In hot city neighborhood markets, new home listings can go under contract within hours. However, in some far-flung suburbs, homes can (and often do) wait for months, or even years, until they’re finally sold. While suburbs such as Lemont and Berwyn have successfully positioned themselves as prime locations for first-time millennial homebuyers, other suburbs, such as South Barrington, have witnessed a glut of high-end listings languishing on the market.
Located about 34 miles northwest of Chicago’s city center, South Barrington is a suburb that is well known for its stock of large homes—sometimes referred to as McMansions—constructed during the ‘90s and up until the real estate crash of the last decade. According to Redfin, the median sale price in South Barrington in the last month is $880,000, but oftentimes listings start with much higher asking prices.
Here’s a quick look at a handful of South Barrington listings that have been on the market uninterrupted for a year or longer.
5 Pacer Trail
Days on the market: 379
Asking price: $1.25 million
This spacious 6,100-square-foot house (pictured above) was constructed in 1992, making it an earlier example of the style of home South Barrington has become known for. The interior finishes are much more subdued compared to other homes in the neighborhood that have a louder aesthetic. The six-bedroom, six-bathroom house entered the market in May 2016 seeking $1.45 million but the asking price has since been reduced by $200,000.
11 Terra Vita Drive
Days on the market: 392
Asking price: $1.149 million
In classic McMansion fashion, this house’s exterior employs numerous gables (seven by our count), various flavors of window shapes, and columns flanking the main entryway. The five-bedroom, 4,750-square-foot house was completed in 2002, the listing notes. Price history shows that the mansion last sold in the summer of 2009 during the deep freeze of the recession for $1.083 million—a huge drop from its original asking price of $1.6 million in late 2008. The house returned to the market in January 2017 seeking $1.199 million.
26 Star Lane
Days on the market: 395
Asking price: $1.69 million
The seller’s agent starts the listing description with: “Seller wants this home sold!” And with an interior spread of 8,000 square feet, this Star Lane mansion is quite a whopper. Highlights include a spacious interior sunroom, a proper home theater, and a full bar and billiards space in the basement. The house has been on and off the MLS since April 2016 when it entered the market with a $1.999 million price tag.
2 Blossom Court
Days on the market: 896
Asking price: $2.599 million
Constructed in 2005 at the height of the last building boom, this enormous six-bedroom mansion spans 12,707 square feet. And for all of its size and girth, it’s been listed on the market for an equally long amount of time. The house hit the MLS in 2007, during the lead up to the Great Recession, seeking $3.58 million, but spent the following three and a half years languishing on the market. The property returned as a new listing in September 2015 and is now asking roughly $1 million less than its original pre-recession price.