Community Corner
Oak Forest Home Prices Dip Lower than Others in Area
Oak Forest homeowners' biggest asset is losing its value—though not by as high a percentage as nearby Orland Park or other south suburban towns.
Single-family home prices fell last year in most Chicago-area towns, and Oak Forest is no exception.
According to Crain's Chicago Business, 238 of 252 Chicago-area zip codes tracked by Fiserv Inc. saw their home prices fall in 2010, with the overall drop being about 5.2 percent. Oak Forest home prices dipped slightly below the overall average, at 5.3 percent.
See below for a chart of the sales price drops for all area Patch towns.
In a video covering the prices drops, a Crain's reporter said the biggest declines were in the city's southside neighborhoods. South suburban Harvey suffered the biggest drop, 19.6%, and other area Patch towns closer to the city also took bigger hits than Oak Forest. Orland Park suffered a 6 percent drop, and Oak Lawn an 8.7 percent drop. Evergreen Park had a 9.6 percent drop.
West suburban Clarendon Hills had the largest increase, at 3.6 percent. The only town in Cook County with increased sale prices was Park Forest, with a 1.5 percent increase. Others in the Chicago area saw slight decreases, like Naperville, which dropped just 2.4 percent and Frankfort by 2.6 percent, the lowest of nearby Patch towns.
The future should be brighter, though. According to Crain's, Fiserv predicts a fractional decrease in sale prices this year and an average 3.4 percent increase in 2012.
-2.4 percent Frankfort -2.6 percent Bolingbrook (60440)
-2.7 percent Shorewood -2.8 percent Channahon -3.1 percent Naperville (60565)
-3.1 percent Plainfield (60544)
-3.2 percent Romeoville -3.3 percent Flossmoor -3.4 percent Chicago Heights -4.2 percent Homewood -4.3 percent Mokena -4.3 percent Bolingbrook (60490) -4.4 percent Plainfield (60585) -4.5 percent Plainfield (60586) -5.0 percent Tinley Park -5.2 percent Oak Forest -5.3 percent Orland Park (60467) -5.5 percent New Lenox -5.8 percent Orland Park (60462) -6.0 percent Palos Heights -6.5 percent Palos Park -6.6 percent Palos Hills -6.8 percent Oak Lawn -8.7 percent Evergreen Park -9.6 percent
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
