How is Westmont/Woodridge/Lombard in dupage county illinois

Question

We are going to buy a single family house in the suburb of Chicago. Is there any one in this community knows about Westmont, Woodridge or Lombard?

Is Westmont turning into a bad neighborhood though it is surrounded by good neighborhood?

Lombard is adjacent to Addison, which made me concern.

And Woodridge is close to Bolingbrook...

Wendell De Guzman · Answer

Helen, you have to look at how good the schools are, the historical  appreciation rate and the crime statistics. Forecasting is more difficult. To do a forecast, you can check the projected population growth as well as the influx of jobs by checking with the Chamber of Commerce for that city.

For the three cities you mentioned, below are the school info, appreciation rate and crime stats:

http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/il/westmont/crime...

http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/il/woodridge/crim...

http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/il/lombard/crime/

Ben Walhood · Answer

As an active investor in those areas, I would say that (very generally) all 3 are desirable areas.  I would rank them as Westmont as most desirable then Woodridge and Lombard.  But like with most areas of Chicagoland, you have to get down to a more micro level.  I used to live in northern Westmont which had $2M+ McMansions in gated communities but also plenty of $50k-$100k condos and townhomes.  In the southern part of Westmont there are some apartment complexes that I would say are less desirable.  Woodridge has many $500k+ homes, but west of 355 it seems to drop down to working class homes in the range of $100k-$200k.  In Lombard I tend to see mostly older homes, without a lot of the rehab/tear-downs that are seen in other western burbs with equivalent pricing.

That's just my own two sense from driving those areas and looking at deals on a weekly basis.  I'm sure others would have different opinions based on their experience.

My advice would be to focus on the couple blocks in either direction of your target property.  If they are newer, rehabbed, or well-maintained homes you probably have found a nicer part of town.  If not...

Crystal Smith · Answer

@Helen Lee Lots of tools out there for you to determine if a community is the right one for you.  Are you looking to buy for yourself or invest?  Either way, another tool you can use to determine if a location desirable is Market Time (MT) or Days on Market (DOM).  It's not a leading indicator of desirability but you can combine it w/ other data, such as provided by @Wendell De Guzman, to decide if it's someplace you want to live and/or invest.  Just looked up the last 6 months for Westmont & the market time varies based on price point.

• On the low end $74K Market Time is 1 day (Investors swooping in)
• In the middle $306K- MT avg of 66 days (Not bad- Will get better w/ the spring)
• On the high end-$800K- MT avg of 362 days (Not surprising- Less buyers available @ this price point.

Robert Obniski · Answer

Dont want to hijack the thread here...But @Jeff Nydegger and Ben Walhood

Either one of you guys sell homes to fix n flip investors? Im looking to get better results than the MLS and my agent.

Helen Lee · Answer

Thank you for the information. It's very helpful!

Elizabeth J. · Answer

I always discuss this with our real estate agent as he knows where much of the development is headed.  It appears in Chicago, that a lot of investment is headed south, to areas like Bridgeport, McKinley Park, etc.  The location is good and there are still good values.  The area is already pretty safe.  That is what I look for mainly--is an area already pretty safe, but looks like it on the upswing?  I like to check for where big residential development and big commercial development are planned.  As certain areas get more expensive, the adjoining areas may improve as things move out.  Certain areas west of Western Avenue may be perfectly fine, but it still may take some time before people view some of those areas as good investments.

Helen Lee · Answer

What's criteria to tell whether a neighborhood is good or bad? Is there a way to forecast like 10 to 20 years?

Robert Obniski · Answer

I currently live in Lombard and just like any other place, there is the good and the bad. I live right on the line of Lombard and downers grove. From what ive gathered Downers grove is on the up n up. I havent had any adventures in Lombard to know the area too well but the parts i have been to seem like its a good place. But i would stay closer to the downers grove side of Lombard.

As for Westmont, I am closing on a fix n flip condo this week. I have driven through part of westmont which were dated but on the contrast ive driven through parts with mansions. I chose the condo in westmont not so much for the city of westmont but because of the age, price, amount of work, and very close to main roads. I wont be making a killing on it but there will be profit.

I think the areas you have asked about are good places as long as the purchase price of the property for you is a 'good deal'

Most deals are made in the purchase price.....or so they say. Im new to this too :D

Hope this helps.

How is Westmont/Woodridge/Lombard in dupage county illinois

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