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HOMES
Housing Professionals Talk Change and Hope
By Lacey Sikora Contributing Reporter
Like everything else, the state of housing in Oak Park and River Forest experienced a lot of changes during the pandemic. A few local professionals weigh in on what they are seeing now and what they think the future may hold.
Michael Nowicki, of Ideal Location-Oak Park Realty, says that the pandemic saw a remarkable increase in demand for square footage- both inside and outside of homes. In 2019 and earlier, large homes tended to take longer to sell. Not so anymore. Even though the typical family size has decreased over the past few decades, he says, “Now, maybe both parents work from home, or the kids are now being home-schooled, and the need for a four or more-bedroom home is back.”
On the rental end, representatives of Oak Park Apartments advise that all costs associated with providing housing have skyrocketed in the past two years, increasing at a dramatically faster pace than at any time in the previous 35 years. In addition, the practical side of renting apartments changed drastically. Virtual apartment tours and paperless leasing became essential practices.
As Executive Director of Housing Forward, Lynda Schueler says the economic hardships created by Covid left thousands of renters unable to pay their rent. She states, “The eviction moratorium and the federal recovery funds for emergency rental assistance helped stave off a tidal wave of newly-homeless individuals and families.”
Housing Forward facilitated the processing of over $800,000 in rental payments to landlords in the last two years, an increase of nearly 400% over previous years.
She states, “For the first time in our agency’s history, the number of people we served who were at-risk of homelessness eclipsed the number of people who were literally homeless during COVID.”
Schueler says the focus of the agency had to shift when they were forced to close their long-time PADS Emergency Shelter due to the congregate nature of the program. Housing Forward pivoted to create a hotel-based facility. Schueler calls this model, “the most dignified response to addressing homelessness.”
Going forward, Nowicki says, “The biggest challenge is always affordability. Oak Park needs to be affordable for people of all backgrounds and all stages of life- from the single parent working a modest job, to the newly-married couple looking to establish roots, to the older generation looking to move out of their house and into something smaller and more easilymanageable.”
Nowicki says the key to keeping Oak Park a vibrant and generational town, is to keep the housing “cycle of life” moving.
Oak Park Apartments sees a challenge with being able to maintain a supply of naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH.) They say that NOAH is under attack from increased government regulation and skyrocketing property taxes. These contribute to the increased cost and complexity of providing housing, resulting in less-affordable housing village-wide.
Schueler credits significant COVID-relief funding from the federal government with a needed influx of funds over the past two years, and says, “Sustainability of our new 24/7 Interim Housing program model once these federal recovery funds are exhausted is our biggest challenge.”
She says that when compared to the PADS program, which used donated space,
Lynda Schueler
PROVIDED
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the challenge of raising operating costs for a building 365 days a year, with 65 rooms that require cleaning and maintenance is something Housing Forward’s board of directors and leadership team will be addressing in an upcoming strategic plan.
When it comes to hopes for the future, Nowicki says he’s hoping to see Oak Park once again establish itself as the go-to suburb that people adore and where they want to live. He states, “I want there to be more focus on how socially-advanced we are. How historically rich and talented we are. Let’s focus on what we, as a village, have done, and what we continue to strive for. Let’s be hometown proud. Afterall, it is a privilege to live here, and I hope that people see our beliefs in action and want to move here to become a part of it.”
With an eye towards affordability, Oak Park Apartments hopes that the future will bring a balanced approach to housing regulations and property taxes to allow housing providers to be able to continue to provide affordable housing options locally.
Schueler also has hopes that state and local governments will see that the investment of resources in emergency rental assistance truly can prevent future homelessness. Noting that Housing Forward stabilized 569 individuals in housing in 2021, up from 447 households in 2020, she sums up, “This shift in addressing both the ‘front and back doors’ to homelessness is the trend we hope to continue to see in the future.”
