Raymond Kennedy - RaysGuide

Raymond Kennedy - RaysGuide Raymond Kennedy with eXp Realty, an Illinois Real Estate Broker.

04/18/2026

You didn't overprice your house. You priced it for a panic buyer who stopped showing up.

A lot of people keep waiting for boomer-owned homes to hit the market.But that only works if the people living in them h...
04/17/2026

A lot of people keep waiting for boomer-owned homes to hit the market.

But that only works if the people living in them have somewhere to go. That is the part the market keeps skipping over.

Senior housing needed about 70,000 new units a year. Last year, fewer than 6,000 were delivered.

So the house stays put.

Not because every owner is stubborn.
Not because nobody wants to move.

Because moving out only works when there is actually a place to move into.

That is why so many paid-off homes with extra bedrooms are still sitting exactly where they are.

The inventory problem does not just start with builders.

Sometimes it starts with a bed that does not exist yet.

Rent keeps taking the biggest bite.And at the end of the month, renters still own exactly none of it.Average rent is $1,...
04/16/2026

Rent keeps taking the biggest bite.

And at the end of the month, renters still own exactly none of it.

Average rent is $1,667 a month.
A manufactured home mortgage averages $678.

That is the part people keep missing.

A lot of renters are paying more than double just to stay temporary.

Not because they want to.

Because the path to ownership got distorted, stigmas never died, and the “normal” advice still acts like this option doesn’t exist.

Paying double to own nothing is a hell of a system.

04/16/2026

Illinois just expanded who qualifies for senior property tax deferral.

If you're over 65 and earning under $75,000, you may be able to defer up to $7,500 a year in property taxes while staying in your home.

Most people who qualify have never heard of this.. 👇

Some homeowners who bought in 2021 aren’t walking away from closing with a check.They’re bringing one.Not because prices...
04/15/2026

Some homeowners who bought in 2021 aren’t walking away from closing with a check.

They’re bringing one.

Not because prices fell off a cliff.
Because the sale got squeezed.

Price softening.
Commission.
Concessions.
Closing costs.

That’s where the surprise hits.

A lot of people think, “I’ll just sell if I need to.”
Then the settlement statement shows them what the market actually thinks.

The math shows up at closing.

04/15/2026

Yorkville residents spent six hours fighting 3,000 acres of data centers. The council voted yes anyway.

Three thousand acres along one road. Residents are already calling it "Data Center Row."

They packed city hall. Told the council they'd rather move than raise their families next to 16 two-story warehouses.

The council barely discussed it before voting.

That's Kendall County. It borders Will County to the south.

If you own near Yorkville, or were thinking about buying there, this is your market now.

Construction runs 10 to 20 years. The sound study didn't even cover the build period. Nobody's told you what happens to values on the streets next door.

When the city decides your neighborhood without you, you find out at a council meeting.

Your parents bought into one housing market.You’re trying to buy into a completely different one.Today’s first-time buye...
04/14/2026

Your parents bought into one housing market.

You’re trying to buy into a completely different one.

Today’s first-time buyers are chasing homes that cost 40% more than what their parents paid, even after adjusting for inflation.

Same dream. Different math.

So when people say, “Just do what your parents did,” that advice falls apart pretty fast.

The game changed. The advice didn’t.

04/14/2026

Remember that crazy hail storm we just had...
The roofer who offered to waive your deductible didn't do you a favor he handed you the FRAUD charge. 👇

04/14/2026

A Texas firm spent $102 million buying homes in Orland Park.

Not to flip them. Not to sell them.

To keep them as rentals. That is why this market feels so tight.

It is not just a shortage. It is a buyout.

Add in another institutional move in Will County the same quarter, and now you are looking at over $200 million betting that local renters will stay renters.

They are not buying here by accident.

They are buying because the math works for them.

Question is: does any of this work for the people trying to buy?

The mortgage used to be the number homeowners feared most.Now insurance is taking its shot.Average annual cost: $3,017.A...
04/13/2026

The mortgage used to be the number homeowners feared most.

Now insurance is taking its shot.

Average annual cost: $3,017.
And 1 in 10 homeowners says they’ve skipped meals to keep that bill paid.

That’s not a small increase.

That’s homeownership getting meaner after closing.

04/13/2026

Home search just changed forever.

The old system was simple: put a home in the MLS, let it flow everywhere, and buyers could search one portal and feel like they were seeing the market.

That system is starting to break apart.

Now the big portals and brokerage networks are fighting over where listings appear, when they appear, and how much information buyers get to see with them.

So buyers can no longer assume Zillow, Redfin, or any single site shows the full picture.

The market is becoming more fragmented, more platform-driven, and a lot less transparent than people think.

This is what happens when giant real estate companies stop acting like neutral marketplaces and start trying to steer how homeowners sell, where buyers look, and who controls the visibility.

My take, they are starting to show their true colors, and you get punished for it.

Address

15255 S. 94th Avenue
Orland Park, IL
60462

Telephone

+18153017007

Website

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