Anybody in the Huntley, IL, area? We visited my BIL and his wife this past weekend – it looks like the farmers there planted a crop of 2k+ square foot houses instead of corn. Lots of Pulte – type builders (Pulte has a huge office building between Huntley and Chicago), including a Del Webb Sun City. The lots are just big enough to put the house on – maybe 15-20 feet to your neighbor. My relatives’ house is decent enough; nothing there really stands out as crummy, but I could see where cost was taken out of the construction, too, and I’m no building pro (whatever knowledge I have comes from FH and from hanging out here).
Given that I live in a 75+ year old, 1400 square foot house on a double-size city lot with mature trees, the whole area felt sterile, like a modern factory floor. Who does this appeal to?
did
I opened the box, and the first thing I pulled out was – well, ya know, it’s just surreal being me right now…
Replies
Yo did - Since I worked in that market a while, I'll venture an opinion.
There are a lot of things to consider when trying to figure out why people build or buy where they do. While these tract houses may not appeal to you, they do appeal to the majority of new homebuyers in big towns.
First is price, as always. Tract houses are cheaper. Talk all ya want about quality, but cheap is what people want.
Second is, where else are they gonna live? Housing in the aging towns is older, smaller, in worse condition, and sometimes as expensive as the new homes. (Depending on location)
The subdivisions tend to be in "hot" areas, which means lots of new streets going in, convenience stores, Wal-marts, etc. Women gotta have them Wal-marts.
They're also moving away from higher crime rates in the older, established towns.
And did I mention they're cheap?
Did you hear about the blonde lesbian?
She kept having affairs with men.
But these aren't cheap (well, not compared to MY li'l ol' $64k mortgage!) - BIL paid around $230k, I believe. I don't know that I'd call these "tract houses" - that brings to my mind homes built during the boom immediately following WWII. I was actually surprised by what I could see of the quality - I could see where cost was taken out of the process, but overall the house looked decent.
I guess it's the overall feel of the area that so turned me off - I had a sense that it was a place where you had to shout "I'm almost rich" whether it's true or not.
Wal-Mart, nothin' - they've got a Meijer and a Super Target!
didI opened the box, and the first thing I pulled out was - well, ya know, it's just surreal being me right now...
"But these aren't cheap (well, not compared to MY li'l ol' $64k mortgage!) - BIL paid around $230k, I believe."
Well, they're cheap compared to some of the existing real estate in the major cities. I kinda hate to speculate, since Mike works in that area, but I'm thinking that prime lots in Chicago can go for well over $100,000. Houses near interstates can be $200,000 for older houses in poor repair.
Mike, feel free to correct this info if I'm wrong. But $230,000 for a house in that area doesn't seem out of line at all to me.A lady is one who never shows her underwear unintentionally. [Lillian Day]
Any of the old communities along the RR tracks, LaGrange, W. Springs, Hinsdale, etc, lots $300,000 and up, tear downs $500,000 and up. A family wants and probably needs a home. To have a new one today and be lower middle class means 30 to 60 miles outside a major metro area to find something you can afford. But to those families it'll be home and to their kids worth a million $.
I've worked on projects in and around Chicago area for years.From McHenry to Will Counties,Cook to Kane and Kendall Counties.
From what I've seen,If you build it,they will come!
Doesn't matter if it's custom framed or framed in a shop and trucked to the site,people will buy it.
Some projects of 150 to 200 units or more,are 85% sold before the first foundation is dug!
Some are built with pride,some I've worked on (shortly)I felt like a carpenter prostitute!Slam-Bang!!Move to the next one!!And they get top $$$ for either.
Even townhomes are selling for big $$$.Condo projects in the city are starting at 1/2 a mil.
People moving out,people moving in.
The new thing is tear-downs.Building 2500-3500sq/ft homes with 5' easements in neighborhoods with 1100sq/ft homes.What's up with that?!Might be another thread.
The new thing is tear-downs.Building 2500-3500sq/ft homes with 5' easements in neighborhoods with 1100sq/ft homes.What's up with that?!Might be another thread.
I see you have been to Houston. I never saw that before going down there to visit my folks, boggeled my mind that people were builing 1/2-1 million dollar homes on blocks with 100,000-200,000 homes, and the only reason the houses ever exceeded that in value was because of the land.View ImageGo Jayhawks
I'll tell you what....It makes me sad and very p..sed-off at the same time.
My parents had it happen next door to them.The house next to them sat on 2 lots.
the people that bought it tore PART of the house off closed it in and built this huge behemoth of a house next to it!Looks like a Tonka in row of Matchbox.
