Illinois home prices surge, available units in short supply

By Glenn Minnis | The Center Square contributor
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – With home prices across the state up by 49% since 2019, Illinois Policy Institute’s LyLena Estabine reasons it’s not hard to see why the state is losing much of its appeal as the number of available units also fall far short of ready-for-occupancy structures in other places.

Data shows the average Illinois home price now stands at $277,483, compared to $186,366 six years earlier.

“When you have communities that are not creating and they’re not building enough diverse kinds of housing, young people can’t find the houses that they’re looking for,” Estabine told The Center Square. “They will just leave to other states. Part of that is property taxes, which we also have the highest in the country, but part of that is also the cost of housing.”

Estabine argues all the added burden on homeowners has played a role in at least 26 of the state’s metro areas now seeing the number of available homes shrink, with Chicago’s inventory falling by more than half.

“It’s important to address our housing crisis in order to both maintain residents that currently live here and attract new ones because right now we have the highest property taxes in the nation and when you add that on top of a zoning and regulatory environment that discourages building, you’re seeing housing prices rise,” she said.

As it is, Estabine argues all the added burden on homeowners has played a role in at least 26 of the state’s metro areas now seeing the number of available homes in their area shrink, with Chicago’s inventory falling by more than half.

During his recent State of the State address, Gov. Pritzker raised the crisis, even as critics argue many of his recent policy decisions have led to more of the same chaos.

At just 32%, Illinois now has less than half as many active listings as before the pandemic, compared to the national average of 75%, according to the Illinois Policy Institute.

“The problem now is to move from that general idea that we need more housing into solutions that are effective,” Estabine adds. “They could pass statewide changes to help address it. One of the solutions that localities could introduce is to allow for smaller lot sizes for single-family homes. If they were to maybe cut that in half, it would be cheaper and easier to build more single-family homes. For people that aren’t looking to buy a starter home, they could legalize in more places duplexes, three flats or quadplexes to make homes that are more accessible price wise.”