Prospective homebuyers who’ve suffered sticker shock on the North Side and downtown might like what they find in Beverly and Morgan Park, where the 2006 median price for a single-family house was $293,000, according to data compiled by the Beverly Area Planning Association from the Cook County Recorder of Deeds and the Multiple Listing Service of Northern Illinois.
That number climbed 6.5 percent from 2005, when the median price for a single-family home was $275,000, despite a slowdown in the housing market, says BAPA’s Marcia Walsh. The data is culled from BAPA’s service area, bounded by 87th Street on the north, 119th Street on the south, Vincennes Avenue and Beverly Boulevard on the east and roughly following the city limits on the west.
Homes close to schools and trains typically garner higher prices, says Nancy Hotchkiss, an agent with Prudential Biros Real Estate, which does the bulk of its business in the Beverly area. A three-bedroom house in a desirable location usually runs in the low- to mid-$300s, she says. In her experience, houses in these prime areas selling for less are often fixer-uppers. “You can get a bargain in a nice location if you’re willing to do the work,” she says.
The most expensive home to sell in Beverly’s history went for $1.2 million several years ago, she says, and currently a $1.5 million home is on the market.