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How to Approach the Chicago Real Estate Market

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In a real estate market as vast as that of "Chicagoland," take steps against insanity early on in your search, by narrowing in on a few neighborhoods. The writers of The Newcomer's Handbook for Moving to and Living in Chicago recommend that to begin your search, you should "walk or drive around the neighborhood you're interested in and look for ' For Sale ' signs." To narrow in on neighborhoods, consider such factors as: urban/suburban, proximity to public transportation, proximity to workplace, schools in the area, sense of community in the neighborhood, activities nearby, type and age of housing available, yard/parks/other places for children to play, crime statistics, and median housing prices. One way to find out these last two, which are a little less obvious to the naked eye than some of the others, is to call up each neighborhood's city profile on www.moving.com/find_a_place/cityprofile/ .On this site you can enter a zip code and quickly retrieve such statistics as population, population change since 1990, crime risk compared to national levels, average home sale price, median years in residence of your potential future neighbors (an area with lower turnover may be a better place to raise a family), and air pollution index. The median dwelling age will tell you how old most of the homes in the area are. You can even find out some other interesting things about your potential neighbors, such as their median age, their average household income and average household expenditure (useful if you'd rather not move someplace where you'll be surrounded by big spenders), and even what percentage of them ride their bikes to work!

In addition to driving around particular neighborhoods to see what's available, you can check the classified pages of the Chicago Tribune and the Sun Times. The Tribune also lists properties in an online database. Of course, if you really want to make this easy for yourself, find a realtor. According to the Newcomer's Handbook, "most real estate agencies claim to serve the entire Chicago area, and indeed, most agencies can offer some assistance with any home on the market. However, an agency is best qualified to show you homes in the neighborhood where it is located -- where their geographic expertise is greatest." That way, you can learn as much as possible about your future neighborhood, from your helpful realtor, before you commit to it.

The real estate transfer tax in Chicago is $3.75 for every $500 of the home’s purchase price. Together with the title insurance, inspection, land survey, recording tax, and mortgage origination fee, this means you will probably pay between 5% and 8% more than the purchase price when you close on a house.

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