Chicago real estate, living and neighborhood perspective

Chicago’s Transforming Neighborhoods

Sherwin Sucaldito, @properties Sales & Marketing

I was doing research last week and came across this archive that I vaguely remember reading before.  This is an interesting eight part story about development, zoning, and how our neighborhoods are transforming.   Read the story in full on the Chicago Tribune’s site.

I went back and forth on the points made on the article.  I am a fan of vintage homes, but also realize that they sometimes do not offer the modern amenities that new construction or rehabs have.  Additionally, population growth is on the rise – the 2009 population estimate was 9,580,567, roughly 500,000 higher than the 9,098,316 reported in the Census data for 2000.  Add on to that is the recent movement of people back into the city from the suburbs, many of them Gen Y, looking for job growth, ability to walk / train to destinations and lifestyle and many of them searching for modern amenities in their homes.

Depending on the home, and requirements needed, sometimes new construction is a better alternative to rehabbing.  Sometimes new construction is not possible (landmark status).  I have seen first hand the difficulties and stress from trying to retrofit /  green a vintage home.

New construction and development helped lead the housing boom several years ago, while also is adding to the current market conditions as unsold units compete against resales.  Perhaps without new development years ago, there may not have been as big of a boom or the current aftermath.  The boom made housing available for many, even those who were not even financially capable of ownership; and for those who have been hurt by the current market conditions, I have seen just as many years ago who were ecstatic about their flips and profits made.  Apparently we all can’t be winners, all the time.

Current market conditions won’t last either, just as the boom didn’t last.  People will find work.  Roommates may tire of each other (or their families).  Interest rates won’t stay this low.  People will continue to have families.  Population will continue to rise.  People will want to live in vintage homes.  People will want to live in new homes.  Not everything is black or white, rather just various shades of gray.  Perhaps we will never have a concrete solution to zoning, rezoning and development.

I would like to hear people’s thoughts on this as this covers so many issues.  I was trying to stay within zoning and crossed over into the economics of the last few years.   I am trying to locate an economist to expand on a few thoughts from the above for a future post.

Sherwin is a REALTOR® in the Chicago & Suburban area with @properties. Questions can be forwarded to Sherwin Sucaldito

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”Chicago’s Transforming Neighborhoods” by Sherwin Sucaldito is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at Realty Evolved

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