Why Investors Should Consider Cook County’s Southwest Suburbs in 2022

An Analysis of Multifamily Investment Properties in Alsip, Burbank, Chicago Ridge, Oak Lawn and Worth

Introduction and Overview:

The Chicago metropolitan area is a vast geographical area encompassing the city of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs. According to Wikipedia, there are 100 Chicagoland area suburbs that span 16 counties in three states, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana. Today, we wanted to narrow down this vast market and highlight a cluster of five cities located in southwest Cook County: Alsip, Burbank, Chicago Ridge, Oak Lawn and Worth. If you have any questions or would like to learn more about the market, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our team for more information, and check out our active listings HERE.

1. AREA CHARACTERISTICS

The data for each city below was gathered from the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning Community Data Snapshot website.

Alsip (¹⁾: Along with the village of Worth, Alsip borders the Little Calumet River. The two villages tend to be less transactional than their neighbors to the North – Chicago Ridge and Oak Lawn, however, recent sales have shown investors are willing to pay similar prices for multifamily real estate. Renter-occupied housing makes up approximately 39% of all occupied housing. Regarding specific housing type characteristics, multi-family housing makes up approximately 43% of the housing in Alsip with property types featuring 5-19 units representing the largest sub-type at 28%. Within the housing stock, three-bedroom floorplans represent approximately 40% of all unit types. Two-bedroom layouts are the next most common representing approx. 35% of all unit types.

Burbank (²⁾: Located just south of Midway Airport and along the Southwest edge of Chicago is Burbank. The village itself was originally part of Lyons Township but in 1952 became part of Stickney Township. The area wasn’t officially incorporated into a city until 1970. Renter-occupied housing makes up approximately 24% of all occupied housing. Regarding specific housing type characteristics, multi-family housing makes up approximately 18% of the housing in Burbank with property types featuring 3-9 units representing the largest sub-type at 11%. Within the housing stock, three-bedroom floorplans represent approximately 53% of all unit types. Four-bedroom layouts are the next most common representing approx. 20% of all unit types.

Chicago Ridge (³⁾: The village of Chicago Ridge consists of the largest number of 5-19-unit properties across the five cities. Many of them are concentrated close to major transit areas and consist of 6, 12, and 18-unit multifamily buildings largely built in the 60’s and 70’s. Due to the large multifamily housing stock available, Chicago Ridge tends to be one of the most transactional cities in the southwest suburbs every year. Renter-occupied housing makes up approximately 45% of all occupied housing. Within the housing stock, two-bedroom floorplans represent approximately 49% of all unit types. Three-bedroom layouts are the next most common representing approx. 27% of all unit types.

Oak Lawn (⁴⁾: The largest of all the cities in the case study is the village of Oak Lawn. Located south of Burbank and southwest of Chicago, Oak Lawn encompasses of population of a little under 60,000 people. In 2002 downtown Oak Lawn (95^th Street Corridor) was the target of a massive redevelopment bringing in several high-end condo and mixed-use developments. Oak Lawn is also home to Illinois’ fourth largest hospital – Advocate Christ Medical Center, a 788-bed teaching hospital located along the 95^th Street corridor. Renter-occupied housing makes up approximately 21% of all occupied housing. Regarding specific housing type characteristics, multi-family housing makes up approximately 33% of the housing in Oak Lawn with property types featuring 5-19 units representing the largest sub-type at 19%. Within the housing stock, three-bedroom floorplans represent approximately 42% of all unit types. Two-bedroom layouts are the next most common representing approx. 30% of all unit types.

Worth (⁵⁾: The smallest of the five municipalities is the village of Worth. Over one third of the roughly 10,000 person population occupies a multifamily rental. While not as transactional as the other cities listed above, Worth continues to attract plenty of rental demand and investor attention anytime a property hits the market. This is likely due to the barrier of entry of investing into a smaller suburban city. Regarding specific housing type characteristics, multi-family housing makes up approximately 40% of the housing in Worth with property types featuring 5-19 units representing the largest sub-type at 33%. Within the housing stock, three-bedroom floorplans represent approximately 40% of all unit types. Two-bedroom layouts are the next most common representing approx. 37% of all unit types.