North Side

Edgewater

Edgewater’s proximity to numerous public transportation options, good schools and a mix of unique shops and restaurants combine to make it attractive to homebuyers who want a home in a walkable neighborhood that they can afford. Edgewater also gives residents easy access to lakefront parks, the Lakefront Trail and several beaches, as well as smaller parks within the neighborhood’s boundaries, defined as Devon Avenue to the north, Foster Avenue to the south, Ravenswood Avenue to the west and Lake Michigan to the east.

That mix of affordability and amenities attracts a diverse range of homebuyers, according to Maggie Finegan of the Move With Maggie team at Keller Williams.

“The first-time homebuyers can often buy a small condo on the lakefront for a very affordable price,” she says. “We have newly married couples that are buying one- or two-story condos. We also have many move-up buyers who are selling their condos and looking for a real walkable neighborhood where you can park, it’s quieter and there’s a better quality of life.”

Edgewater’s Andersonville section in particular attracts young families, as well as their parents.

“We recently started getting Baby Boomers, especially from Ohio and Michigan, whose children have moved here and have had kids,” Finegan says. “These Boomers are moving here to be grandparents and help out with the kids, especially in Andersonville. They’re buying condos and in some cases two-unit apartment buildings.”

Finegan sees high demand and a scarcity of properties available on the market as the biggest challenge the neighborhood faces.

“The homes that were very affordable that may have been fixer-uppers are being bought by developers, and they’re tearing them down and building like a three-unit building where there was a home,” she says. “Or they’re building a $1.7 million single-family home.”

Edgewater By the Numbers

• Median sales price detached single-family home: -12.3% ($775,000 to $680,000)
• Median sales price attached single family home: +13.8% ($195,000 to $222,000)
• +9.3% change in new listings attached single-family homes (654 to 715)
• -14.0% change in new listings detached single-family homes (107 to 92)

All properties

• -3.8% change in closed sales (443 to 426)
• -6.7% change in inventory of homes (761 to 807)

Source: Chicago Assocaiation of Realtors

NORWOOD PARK

Located on Chicago’s far Northwest Side, Norwood Park is a primarily residential neighborhood that exudes the quiet order of the suburbs. Historically, the neighborhood’s makeup has been predominantly white and skewed toward police officers, firefighters and other public servants. The area has become more diverse in recent years as downsizing older residents sell and move away.

Residents can visit a pair of business districts along Northwest Highway and Milwaukee Avenue that are now home to bustling bars and restaurants after a moratorium on alcohol sales in the area was lifted in 2005. Factor in access to highly desirable schools and attractive parks – including Norwood Park, which features the Chicago Park District’s only outdoor water slide – and it’s easy to see why the neighborhood is in such high demand. Last year, Norwood Park accounted for the fourth largest number of single-family home sales in the city with 410, according to Redfin.