walk-ability to town and public transportation also weigh heavily into the decision to purchase a home in the area. As for restaurants, upscale pubs & shopping…..the various downtown's do have some great venues to choose from…..but if looking to expand your horizons, a quick 10-15 minute drive will pretty much get you anything your heart's desire!

Alice Riley July 20, 2012 at 06:03 pm

Where I live, the public schools were in us news and world report in top 100 nationwide and each year, students accepted into all the ivies-most years more than one student accepted. Our taxes are less than half, the housing is a third the cost, and we are near some of the greatest parks like valley forge national park and one of the biggest malls, King of Prussia where there is 0% sales tax on clothes and food. While the north shore is nice and looks very similar to the main line in pennslyvania which also has train access to the city, I find it difficult to understand the higher costs for a very comparable lifestyle. Doesn't seem like you are getting more for your money.

Lydia DeLeo July 20, 2012 at 08:27 pm

It is difficult for me to weight the merits of each of the communities in mention, as I am unfamiliar with the area you currently reside. What I can say, is that people chose the North Shore due to location, education & life style. The fact that our property values have not decreased in value to the degree that many other Chicago suburbs have, is a testament to the desirability of the area.

Alice Riley July 20, 2012 at 08:52 pm

Why are the taxes so high? property, sales, and state income tax? The property taxes are a mortgage payment in and of themselves. $20,000 a year on a 800,000 house is almost three times what we pay for a similar house in our area. How do fixed income home owners in your area stay in their homes?

Lydia DeLeo July 20, 2012 at 11:06 pm

I do not hold myself out as the resident expert on property taxes, although I do have a modicum of understanding on how the process works. Before sharing my thoughts on the matter, I suggest you check out the New Trier Townships Website; the assessors page has some invaluable information to include a tutorial on: Understanding Property Taxes. In addition I’ve had success speaking with the staff regarding specific property tax questions
As for my views on property taxes here on the North Shore, specifically pertaining to the villages comprising New Trier Township, it is the smallest township in Illinois. The less parcels available to generate revenue(properties) the greater the percentage of taxes assigned to each. In addition, the villages comprising New Trier Township are considered “Bedroom Communities”. By definition, these communities have little commercial or industrial activity beyond a small amount of retail, oriented toward serving the residents; meaning limited tax revenue are generated from local businesses With regard to the calculation itself, the two most critical factors in determining the assessed value of a property are recent sales price and the square footage of the home. Location and size of lot are also of consideration. Lastly, property values are reassessed every three years and you can contest your taxes every year, if so inclined, however there are no guarantees you will be successful.

Deadcatbounce July 21, 2012 at 01:09 pm

Taxes are high because approx 60% of your payment goes to the schools and there is very little state funding towards schools in this area. Also, teacher compensation is out of control and school boards do not have the backbone to reign it in. Look for taxes to go even higher when Cullerton has his way on moving pension funding to the local level and new funds are needed for school infrastructure projects. Prices will tumble some more

Deadcatbounce July 21, 2012 at 01:12 pm

What I mean your home value will drop even more as your property taxes keep going up.

Lydia DeLeo July 21, 2012 at 05:26 pm

May we respectfully agree to disagree, as I’d rather not lose focus of the purpose of my recent contribution to The Patch. Having said that, I do believe that home values are on the road to recovery, albeit a slow & fragile recovery. Furthermore, housing inventory is down for much of the North Shore, and we are back to 2003 levels…..a sign that sellers may soon be in the driver’s seat. For more information on the topic, go to: NewTreirLiving.info

N.C. Ewald July 21, 2012 at 08:26 pm

I guess the 1%, the hedge funders, and the banksters of Kenilworth are having a glorious field day as we, the 99%, struggle to make ends meet.

NHL July 23, 2012 at 02:52 am

And, while those 1% ers along the Northshore, especially the ones living on the Lakefront, can enjoy free access to the Lake, it's off limits to the other 99%, like me... So the less you're worth, the fewer rights you have, apparently.... I have every right to access our Lake as the rich guy up on the bluff, yet he gets it for free, and i have to pay an outrageous fee to go to the beach! Well, actually i don't, there are ways around it, which i take full advantage of... But most folks don't, and it isn't right....
And why wasn't Glenview mentioned? We live in New Trier township... Afraid it might skew the numbers, since we took the biggest hit of all? We chose to live in the Northshore (well, i'm not sure Glenview is actually considered the Northshore) for all the reasons mentioned, but i agree with the lady from out east: the real estate prices and especially our property taxes are out of control... I can deal with the housing prices around here because it's all relative: you get much more for your money than say, the Bay Area or NYC.... And this area is considered by many to be among the most desirable areas in the Chicago market, so you're gonna pay a premium to buy a house around here... But how much of a burden do we, the taxpayers, have to endure????

Willie Wilmette July 23, 2012 at 07:38 pm

As property values go up in Kenilworth, they pay a greater percent of the New Trier HS tax & we in Wilmette pay a lower percent!
Remember, if you work full time in the USA, you are extremely likely to be one of the world's 10%ers and the other 90% hate you like you hate 1%ers. What goes around, comes around.

Deadcatbounce July 26, 2012 at 01:20 am

If that is true, axes are high due to lack of commercial and industrial activity, how of you explain district 29, sunset ridge. They have Kraft and car dealers and their taxes are the highest and so is the spend per student, over $22k, 2nd highest in the state in fact. Wilmette D29 is the lowest for New Trier feeder schools, $15k per student and they have zip in commercial activity. Administrator and teacher pay is out of control and Soon their pension may be added to your property tax. Again, taxes are high because schools, parks, cook county, library and your village cannot control their spending all the rest about assessments, commercial activity, location is real estate BS

Deadcatbounce July 26, 2012 at 01:26 am

Latest news on housing recovery ...
New Home Sales Miss By Most In 20 Months But, but, but... the housing recovery. Was demand pulled forward? Could it be that warm weather encouraged people to venture out of their igloos? It appears so as new home sales plunge 8.4% MoM on expectations of a rise of 0.7%, days after the already fudged NAR data showed a huge miss in existing home sales as well. This is the first miss since October of last year and the biggest miss of expectations since October 2010. This is the biggest absolute drop since January with the actual number of new homes sold, not annualized, in June was 33,000 - of which a mere 1,000 was in the NorthEast. Median home prices also fell appreciably. Hope.is.fading as we note that of the 33,000 total new houses sold in June, 11,000 have not even been started, and 11,000 are still under construction and the number of homes sold at a price over $750,000 was less than 1,000.