Happening all over.Good for the tax rolls,looks like you-know-what for the neighborhood.
The times they are a..........
did,
I live and work in the area you are talking about. I have an interesting perspective since I'm a real estate appraiser.
I have yet to figure out why people are moving out to tract housing in the Huntley area. There are no employment centers or Expressways anywhere close. The home prices are not any lower than similar subdivisions located closer to employment and highways. The homes are built on flat farmland with no trees, hills, water, or any other amenity.
I can understand people moving out to the outskirts of the metro area to get a home on acreage. That makes sense, but on a 70'x 120' site?
I talked to a homeowner from Japan recently. He told me there is no market for used homes in Japan. Homes are built new and lived in for 30-40 years. Once the home is old it is torn down and replaced with a new home. I suspect that the suburban US market may be headed in that direction.
A friend of mine sells real estate, the Kansas City area. Now this is an area where you can buy new homes for $150-175k.
And she say that everyone wants to buy those instead of $100-$125k homes that are 20 years old and generally have the same features, but higher quality, already finished basements, and established landscaping.
They're reasonably close to I-90, and it took us about an hour to get to the Museum of Science and Industry. But, as you said, immediately local employment is limited to services and a couple of factories (and, obviously, building-related stuff!). If you look at the Huntley area web site, they show a population of around 5000 in 1990, a bit under 10,000 now, with a projection of 32,000 by 2010!
From BIL's back window, you can see a field, and then the next development over. There's a sign by the field announcing that it will soon be Barrington Estates or something like that.
So, are the houses in Japan built to be demolished in a few decades, or are longer lifespans figured in? I'd think in the US the people who'd buy, demolish, and rebuild will instead go to the next new development in the next hot town, and these "crop houses" will moulder away.
didI opened the box, and the first thing I pulled out was - well, ya know, it's just surreal being me right now...
I used to live close to Huntley. As you said, it's pretty sparse, but then that's how most of the Chicagoland suburbs are. I've also wondered why anybody would move out there too, but as was mentioned before, you can commute and get to work in a reasonable time while still living just outside of the sprawl.
If I remember correctly, the developers (Pulte and Del Webb figure prominently in my memory) are creating a remote city at Huntley. They have an outlet mall, and will be getting other stuff like that. So, they can live out from most of the traffic and congestion, but still have the modern conveniences of suburban life. Retired people don't have to worry much about being another 30 minutes from the city as long as they have their Wal Mart and Cracker Barrel nearby.
Pulte Home Corporation bought Dell Webb 3 or 4 years ago.
They wanted to get into Dell Webb's market which is older folks with the kids out of the house.
They build a decent house for the money and have done well in the Huntley area. That particular project is huge and has inspired other developers to go into that market all over the area with the same idea.
Huntley is right next to Crystal Lake and Algonquin which have grown rapidly over the last several years as developers follow the 90 corridor.
The entire Chicago area has experinced rapid growth over the last 15 years as the land along the expressways has filled in with people moving out of the city and still being within an hour drive time of the Loop.
but as was mentioned before, you can commute and get to work in a reasonable time .....
Jon,
Have you ever been on Algonquin Rd. or Randall Rd. in rush hour? I seriously doubt you can get anywhere near downtown Chicago in rush hour from Huntley. It probably takes at least 25 minutes just to get on I90 in rush hour. They have allowed thousands and thousands of new homes to be built without increasing the capacity of the roads. A friend of mine lives in Lake in the Hills and it takes him almost an hour to commute to Schaumburg.
That being said there appears to be a strong market for new homes in the area. The "If you build it they will come" strategy appears to be working for the builders.
Mike
I agree completely on Randall Road being difficult during rush hour. I lived a few miles from Randall down South (Geneva) and it wasn't much different. But for retired people who don't have to commute, it's not much of a concern. Traffic is a whole different ball game when commuting. It's kinda like the rain. I don't mind rain at all, unless I have to work in it. When doing trim or something like that, a monsoon would be okay by me, but if I have to deal with it all day...
Jon Blakemore
Here are some reasons that influence some people to buy the type of home you are describing (regardless of area):
Those homes are better advertised.
Vanity. There's more status with a new home.
There may be (often are) financing incentives from the builder/developer. (There are also lots of nearly exact comparable sales, so both lender and buyer have a certain sense of security)
They don't plan to do much outside of the house anyway, so they view the small lot as a labor saver.
Many people like the idea of choosing the details of their next home: colors, fixtures, etc.
AS FOR JAPAN: Don't they also put a new engine in your car over there if you need a new alternator or such?
It doesn't matter how fast you get there, it just matters that you go in the right direction.