Where to buy in Chicago

SOLID FOUNDATIONS Andersonville’s stable housing stock and buzzing commercial district (below) make it a low-risk spot to buy.

You’ve heard it all before: Though the economy is as unstable as Octomom, now’s a good time to buy. But where to look? Just because housing prices have dropped in some neighborhoods doesn’t mean they weren’t overinflated to begin with, and it’s not a bargain if you won’t feel safe living there or if the area’s going to depreciate further. To navigate these possibilities, we talked to a bevy of Realtors and pored over home-sales numbers to find likely winners. Our six best-buy ’hoods are divided into two categories: those that have held their value through the downturn, making them probable safe investments, and those that’ve taken a hit but have a bright future.

Rocks of ages
These three neighborhoods feature steady home prices that likely won’t lose value over the long term.

ANDERSONVILLE
Nearly every Realtor offered up Andersonville as the city’s hottest ’hood, citing lakefront proximity, a robust commercial district brimming with independently owned businesses and good public transportation as factors. Also, sales here are often more discretionary than need-based. This means homeowners are less likely to sell at desperation prices. “The demographic of people who buy here hasn’t been as adversely affected by job loss and subprime lending problems, so the supply is down, which keeps prices up,” says Kelly Leggett of Keller Williams Realty.
Median condo price $294,250
Median single-family home price $832,000
Hot property 5622 North Glenwood Avenue. This bank-approved, short-sale condo, located one block from Clark Street, has two bedrooms, one bath, a newer kitchen and original woodwork in a vintage brick building for $215,000. Contact Michael Sorensen at RE/MAX City, 773-987-8224 or 847-696-1664.

KENWOOD
“It’s the little engine that could,” says certified appraiser Jerry Simmons of this South Side ’hood, “very trendy and artisty. People like that [vintage] architecture—you cannot replicate that look. And it’s half the price of what it costs seven miles north in Lincoln Park.” The housing stock of 100-year-old brick and graystone homes, along with proximity to University of Chicago and the lake—and the prestige of sharing a zip code with the Obama family homestead—have kept prices stable. “[Buyers are] taking old graystone row houses, putting in maybe $100,000 to $150,000 and turning them into three condos or keeping them as single families,” Simmons says.
Median condo price $242,500
Median single-family home price $515,000
Hot property 4343 South Ellis Avenue. Built in 1893, this single-family graystone is located four blocks from hip European deli Zaleski & Horvath MarketCafe (and eight blocks from the Obama home). It features four bedrooms, two baths and all-original wood and period details (but needs rehab) for $270,000. Contact Carol Holland at Keller Williams, 773-285-7964 or 773-494-9125.

IT TAKES A VILLAGE Roscoe Village balances hip and friendly, so buying a house there means you’re unlikely to get bored—or mugged.

BOOM TOWN Realtors in Roscoe Village have more new construction than they know what to do with—you could take it off their hands.

ROSCOE VILLAGE
The neighborhood successfully balances its hip factor (destinations include Viaduct Theater and “Antique Row” on Belmont Avenue) with enough strollers on sidewalks to make people feel safe. Its desirability led to “a tremendous amount of single-family home and condo construction over the last four or five years,” says @properties’ Dana Gerstenschlager, who indicates there are plenty of vintage three-flats and bungalows available, too. “There’s a good inventory of properties and good deals to be had, but people aren’t undercutting.”
Median condo price $412,000
Median single-family home price $1,142,500
Hot property 3203 North Oakley Avenue. This new condo, around the corner from Antique Row, has three bedrooms, two baths and a heated garage space in a brick ten-unit building for $389,000. Contact Tim Sheahan at Sudler Sotheby’s International Realty, 773-524-4444.

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