Hampshire

Hampshire has roughly tripled in size since 2000, and most of what has been built is recent. That means near-new construction at a price that has not caught up to the towns closer in — but it also means two different markets, the older village core and the newer subdivisions, that do not price the same way.

What sets the price in Hampshire

Hampshire is a village on the northwest edge of Kane County, about 52 miles from downtown Chicago, and it is one of the fastest-growing towns in the area. It roughly doubled between 2000 and 2010, from about 2,900 residents to 5,563, and grew to 7,667 at the 2020 census. That growth is the key to its market: most of Hampshire is recent construction, so a buyer here is often choosing between a near-new home and the older stock in the original village core, and the two do not price the same way.

The village mostly sits in Kane County, but part of it extends north across the line into McHenry County. That boundary affects the property-tax bill, so it is one of the first things I check on any Hampshire address.

Schools

Hampshire is served by Community Unit School District 300 — the same large district that covers Carpentersville, Gilberts and Algonquin. Hampshire has its own elementary, middle and high school, and Hampshire High School draws from several communities beyond the village, including parts of Huntley and Pingree Grove. Because the district assigns schools by attendance boundary rather than by town, I confirm the specific schools for an address with the district rather than generalizing from the subdivision.

Getting around

Hampshire has no Metra station. The nearest commuter rail is the Milwaukee District West line at the Big Timber Road station in Elgin — its western terminus, 39.8 miles from Union Station downtown — and on weekends and holidays that line boards at the downtown Elgin station instead. For driving, US Route 20 runs along the northeastern side of the village and Illinois Route 72 through the south, with Interstate 90 reachable at the US 20 interchange and at the Route 47 interchange over in Huntley. Time the drive to whichever ramp you would use before you settle on a subdivision.

Where the homes are

Most of Hampshire’s recent growth has come in newer subdivisions — Prairie Ridge among them — built out over the last several years, set against the older homes in the original village at the center. On the edge of the developed metro, the village also has open land nearby: the Forest Preserve District of Kane County keeps the roughly 300-acre Hampshire Forest Preserve, an oak-savanna and prairie site, just outside town. To weigh Hampshire against the 55+ market in Huntley, see my Sun City Huntley guide; to see what is active now, open the Hampshire home search.

Homes for sale in Hampshire

Browse current listings, or tell me what you are looking for and I will set up a saved search that alerts you the day a match hits the market.

If you are also looking at Sun City

Hampshire and Sun City Huntley draw different buyers, and a fair number of people look at both before deciding. The Sun City guide covers the age covenant, the monthly assessment and the fifty-six floor plans, none of which apply here — worth reading before you rule either one in or out.

Selling in Hampshire

Pricing starts from closed sales on your street, not a portal estimate. Ask me what your Hampshire home is worth and you get the comps and the reasoning with the number, or read the sequence I work through before a sign goes up.