Downside To Elmhurst's Rising Home Values: Study

ELMHURST, IL – Elmhurst residents like to see their home values rise, with the median value more than doubling over a dozen years.

The possible downside: Their children may be unable to afford a local place of their own. And seniors looking to downsize find few opportunities in town.

It's a problem so daunting that the mayor said a couple of years ago that Elmhurst is a "boon" to neighboring Villa Park. That's because many residents wind up moving there for the lower-priced homes.

On Tuesday, representatives of the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus presented a study on Elmhurst's housing.

According to the study, Elmhurst's senior population has grown by 2,000 since 2013. And they need homes that are physically accessible, smaller and more affordable, the study said.

At the same time, nearly half of local renters – more than 1,500 – spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing, the study said.

"Elmhurst has older apartments that are more affordable," Ben Schnelle of the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus told the City Council. "But as we saw from data and heard in community input, rents in these buildings have risen quickly, outpacing inflation over the last decade."

Last year, the median home sale price was $604,000, up from $300,000 in 2012, a nearly 8 percent annual hike.

The caucus suggested ideas such as a community land trust. It would involve a nonprofit group buying land and then selling the houses on the lots at affordable prices to income-qualified families, while still owning the land.

The land and home would appreciate, benefitting the nonprofit's mission and the homeowners.

The caucus also suggested changing Elmhurst's zoning code. Now, the city bans stacked duplexes, with one home on top of another. But repealing that rule could benefit Elmhurst, Schnelle said.

"(They) are an attractive type for homebuilders because they keep the same width as a single-family home, work better on narrower lots and they more closely resemble single-family homes," he said.

Nancy Firfer, a former Glenview mayor who advises the caucus, said affordable housing needs to fit in. She urged Elmhurst officials to drive through Highland Park, which focuses on affordable housing.

"I challenge any of you to find one of those affordable units there," Firfer said. "You can help people, but just do it right, so it doesn't affect their neighbors."

She also said Highland Park's affordable housing has not affected the overall prices of existing single-family homes.

"If anything, they're going through the roof, like here," Firfer said.

The council's Development, Planning and Zoning Committee plans to review the study at its upcoming meetings.