Lori Dake once wondered whether homeownership was within reach for her and her husband. Now, she counsels her real estate clients as they search for their forever homes.
“Everybody has this dream home,” Dake said. “By the time they close (on the property), they may have made a couple of sacrifices.”
Despite some pushback from her fellow realtors, she and her husband eventually bought a manufactured home on the North Shore. It’s 1,100 square feet, the perfect amount of space for them and their cat. She bought her home in 2017, but buying in the current market comes with just as many challenges, if not more.
“A lot of buyers, they’re like, well, this is what I have to work with? So yeah, buyers do have to be more flexible, but I would never, ever push them to work outside of what they feel comfortable with,” she explained.
She believes more affordable housing is needed, and that’s why she’s advocating for the BUILD plan championed by Gov. JB Pritzker. The goal is to create more starter homes, but more than 100 mayors have registered against the plan, including Naperville Mayor Scott Wehrli.
“It forces our city to allow 6- and 8-unit buildings on lots zoned for single family homes by right,” Wehrli said in a video posted to Facebook.
Suburban mayors have been fired up about the legislation because it has the potential to reshape Illinois neighborhoods. The package of bills would make a host of changes, including allowing small apartment buildings right to single family homes and allowing smaller second homes on lots.
Four mayors, including the leaders of Des Plaines and Oak Park, explained why they support the BUILD plan in a Chicago Tribune op-ed. They cited the housing shortage, rising home prices and families getting priced out. They are trends realtors are concerned about, as well.
“We literally have to sprint — not run — sprint to those properties in order to submit offers for our clients. And the majority of time, they have multiple offers. Properties are overbilled by $20,000, $30,000, $50,000, 150,000, even more in order to win. And the majority of the time it’s cash offers,” said Kinga Korpacz, a real estate broker in the northwest suburbs.
The Illinois Municipal League has introduced its own housing plan called the Reducing Expenses and Advancing Local, or REAL, Housing Act.
Region: Chicago,Local,City: Chicago
via Local – NBC Chicago https://ift.tt/PAm6N30
May 14, 2026 at 08:39PM
Illinois Delivered 