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Buffalo Grove Real Estate

Buffalo Grove: Call it Home

As the Village of Buffalo Grove celebrates its 50th year, it’s a good time to take a quick breath and assess not only the past, but also the present and future of housing in this booming community.

Since its incorporation in 1958, Buffalo Grove has grown from a small farm community with a population of less than 1,000 to a major Chicago suburb of 43,000 and growing. According to Deputy Village Manager Ghida Neukirch, future plans include a population peak of 48,000. At first, Buffalo Grove was located entirely within Cook County, but as the draw of open land caused the population to boom, its borders spread into the northern cornfields beyond county lines.

Today, Buffalo Grove is where the best of Cook and Lake Counties meet. The northern two-thirds of the community is in Lake County, while the area south of Lake Cook Road is in Cook County. The general boundaries of the village fall loosely between Half Day Road (Route 22) on the north, Milwaukee Avenue on the east, west to Arlington Heights Road and south to Dundee Road.

Realtor Bonnie Abraham, of Buffalo Grove’s Coldwell Banker, explains that because of the area’s desirability, the market has remained stable even in difficult times. “Because it is such a desirable area with a very strong economic base, it’s a very stable area for the home market. We don’t have a lot of the extreme highs and lows.”

Homes in the area do come in a wide range of prices—from $243,000 to $1,100,000, with the median home value around $420,000 for single family homes and $239,000 for condos or multiple-family dwellings. Most lots are a quarter-acre or less, and while there are no neighborhood association rules, new homes must follow some set criteria. This includes compliance with a standard monotony code, which maintains individual charm along streets and within neighborhoods.

In its 50-year history, Buffalo Grove’s desirability has meant rapid growth that pushed the village limits outward, filling each expanded border. “We are pretty much built out,” Neukirch says, explaining that most of the surrounding farmland of the past has been annexed and developed.

The only large property remaining is that of the family-owned Didier Farms, north of the village. The owners’ plans are to remain in operation for at least another five years, through the farm’s 100th year. After that time, it might be available for development.

With limited open land availability, what does the future hold for Buffalo Grove? By necessity, until Didier Farms is open for development, new home growth will be concentrated on in-fill parcels (vacant land within the village borders). Neukirch also suggests that there are great economic development opportunities along the Milwaukee Avenue corridor, with redevelopment possibilities as well.