Southwest Suburbs

GLENDALE HEIGHTS

Located in DuPage County just west of I-355, Glendale Heights is an up-and-coming village in the western suburbs that has done a lot to combine affordability with the types of amenities that attract first-time homebuyers.

“It is very affordable,” says Kris Maranda of @properties. “The area is developing and the schools have good programs, which attracts a lot of middle-class families.”

Median home prices in Glendale Heights were reported at $168,000 in the first quarter of 2017 for the village of roughly 34,000 residents. For homebuyers, the prices compare favorably with nearby suburbs such as Lombard, Glen Ellyn and Carol Stream.

“Glendale Heights was one of the areas that was hit really hard during the recession and has now picked up big time,” Maranda says. “The demand is so great that we have had 15 showings requested in one day. It’s unbelievable. The schools have good programs and the city is doing a good job of having all the facilities, streets, stores and everything else that people want.”

The village’s housing stock also works in its favor, though the inventory is tight. Many homes in Glendale Heights are newer, which helps attract the younger buyers who come into the suburb from Cook County and the surrounding area.

“The houses here are not very old, and that makes the area a little more appealing than other areas,” Maranda says. “In Elmhurst or someplace similar, you’ll find older homes built in the 1920s. In Lombard, it’s homes built in the 1960s or 1970s. In Glendale Heights, you find fairly new homes.”

Glendale Heights By the Numbers

• Median sales price
  (detached single-family home): $199,500
• Median sales price
  (attached single-family home): $115,000
• change in new listings
  (all properties): -10.6%
• change in closed sales
  (all properties): +18.6%

Source: Redfin

HINSDALE

The small, affluent village of Hinsdale is situated along I-294 and straddles Cook and DuPage counties south of Oak Brook, north of Willowbrook and between Western Springs and Westmont to the east and west. The village’s picturesque downtown is a National Register Historic District that features a variety of attractive shops and businesses. Hinsdale is served by Metra’s BNSF Railway Line, giving residents and visitors easy access to downtown Chicago. Hinsdale Township High School District 86 is recognized for its academic excellence at both the state and national levels.

Recently listed as one of Crain’s Chicago Business’ top places to buy a home in the Chicagoland region, Hinsdale boasts a median sale price of $867,000 on a mix of vintage homes and newer teardown construction. Homesnap classifies Hinsdale as a strong buyer’s market, where there’s a 10-month supply of inventory available despite fewer homes entering the market in recent weeks.