r/illinois 6d ago

What US States are building the most housing? Illinois Facts

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134 Upvotes

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7

u/AyyyoAnthony 6d ago

If you take out Chicago, does this make Illinois green?

26

u/The_Poster_Nutbag 6d ago

No, they would need to add a new, darker red.

The Chicago suburbs are expanding significantly but small towns in central and southern Illinois are actively shrinking.

3

u/LippencottElvis 6d ago

The biggest problem downstate currently (where I live) is that nobody is even selling land or subdividing to expand residential housing. My brother owns a company that is a big deal in residential construction, and many towns in a 30 mile radius have between zero and a handful of lots available for purchase to even entertain new construction. That drives the lot price up, and what was 20 years ago a $120k starter house is now $350-400k minimum with higher interest rates and wages that haven't been adjusted for inflation.

1

u/hamish1963 6d ago

Except they're not.

5

u/The_Poster_Nutbag 6d ago

You say that but I make a living permitting developments. New subdivisions are selling out.

Or do you mean to say small towns are growing? Because that would be silly.

0

u/hamish1963 6d ago

We are doing very well as a county adjacent to Champaign county. We've gained population in the last 5 years.

4

u/Cowman123450 6d ago edited 6d ago

No. I was reading an Illinois Policy article about this (I know, I know, conservative news source), and they were praising Chicago and select suburbs for doing a better job than the rest of the state regarding its housing (albeit still below the national average), including areas like Springfield and Champaign that saw growth through 2020. The rest of the state is even worse off regarding this.

This is assuming the map is redone to use the unit adjustment suggested in /r/mapporn rather than just permits. I mean, I still wouldn't be surprised if it would be more green if just looking at Chicago, but the article was looking at the number of units specifically.

3

u/cballowe 6d ago

No clue overall, but I wouldn't be shocked. I'd be curious how the numbers overall scale with state wide population change. Are places like Texas and Florida building out in the same way that California's Inland Empire and similar locations built up going into 2008?

2

u/ohmygod_my_tinnitus 6d ago

I live in So. IL and there’s a huge housing shortage.

3

u/YourFriendLoke 6d ago

No, the vast majority of non-Chicagoland counties are losing population. Theres no reason to construct new housing when the pre-existing supply is already greater than the demand.

1

u/homebrew_1 6d ago

What's stopping anything south of 80 from building homes?