When in the market for a new home, don't let O'Hare neighborhood fly past your home-seeking radar. Because this northwest side Chicago community is full of lovely homes, friendly neighbors, and acres of wide open green spaces. The properties in O'Hare afford spacious yards just awaiting your landscaping touch, and a variety of architectural designs in both single-family and multi-unit residences. Familiar dining favorites dot the O'Hare neighborhood including Chicago-style stuffed pizza, old-fashioned diner food and those dependable breakfast, lunch and dinner spots. Other businesses are scattered about the neighborhood, as are elementary schools and convenient services.
Today we hear the name 'O’Hare' and immediately think of the ever-expanding O’Hare International Airport, but we tend to forget that it wasn’t always such a center for travel and that there is a separate neighborhood in Chicago that goes by the same name.
Chicago’s O’Hare neighborhood extends into both Cook and DuPage counties and is just fourteen miles northwest of the Loop. The community itself began as two square miles of land near the Des Plaines River. Because of his efforts in the Fort Dearborn Massacre, Alexander Robinson was given a parcel of land by way of the 1829 Treaty of Prairie du Chien. Robinson was a Potawatomie Chief of part-Scottish decent, as well as a government interpreter. The Treaty of Prairie du Chien was an agreement between the Potawatomie, Ojibwe, and Ottawa Indian tribes who had taken charge of lead mining areas in southwest Wisconsin and northern Illinois. Roughly ten years later, local American residents as well as German immigrants began to populate and develop the land, which eventually led to a prosperous community.
Named after a depot of the Wisconsin Central railroad, this area of land was called Orchard Place. Little did people know, the small community of Orchard Place would someday be known as the Midwestern hub of domestic and international air travel—O’Hare Airport.
Orchard Place was taken over in 1942 by Douglas Aircraft who switched gears from producing cargo planes for the war effort to developing Orchard Place into a commercial airport. Five years later, the Chicago City Council deemed the space an official international airport and the sprawling airfield was named after the aviator and World War II hero, Edward H. O’Hare.
After the Kennedy Expressway was constructed in the 1950s, the highway created a direct link from O’Hare to downtown Chicago. In between the two destinations was a large expanse of land that was drawing the attention of developers and Chicagoans who could now easily and quickly reach the northwest area via the new highway. Subdivisions like the O’Hare neighborhood popped up along the stretch of freeway in the 1960s and property values gradually started to increase in the area. High-rise apartment and condominium buildings and commercial businesses were on the rise, as well as single-family homes that sprouted up along planned residential streets that wound back into the subdivision through roundabouts and cul-de-sacs.
Today, with its close proximity to the airport (which is directly west of the neighborhood about five miles) the tiny O’Hare community continues to prosper and provides a great place to live—especially if you’re the jet-setting type that is always off to the airport for the next exotic destination or last minute work trip.
O'Hare facts
Location: Approximately 14 miles northwest of the Loop Boundaries: The Kennedy Expressway and Higgins Road to the north, Canfield Avenue to the east, Foster Avenue to the south and North East River Road to the west. Bordering Neighborhoods:Oriole Park, Norwood Park, Harwood Heights, Park Ridge, Rosemont Crime Statistics: Go to CLEARMap for crime stats on specific Chicago neighborhood, intersection, address or police beat.
O'Hare transportation
find your O'Hare home now
O'Hare Real Estate
Amid the O’Hare neighborhood, you’ll find new and vintage homes situated conveniently near all forms of recreation, business and transportation, including the O’Hare branch of Blue Line train that runs directly through the north side and into the Loop. The charming homes present spacious lawns ready for your landscaping touch, brick-style exteriors that are both quaint and protective, and warm interiors with enough space to house you and your family in comfort and style.
Homes in O’Hare offer a variety of single-family designs and multi-unit residential buildings. Depending on which part of the neighborhood you are looking in, and what your budget will allow, you can find a style and layout to suit every need. Low- and mid-rise condos and townhomes with private balconies and garage parking are priced in the mid $400,000s on the high end and in the mid $200,000s on the lower end. You can buy a unit for less (in the low to mid $100,000s), but you’ll have to park on the street.
But many residents who move into this northwest Chicago neighborhood come for the spacious lots that the detached single-family dwellings provide. Whether you want a two-story, a split-level or a ranch, the property is bound to offer up plenty of green lawn, mature trees, and room for that backyard barbeque you’ve always wanted to have. While O’Hare boasts many beautiful new brick constructions, valued in the seven and eight-hundred thousands, there are some much larger homes in the area with four to six bedrooms that are listed for more than a million dollars. Not to worry if these aren’t in your price range, O’Hare neighborhood properties ran the gamut with plenty of three-bedroom homes listed for $400,000 or less.
The average sale price of a home in O'Hare is represented by the chart to the right. The red line indicates the average price based on the total time frame selected in the drop-down window. The blue line indicates the average sale price for the particular month within that time frame. For more detailed information on O'Hare sign up for the trends report below or contact your Dream Town broker.
The average number of days a home in O'Hare spends listed for sale is represented by the chart to the right. The red line indicates the average number of days based on the total time frame selected in the drop-down window. The blue line indicates the average number of days a home spent on market during the particular month within that time frame. For more detailed information on average market listing times in O'Hare sign up for the trends report below or contact your Dream Town broker.
The average sale price of a home compared to its listing price in O'Hare is represented by the chart to the right. The black line indicates the baseline listing price for homes during the time frame selected in the drop-down. The red line indicates the difference between the average listing price and the average sale price during the particular month within that time frame. For more detailed information on O'Hare sign up for the trends report below or contact your Dream Town broker.
The total number of listings in O'Hare is represented in the chart to the right. The red line represents average number of days based on the total time frame selected in the drop-down window The blue bar represents the current number of listings during the particular month of that time frame. For more detailed information on O'Hare sign up for the trends report below or contact your Dream Town broker.
Get the latest trends delivered straight to your inbox
Thinking about making a move? Be prepared with a comprehensive look at the area market, delivered directly to your email every month. And don’t forget to contact your Dream Town broker if you’d like to discuss what this data means for your next move!