–Michael Nowicki
Michael Nowicki
PROVIDED
The Perfect Blend of Vintage Beauty and Modern Amenities
Oak Park Residence Corporation
Oak Park Residence Corporation has been providing quality rental housing for over 54 years. Our 28 petfriendly buildings located throughout Oak Park o er a variety of studio, one, two, and three bedroom units - all within easy walking distance to public transportation, parks, libraries, schools, markets, shops, galleries, and restaurants. Amenities include hardwood oors, laundry facilities, parking, 24-hour emergency maintenance service, electronic key entry, online rent payment, online resident portal, and more. For more information please visit our website at 222.oakparkrc.com or contact us (708) 386-6061
2022 local real estate snapshot
This data represents sales of single-family homes and condo/townhomes in Oak Park, River Forest,
Forest Park and Elmwood Park from May 1, 2021 to April 30, 2022. In addition to total homes sold and average sale prices, we’ve also included two stats: Market Time and Sales Price/Listing Price Ratio that show how rapidly the real estate market moved during that twelve month period.
Market Time is the number of days a property is on the market from the time it is listed until the day that it closes. In “normal” times, a seller might put their home on the market and expect it to go under contract within a month or two. Following that, it might take another month for the home to close. A market time of 46 days, as we see for Oak Park single-family homes, is a relatively low number that is indicative of a fast moving market.
Sales Price/Listing Price Ratio indicates the percentage of the listing price that a property was sold for. You might expect this number to be less than 100%, since buyers often try to negotiate discounts off the listing price. If the number is 100%, as it is in Oak Park, that means sellers are getting exactly what they are asking.
Our thanks to the Oak Park Area Association of Realtors for providing these statistics.
Oak Park
Single Family Homes
Condos/Townhomes
Forest Park
Single Family Homes
Condos/Townhomes
Condos/Townhomes
Total units Sold Average Sale Price Market Time Sales Price/Listing Price 110 $374,492 41 days 99%
169 $209,400 48 days 98%
River Forest
Single Family Homes
Condos/Townhomes
Elmwood Park
Athena Williams, Executive Director, OPRHC
Fair Housing: Its Impact
For over four decades, the Oak Park Regional Housing Center has been committed to its mission of promoting and sustaining residential integration in Oak Park and the region. Our Fair Housing programming has been recognized as a model and a best practice within the community and across the nation. Through our rental referral program, OPRHC helps individuals expand their housing options by providing them with the ability and encouragement they may need to rent or purchase a home in any area regardless of their race or ethnicity. Oak Park Regional Housing Center works to continue to maintain residential integration in Oak Park and the region, block by block, building by building.
Many people say, “Oak Park has achieved integration, why do we need the Housing Center”? Obviously I am going to tell you. OPRHC is needed now more than ever. With the growing developments, increase in market rate rents, there are segments of our population that we must target to help Oak Park remain true to its core values and its brand, the market of “excellence” that has been built into the Oak Park Housing stock. Excellence that arrived from the high market demands, not because of the location to the City of Chicago; not because of the good schools; not because of the beautiful community characteristics, but the racially and ethnically integrated fabric of which the Village of Oak Park has become.
Even though the Oak Park Regional Housing Center has established this national model for integration, our work and our impact is not fully recognized. What is the impact of integration? Research has shown that a diverse workforce can improve financial performance. Racially diverse schools and classrooms create cognitive, social, and emotional benefits. In addition, living in a racially integrated community can positively impact an individual’s identity and how they interact with others. These actions require on going intention, and that is what Oak Park Regional Housing Center is here to continue to do. Without this intention, these great benefits and impacts would diminish. This is why investments in the Oak Park Regional Housing Center is critical. OPRHC’s efforts to continue to promote and maintain integration positively affects property values, social and communal relations.
Oak Park Regional Housing Center is celebrating 50 years of service to the Greater Westside Region of Chicago. As we turn the page and enter the next 50 years of service, we will continue to collectively impact the communities we serve. Please celebrate with us, Saturday, October 22, 2022, 6p, Epiphany Center for the Arts, 201 S. Ashland, Chicago, 60607. For more information about Oak Park Regional Housing Center, check out our website: oprhc.org.
