{{first_name}}, Hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day yesterday. To the moms on this list — thank you. Not the Hallmark version of thank you, but the real one. The one that accounts for every school pickup, every middle-of-the-night fever, every meal planned and made and cleaned up after, every worry quietly carried so nobody else had to. The one that acknowledges that running a household is its own kind of ultramarathon, and most moms do it without a finisher's medal or a mylar blanket at the end. If your Sunday looked anything like mine, it involved coffee, kids, and the beautiful organized chaos that makes a house feel like a home. I hope the people in your life showed up for you the way you show up for them — and if they made a reservation without being reminded, that's basically a miracle worth acknowledging. Speaking of showing up — I'm running the Chicago Half Marathon next Sunday, which I signed up for voluntarily, which says something about my judgment that I'll leave for you to interpret. Training has been going since February, six days a week, early mornings before the rest of the house wakes up. The only things getting me to the finish line are months of preparation and an amount of caffeine that would concern a reasonable person. There's actually a new coffee spot in Libertyville that may have already made it onto my race week routine — but more on that later. What I've learned from both distance running and this market is the same thing: the people who show up prepared don't have to scramble. This week, I want to make the case for why right now might be your moment.

Grab something warm. Let's talk.

Selling a home isn't a decision made by a single data point. It's made by a combination of factors that either line up — or don't. Right now, in Lake County, quite a few of them are lining up.

In April, there were 1,078 single-family homes for sale in all of Lake County — a county of 700,000 people.

To put that in context: in 2009, there were more than 8,000 homes on the market here. We've lost roughly 87% of that inventory over 15 years. What that means for you as a seller is simple — the buyers coming through your door don't have many other options. That's leverage. Real leverage, not the manufactured kind.

When inventory is this tight, well-prepared homes don't sit. They compete. And in a competition where one side is well-stocked and the other isn't, the seller tends to win.

The Lake County median sale price hit $390,000 in March 2026 — up 4% year-over-year. Zillow's index shows home values across the area up 5.9% over the past twelve months. The Chicago metro (which includes us) is forecast to see close to 5% price appreciation for all of 2026.

These aren't bubble numbers. They're steady, consistent, and supported by real demand. The window for maximum equity isn't closing tomorrow — but it's not getting wider either. If you've owned your home for more than a few years, you've likely built more equity than you realize.

➡ Find Out What Your Home Is Worth

Mortgage rates around 6.30% don't exactly make for exciting news coverage. But here's what the headlines aren't saying: purchase applications are up more than 20% compared to a year ago.

Buyers have adapted. They've done the math. They're out there, they're qualified, and they're ready to move on the right property. The buyers in today's market aren't window shoppers — they're decision-makers. That's who you want walking through your door.

Jerome Powell's term as Fed Chair ended May 15. Kevin Warsh — the incoming nominee — has signaled a preference for rate cuts. The bond market sets mortgage rates, not the Fed directly, so nothing changes overnight. But if rates soften meaningfully later this year, more buyers enter the pool, competition increases, and the advantage sellers currently hold starts to level out.

Selling into a market with 6.30% rates and low inventory is a different conversation than selling into one with 5.5% rates and more competition. The former favors you more than the latter. Right now, you're in the former.

This is the one I hear most often, and I understand it — if prices are high, why not wait for them to come down and sell then?

Here's the problem: the structural reasons for tight inventory in Lake County aren't going away. Low rates locked in by existing owners, limited new construction, high land costs, strong employment anchors in the county — these aren't temporary conditions. There is no wave of distressed inventory sitting just off-screen waiting to flood the market. There is just a county where more people want to live than there are homes available — and that math keeps winning.

Waiting for a correction that isn't coming isn't a strategy. It's a delay.

Every week I work with buyers who are ready to move — they just haven't found the right home yet. Sometimes that home is yours.

Know someone whose home fits? Let's connect before it hits the market.

➡ Search Lake County Homes

A new coffee shop opened in Libertyville and the word on the street is good: Brewhaus Coffee. If you haven't been in yet, now's the time — there's something about a new neighborhood coffee spot that either becomes a weekly habit immediately or takes six months to discover, and you don't want to be the person who finds out about it six months from now. Early reviews are solid, the vibe is right, and frankly after thirteen miles on Sunday I'll probably need whatever they're serving in the largest cup available.

➡ Follow Brewhaus Coffee on Instagram

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None of this means you have to sell. Timing is personal, and the right move depends on your situation — not just the market's.

But if you've been wondering whether the window is open, it is. And it's worth at least knowing what you'd walk away with before deciding to wait another year.

Reply to this email, or just book some time and let's run the numbers.

Until next week…