Ashley Stryker - Realtor

May market recap for the area. If you're curious about what is happening specifically where you are, let me know!

Good morning!

I would like opinions from all of you. The last few years I have given flags to people for 4th of July. This year, I am considering changing it up. Which would you prefer: flags or pinwheels?

Being a buyer is so hard right now! Let's be honest, it's BEEN hard for a few years, really. Unfortunately, the market we're in isn't changing. SO... what do we do? Strategize to put your best foot forward and maybe even taking a couple steps back to reset. Let's find a way for YOU to be that Miata!

If you haven't heard by now, let me briefly fill you in.
For reference: MRED= Midwest Real Estate Database, aka. the Chicagoland MLS that ALL Chicagoland brokerages use.

Last year, Zillow.com attempted to force sellers onto their platform by introducing a policy that would ban any listing marketed off Zillow for more than one day. This includes the "coming soon" homes, "private network" on MRED, "private exclusives" with your broker, and more. This policy directly targets pre-marketing strategies that allow sellers to gather valuable insights and build demand before a listing goes live. However, independent research and MRED's own studies show that homes pre-marketed off Zillow actually sell for more money, in a shorter amount of time, at a higher percentage of asking price. This is a violation of licensing agreements.
MRED told Zillow to be compliant or lose thousands of home listings. Zillow then filed a lawsuit against MRED without responding to MRED's request. Here is the press release from MRED dated May 20th: https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/05/20/3298655/0/en/mred-suspends-listing-data-feeds-to-zillow-group.html

So now, any information on Zillow or Trulia that is shown, is out-of-date. The information will not update, and new listings will not be sent to either 3rd party website until it's resolved.

While it seems like it's bad for consumers, and in a way it certainly could be, if you have the right agent, you won't have to worry. For both buyers and sellers, Zillow's practices have long been deceiving, and that is not the only platform to find or sell homes. Want to know more? Feel free to ask. I may not have all the answers as this is a fluid situation, but I would be happy to tell you what I do know. A good agent will downplay all this and try to settle your worries on surface-level. A great agent will settle all fears from deep down, be transparent and know exactly how to get you exactly what you are looking for.

This Saturday I will be holding an open house in Lakemoor. It's a 2 bed, 2 bath townhome, and been refreshed beautifully.

I know I haven't been on here much. I've been keeping up with my hyper-local newsletters, getting busy as the co-chair of the Jacobs Music Boosters annual craft fair, volunteering as the publicity/communications head foe the same music boosters, attending out monthly sales meetings, renewing my license (it's active for the next 2 years!) And doing my CASA volunteering. That's definitely not everything, but I am still here plugging along helping out with agent showings and staying up to date on all things real estate.

As we finish the second half of April, the market will start heating up a bit more; hpefully the weather will, too!

Here are the local county stats for February. If you are interested in selling, I'm here to help!

I haven't done an open house for a while. It's been rather slow around here, but I kind of like the idea of a cookie-eating contest. What do you all think? 🤔🍪

As many of you know, the movie "Groundhog Day" was filmed in Woodstock. I've never been to this great gathering that has gone on for years, but I've heard it's always a great time. Plus, actors from the movie come out just about every year. I believe Bill Murray came out last year for this whole spectacle! So, with Woodstock Willie not seeing his shadow, how many of us actually believe in his predictions? Supposedly, he's gotten it right more often than Punxsutawney Phil.
I can't say I believe, but I certainly do hope he's right. (This year, at least😉😂)

How about a Tuesday Tip?
Always act as though you are being watched or listened to. If you love the house and start talking strategy inside, you may have lost some negotiating power.