[mark0]

Personally I think the problem is taxes, fees and upkeep. Wealthy people are willing to pay a premium for Winetka, Kenilworth, etc. to a point. After that they will buy second homes in Palm Beach, California, Aspen, etc. or move. There is a ceiling in cold weather non recreational metros. See today's Crains article about Marcus Lemonis, he has property all over and his Montecito house is the top dollar property. I dont think this is unique to Chicago either, the NY tristate area is seeing high end outer suburban properties languish on the markets in Connecticut and NJ while the core city does well. Also, those types of towns make Chicago look downright libertarian in their permit departments. A lot of them now make you sprinkler your house, go to appearance commissions, have 20 people working a building dept. ( all making bank and getting fat pensions of course ) yet they still outsource all their reviews. It can be easily $15 - $25K to get a building permit for a typical house, double or triple for a whale. So ya, they priced people out. Good for them, maybe they'll learn but I doubt it. You know Oakland / Kenwood was once Chicago's top district, only taking 100 years and counting to come back.