Shawn Strach

“I’ve been a realtor for 15 years and we’ve always had people leave the state and retire, but now we’re having not just the empty nesters or the retirees leaving, we’re having our traditional marketplace leave Illinois as well.

“My career has been spent in the entry-level market up to about $500,000. We have always done a lot of first-time buyer business. And so for us, [property tax] hasn’t really affected the amount of volume that we’re doing in business. But I think this year we are going to see a little bit of that change. I do think that we’ll probably see people making some different decisions where first-timers are going to look at other parts of the country instead of staying here.

“… we do earn a higher wage here than other parts of the country but by the time you put in your cost of living here, that’s why people are leaving.

“So I do think that we are going to see that affect business this year. How much is always the big question. Boy if I had that crystal ball … I’d be the richest guy in real estate.”

Shawn Strach
McHenry, Illinois