The Emerging 'Surban' Real Estate Market

Danielle Braff reports:

Newbies to Chicago’s suburbs are increasingly stowing cars and slipping into walking shoes.

No longer are McMansions, white picket fences and sprawling square footage topping suburban buyers’ most-wanted list. Instead, proximity to a suburb’s downtown and easy access to restaurants, schools and parks are priorities. For many, walkable suburbs reign supreme.

While that narrative might be familiar to many Planetizen readers, Braff's article coins a term that this editor hadn't yet encountered: "surban." John Burns, CEO of John Burns Real Estate, is credited with coining the term in the article, which he defines as "development that is bringing the best of urban to the suburb."

According to Braff's analysis of the market, developers and brokers have responded toward increasing demand for more urban suburbs.