Housing market info for East Garfield Park
Submarket 1 96.6% of East Garfield Park
Lowest income, high distress, declining population, urban
Submarket 1 consists primarily of urban areas concentrated on the south and west sides of the City of Chicago, but also includes parts of Waukegan, Joliet, and south suburban Cook County. These communities are medium density with many 2–4 flats built before 1940. High rates of vacancy, foreclosures, and distressed sales in Submarket 1 may undercut the quality of existing homes. Significant population loss in Submarket 1 communities is likely both a cause and an effect of local levels of property distress. Nonetheless, Submarket 1 has good access to the regional transportation network, which helps keep transportation costs low.
Despite low housing values and costs, declining incomes among Submarket 1 households have led to increased rates of cost burden. Educational attainment levels are low, and households in this submarket are lower income with the largest income declines of any of the submarkets. The submarket has experienced high unemployment, which has increased over time. Communities in this submarket are also aging, now with a greater share of older adults and fewer children under 15.
Submarket 2 3.4% of East Garfield Park
Higher density urban and suburban, large households, high foreclosure/moderate vacancy, low/moderate income
Submarket 2 consists of urban and suburban homes built before 1940 in parts of Chicago, Aurora, Elgin, Joliet, and Waukegan. Declining incomes likely influence the high and increasing levels of cost burden. Low transportation costs moderate concerns about high levels of cost burden. Many households rent, but comparatively fewer live in subsidized units than in submarket 1. The submarket has higher levels of foreclosure activity, but moderate levels of vacancy. Mortgage investment is low but cash sales are high, which when combined with the high foreclosure rates and low vacancy rates, points to the transitioning of homes from owners to renters. The larger households in submarket 2 frequently have children under the age of 15.
Submarket 3 0.0% of East Garfield Park
Higher density urban, high income, young, high home prices and rents
The majority of submarket 3 falls within the boundaries of Chicago, as well as parts of Oak Park and Evanston and can generally be characterized as a strong urban market. High and growing incomes generally mitigate high and increasing home prices and rents, resulting in lower levels of cost burden. Submarket 3 has the lowest transportation costs of any submarket. The housing stock can be characterized as high density urban, primarily consisting of older homes. While many residents of this submarket rent, only in submarket 3 did the share of households renting decline. Lower levels of subsidized housing are found in this submarket. Submarket 3 has a very active housing market with high levels of mortgage activity, turnover, and low vacancy. There are low levels of foreclosure activity and cash sales. The households in this submarket are younger, middle and higher income, with high levels of educational attainment. Smaller households, often 1-person, with few children fit the submarket’s high-density design. Submarket 3 was the only submarket to see an increase in median household income.
What are submarkets?
The Regional Housing Solutions website has a page dedicated to East Garfield Park showing where the submarkets are on a map, alongside specific strategies to address problems with housing identified here.
There are eight submarkets, or clusters of similar housing issues and neighborhood characteristics scattered throughout Chicagoland. Submarkets are not contiguous. The "cluster" information is from the Regional Housing Solutions and is based on data from the American Community Survey, collected in 2009-2013, and is a collaboration among CMAP, Institute for Housing Studies, Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, and Metropolitan Planning Council.
