Introducing the New Orland Park Real Estate Website

I created a website years ago for Orland Park real estate but at the time there wasn't any talk about hyper-local niche websites.  What does that term mean?  It could mean anything from a website created for Senior Lifestyle & Living, real estate for members of the Armed Forces, golf properties, beach properties, etc. It can also mean a site created for a specific area such as one town or even a subdivision.

The reason I shut down the website in the past was because I didn't understand the power of keeping things local.  Most real estate agents take business where they can get it, and I work in about 40+ different towns in the southwest Chicago suburbs.  

Over the years I've heard of some agents that work a very small area.  One real estate agent works within a mile radius.  She states that she can walk to any of her listings.  I don't know how she can make a living in such a small territory and I wonder if she turns down buyers who want to venture out of her boundaries.

I also met a gentleman who did the websites for a brokerage in Florida where agents were assigned an area (normally unheard of in real estate sales) and the websites pulled in the leads for these agents.  He said they made more money working those small areas than they ever did before, selling wherever business brought them.

As real estate agents we sometimes spread ourselves too thin in areas covered.  We don't make our mark in any one of them.  I did create one local real estate niche site for Oak Lawn that held it's #1 position for many years.  I used to live there so it was a perfect match.  But now my office and home are in Orland Park (I live in Homer Glen with an Orland Park address), and I want to make my presence in these two villages.  I was listed as a 5 Star Real Estate Agent for Orland Park in Chicago Magazine's October 2012 issue and am hoping to make it again this year.

Please visit the site if you're interested in Orland Park.  It offers more than just real estate.

New Homer Glen Real Estate Website

There is a new website created for Homer Glen real estate and lifestyle.  It features a search of Homer Glen homes for sale, a mortgage calculator and current interest rates, a blog with Homer Glen news and reviews plus more.  The footer of the website has a list of the newest Homer Glen homes on the market that is updated with new listings.

We live and work in Homer Glen and wanted to create a blog/site for the village we love living in.  We hope Homer Glen residents or anyone interested in this growing village enjoys, reads and participates in.

Bait and Switch Weather

The sky was the bluest I've seen it in a long time with nary a cloud.  The sun was shining so brightly I made sure I had my sunglasses.  I got into my car from my attached garage and made my way to show Orland Park homes for sale.

My buyer was late so I did some work on my iPad.  The door stood open on the first house we were viewing, so someone was home even though I was given a lockbox combination (but was told to knock first).  I realized it was windy as I was fearing the for sale sign was going to blow off and hit my car.  I almost moved my car to avoid any potential damage.

My buyers pulled up and I waited for them to get out of the car before I proceeded to greet them.  It was then that I felt the sharp sting of the extremely cold wind hit my face and blow my hair all over.  Even though I could see it was windy, I didn't realize how cold it was as the sunny sky belied the true temperature and I was nice and warm in my car.

I had to stop at my favorite Orland Park health food store on the way home.  I wanted to make a quick trip to Trader Joe's but didn't want to fight that cold wind any more and drove home.

I'm not a good representative of a Chicagoan who is supposed to be used to this kind of weather.  In fact, depending on when we visit our 2nd home in Scottsdale AZ, I get cold there too!  I've said it before and I'll say it again - I really hate winter.  I wish I could be a snowbird right now and sell Scottsdale real estate during the winter months and come back home to the Chicago suburbs during the spring warm-up through the beginning of winter.

One of these days...

Snow Day in the Suburbs

We're having our first major snowfall today in the Chicago suburbs.  We had one snow day where it hung around, but today is the first day the grand kids are off school.

I was wondering if real estate offices would be open so I can set-up appointments to show Orland Park real estate tomorrow.  I got an answer from each office I contacted so that was good.  Hopefully, the streets will be OK to drive on tomorrow.

Today will be a hibernation day for me where I do some needed filing and catch up on a few things as it's been really busy.  The snow might halt some showings but I got an appointment on one of my listings so buyers are out there.

It is a seller's market in the lower price ranges - homes are getting offers the day they hit the market!  Of course, it's always the homes that are priced correctly to begin with.  That means they are priced right for their condition and location.  Even a low priced home will sit if it doesn't compare with other homes in it's price range.

Catching Up With Orland Park Real Estate Statistics for 2012

Instead of writing duplicate content, I am providing links to posts that show 2012 market data for Orland Park, IL.

The stats are in for Orland Park real estate for 2012.  See the ups and downs and get the link to see all Orland Park sales stats starting form 2005 to 2012.

