Housing slump freezes homeowners in place

Take Crystal Lake School District 47, where school enrollment peaked in 2006-07 with 9,200 students. Enrollment has fallen to 8,168 and is expected to shrink by another 1,000 students over the next seven to eight years, said Superintendent Donn Mendoza.

"The single biggest difference is in the number of exiting eight-graders and incoming kindergartners," Mendoza said. Despite strong test scores and bond rating, "we're having a challenge getting younger, newer families with children into our district."

In the Chicago area, home prices skidded 5.9 percent from a year ago and are at May 2001 levels, according to the SandP/Case-Shiller home price index. Only Atlanta, Seattle, Tampa and Las Vegas tumbled lower. Condos lost even more ground, knocking prices back to 2000.

"The situation is especially tough on younger people," Frey said. "It's one reason why we see so many putting off all the things that they would normally do in their 20s and 30s."

Real estate agents said savvy sellers will price their home right and make it up on the purchase end, taking advantage of bargains, low borrowing rates and little competition from prospective bidders.

"Ultimately, it becomes a quality of life issue," said Jim Murphy, who owns a real estate sales office in Frankfort. "If you really want to get to the next stage, you may need to take the loss. … Otherwise, you could be in for a very long wait."

While school officials in Crystal Lake wait for more younger families to move in, the district has been able to avoid drastic steps such as closing a building. Instead, it has contained costs by trimming 70 certified and support staff positions over the last three years, mostly through retirement.

The same story can be heard from Consolidated High School District 230. Its three high schools — Sandburg in Orland Park, Andrew in Tinley Park and Stagg in Palos Hills — had a projected enrollment of 9,000 students five years ago. Now, the tally is down to 8,165 students and could slip as low as 7,240 by 2016.

Said Rick Nogal, vice chairman of the school board: "There's no question that the housing situation has impeded the natural turnover of things."

Nogal pointed out that the smallest drop occurred at Stagg, which has more rentals and affordable homes in its boundaries. Conversely, Andrew — which draws from an area with more subdivisions and larger homes — posted the steepest enrollment drops.

Of course, enrollment losses in some districts mean unexpected increases in others.

For example, Oak Park-River Forest High School expects a gain of more than 500 students by 2019. Cheryl Witham, chief financial officer for District 200, attributed the uptick to more multigenerational families living together and choosing public over private education due to tuition costs.

The boom-and-bust has made planning difficult for even the smartest school officials, Nogal said, emphasizing that enrollment projections are just that — projections, not facts. A lot of things change.

"After all, who could have predicted all this 10 years ago?" he said

When the Fines purchased in 2006, at the peak of bubble, they certainly didn't see a crisis brewing.

Units in their new building — near Augusta Boulevard and Ashland Avenue — were on the pricey side, going in the $380,000-$390,000 range. But with the open layout, prime location and top-of-the-line finishes, it seemed like a risk-free investment.

Not that they're complaining. They're not underwater, have savings and Todd Fine, a lawyer, has a good job. "We're better off than lots of other people," Tracey Fine acknowledged.

Still, everything is cramped. The double stroller is parked in the foyer; the kitchen counter doubles as an office. The twins, Parker and Wesley, run relays down a long hallway. When grandma visits from Houston, she sleeps in the living room. With the boys asleep in one bedroom, his wife in the second and his mother-in-law on the fold-out couch, Todd Fine burned the midnight oil preparing for a recent case in the only spot available: the bathroom.

"I know a lot of people in the same predicament … and we all regret the (housing) decisions we made," Tracey Fine said.

A couple of miles away, in Bucktown, Jay and Dina Schwartz are also trying to unload a two-bedroom condo they've outgrown. In the last 18 months, they've slashed their price eight times — from $449,000 to $334,000 — and had more than 100 showings.

With a 19-month-old daughter and two dogs, their desire to flee their third-floor unit for the suburbs is palpable.

"Until we can move, we totally have to put our life on hold," said Jay Schwartz, 40. "We can't even decide whether or not to have another child."

Allison, 54, also understands the limbo state — but from a different perspective. She's at an age where she's never been more free. Her three adult children are away at school or on their own. The nurse has considered moving everywhere from the Sun Belt to Downers Grove, where she works at Good Samaritan Hospital.

But first, there's her mint-condition split-level, purchased in 2003. Expansive 2,600-square-foot houses like hers were the ideal when things were going full-tilt, but now only 18 percent of buyers are interested in homes that size or larger, according to a recent survey by Trulia, a real-estate search engine.

However long it takes, she's just going to wait it out. "I'm not going to give it away. I bought it for the kids … but I need to get what I want for me."

So does Dorothy Fields, who put off a move to a senior community for years. When the 91-year-old was finally ready, the market wasn't.

In September, she moved into Lincolnwood Place, a senior community, the only way possible — with her children footing the bill. Meanwhile, her Edgewater two-bedroom condo sits vacant on a stretch of Sheridan Road, where there are hundreds just like hers for sale — some of which have been on the block for 500 days, said her agent, Karen Renella. The owner is asking in the mid-$160s in a building with 10 active listings.

Still, Barry and Dany Fields, Dorothy Fields' son and daughter-in-law who engineered the move, say it's hard to put a price tag on peace of mind.

"We are lucky that we are able to do this," said Dany Fields. "We'll take what we can get because, at some point, you just have to find a way to move on."