As a lifelong White Sox fan, I grew up very familiar with the Bridgeport area, also known as the home of the Chicago White Sox. The main artery of 35th Street is populated with bars and restaurants that fill up before and after White Sox games, and helps to draw in some younger neighborhood residents. Many residents are young professionals who come for the art galleries and coffee shops and stay for the median rent price; However, the neighborhood has a long history of prominent Chicago mayors (and families like the Daley's) growing up in the single-family homes of this diverse neighborhood. Bridgeport has a rich history, and it runs north to 26th Street, south to Pershing, west to the river, and east to Shields. Despite the diversity within the neighborhood, Bridgeport residents have a strong sense of community. This vibrant community has a ton of spots for hipsters to hang out at, whether it be trendy restaurants like the Duck Inn, the newly renovated and reopened Ramova theater, coffee at the Stockyard Coffee House, Jackalope Coffee and Tea house or any of the other plethora of coffee houses and bars, or spending their time at the south branch of the Chicago river on a kayak. There are tons of event spaces that host everything from art galleries to weddings. So what kind of real estate opportunities are there in the Bridgeport neighborhood?
Risk rating: B minus. The area has a lot of older mixed-use properties and small apartment buildings, and with this comes a higher likelihood of high repair bills if you don't do major rehab to the buildings; however, unlike some areas on Chicago's south side, with these older buildings the quality of tenants you can find is higher bringing the risk grade up to a B-.
Average price for an investment property: Average cost per door is 150k to 300k. There is a huge gap in price because this Chicago neighborhood has units being flipped by real estate investors, new mixed-use developments driving the rental prices and purchase price up, as well as homes that have not been renovated since the 1950's when it was a more affordable price. Property values in the Bridgeport community have been consistently rising since 2012.
Rental Market: This is a healthy market. It’s easy to get qualified tenants looking to live near trendy restaurants and places like the Bridgeport Art Center. The average time on market for a rental is currently about 3 weeks, and our criteria for renters at Chicago Style Management includes a 600+ credit score and 3 times the rent amount. In recent years, rent prices have continued to grow and outpace other areas in the Windy City.
Flip potential: A+. With old housing stock in a gentrifying neighborhood, there is substantial demand for both first-time homebuyers and real estate investors looking for turn-key single-family homes as well as small apartment buildings that are ready for rentals.
What investors should know: One of the trickiest parts of investing in Chicago is knowing how much can change in just a few blocks - even in our most popular neighborhoods. The higher value homes are closer to the river going east to about Racine, and then it starts to drop off the further east you get. With that being said, even in that pocket between Archer and 31st, there tend to be smaller single family homes with bigger mansion-like properties south of 31st.
Public transportation rating: There are tons of buses in the area running through the many major streets such as Halsted street, Archer, 35th street, and more, as well as a Metra and red line stop to get people to and from downtown Chicago or to the south suburbs.
Favorite spots to get food: a long day of house hunting makes me hungry, so I'll briefly give you my picks of where to eat. On Morgan street, stop at the Martinez supermarket for a giant burrito. Ricobene's has the sandwich people travel from around the world for, and if you need a drink after getting a few offers rejected, check out another hot spot in Marz Community Brewing or Maria's Packaged Goods and Community Bar.
The latest census data per Wikipedia:
White Non-Hispanic: 34.2%
African American: 3.0%
Asian: 39.6%
Other Races: 1.3%
Hispanic or Latino of any race: 21.9%
Under 19: 20.2%
20-34: 25.9%
35-49: 21.1%
50-64: 19.6%
65 and over: 13.2%
Median household income: $77,864 per https://www.niche.com/places-to-live/n/bridgeport-chicago-il/residents/
Looking to buy a property in the Chicago neighborhood as an investment? Before you do, talk to a premier Chicago property management company and make sure you are prepared. Set up a time to chat here.
Need to know more about investing on the southside? Read all about it here. And if you’re new to Chicago, don't fall for the security deposit traps.