This is a great chart to see 2012 market activity for single family Orland Park homes.  See the month-to-month differences in active listings, listings that went under contract and homes that sold and closed.


If you're interested in buying or selling an Orland Park call Judy Orr, an Orland Park real estate specialist, at 708-536-8200.

15536 Canterbury Ln., Orland Park IL 60462

Spacious Related Living Home

This large Orland Park home offers a lot of possibilities.  Use the brick related living addition for the folks or use this room as an additional family room.  Read more below for 15536 Canterbury Ln. - click the link to see the single property website created just for this home.

Spacious Related Living 2-story Home in Orland Park

• Home
• Photos
• Local
• Schools

Judy Orr

Classic Realty Group

708-536-8200

judyorr@gmail.com

Licensed In:
IL

15536 Canterbury Ln.

Orland Park, Illinois

Bedrooms: 5

Bathrooms : 4 (3 full, 1 half)

List Price: $325,000

Features List

• Related living 2-story brick & aluminum sided home in Golfview subdivision
• 4-5 bedrooms and 3 1/2 bathrooms
• Formal living and dining rooms
• Eat-in kitchen with separate cooking and eating areas
• All appliances will remain
• Main level family room with brick fireplace
• Main level related living suite with kitchenette, 2 closets & private bathroom
• Large main level laundry with extra storage
• Master suite with walk-in closet and private full bath
• Basement
• Central a/c and gas forced air heat
• Big back yard with 24'x24' deck
• 21'x25' attached garage
• Home Warranty

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Craigslist Ads for the Southwest Chicago Suburbs

I have a new vendor for the single property websites I provide for all of my listings, like the related living Orland Park home at 15536 Canterbury.  Although my prior provider allowed for Craisglist postings my new provider makes it super easy and allows a huge choice of templates to use, some using low html (that Craiglist prefers), medium and fancier ads with high html (risky as CL might ghost the post).  It is much easier to keep up posting once the original ad has expired.

Does Craigslist Work in My Area?

That's the question!  I have gotten two responses from Craigslist since I started using it for listings many years ago.  One lady came to an open house from a CL posting of mine and I got what sounded like a scam - a man from somewhere in Europe who wanted to buy my listing sight unseen and pay cash and when he had to come in to close on it I was expected to pick up this stranger at the airport.  I was nice to him but things started sounding weirder and weirder and I finally told him this all sounds fishy.  He acted like he was offended and I never heard from him again, and he is not the person who purchased my listing.  If he was that interested in the home (if he was a true buyer), and I offended him he could have found another local agent to work with him to purchase the house.  Never heard back from him.

Crazy Craiglist Happenings

We've all heard about murders that happened using CL to lure unsuspecting victims and how about the CL rental schemes.  That's where someone posts a home for rent, usually a vacant home or even one for sale, collects the rent and leaves the lessees without keys for a home that was never for rent and belongs to someone else.

So Why Do We Use It?

My husband is a musician and has sold some equipment via Craigslist.  We sold our prior living room couch to a very nice local lady.  However, we're on our toes when we have strangers coming over looking at our wares, and only the lady was allowed in our house.  For the other stuff my husband meets them outside or in the garage (and we're all on alert).

As far as real estate, I truly believe it's an area thing.  Maybe CL works for real estate in the city of Chicago or other large areas, but far less people use it (at least for real estate) in the outlying suburbs.  With that said, sellers want to see some type of advertising and marketing, and sending them the link to their CL ad is a tangible thing they can see that shows them we're working to get their home sold.

Personally, I can't imagine using CL to find anything.  The ads rotate so quickly I can't keep up with them.  I'd rather browse on any other kind of website for items to purchase.  If I'm looking for something used that I know I can't purchase new any longer, I go to ebay.

As far as real estate, there are so many better ways to find property, like using my Orland Park homes search, for example.  On this page, a general search is already started and you can go through the listings or create a more advanced search, adding different towns, putting in a more specific price range, number of bedrooms, baths, etc.  My search covers all of Northern IL including border towns of Indiana and Wisconsin.

My website is local and has local information, something that is lacking in many of the large real estate portals that span the entire country.  My data is up-to-date.  Those other big portals show homes for sale that were sold and closed years ago.

I will continue to post my listings to Craiglist, especially since my new vendor makes it so easy, and I will share those ads with my sellers, who feel I'm working hard for them (this is only one tiny facet to my marketing).  You never know when that ready, willing and able buyer will find one of my listings on CL, so I'll keep using it.