Real Estate in Barrington & The Northwest Suburbs: November 2009

As a real estate agent in Barrington Illinois with Royal Advocate Realty and a resident of the Barrington area, I help people find their perfect home in one of the villages that make up the Barrington area. I hope this will give you an insight into the area, yet I know you'll have plenty of questions before you relocate to Barrington IL, so feel free to leave a comment and I'll get an answer for you, or just call me.

Barrington IL encompasses over 90 square miles of real estate with a population of about 40,000. Residents live in - The Village of Barrington - Barrington Hills - Lake Barrington - Lake Barrington Shores - North Barrington - South Barrington - Deer Park - Tower Lakes - Inverness.

Whether you are moving out to the suburbs from Chicago or relocating to Barrington IL - The Village of Barrington is where it all started and the center point of what we call "The Barrington's" Each village has it's own village hall and is responsible for policing the residents of their respective villages, and the Townships are responsible for a variety of community services.

In general our area is green open countryside around a small village, with a well established infrastructure providing residents with homes, recreation and businesses. Barrington is also synonymous with Horses and Equine breeding.

Discover more about Barrington and it's villages at The Barrington Chamber of Commerce web site or visit http://realestateinbarrington.com

Barrington is home to a few major employers but many residents commute to Chicago or business areas like Schaumburg or Libertyville. Notable employers in Barrington area are GE Healthcare Systems, Good Shepherd Hospital part of the Advocate Group, Quaker Oats Company. Nearby large corporations include Motorola, Abbott Laboratories, Baxter International, United Airlines, Zebra Technologies, Walgreens.

Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital is a full service hospital located in Lake Barrington with a level II trauma center and has a life flight helipad.

Barrington Illinois has 15 churches representing 11 denominations. Willow Creek is a non denominational community church in South Barrington and every weekend over 20,000 will attend services there from Barrington and many of the surrounding areas.

There are 5 park districts in Barrington IL - including swimming pools - tennis courts - soccer and baseball fields - picnic and play areas. Many of the subdivisions also have their own play areas for kids and tennis courts. There are also walking paths in some of the forest preserves - dogs are allowed as long as they are leashed and you clean up - motorized vehicles are forbidden as are bikes and skateboards as they are specifically for walking in a natural environment. You will see an abundance of birds and the deer will not be far away.

In the Village of Barrington you'll find our library with nearly 200,000 volumes. There are always events going on for all ages and it is open every day - excluding holidays.

Lake Barrington Field House is the new, not for profit sports center located off Pepper Road and behind the subdivision of Savannah Lake Barrington. Programs include athletic training, adult fitness, Pilates, Adult sports, high school sports, youth sports, tot sports and birthday parties. You cannot take in your own food and drink. Water is allowed and a cafe is provided - the profits help to support The Field House.

For Golf we have 1 public course and 5 membership courses. Makray is the public course and used to be called Thunderbird until redesigned in 1999. The others are located in Barrington Hills Country Club, Lake Barrington Shores Golf Club, Wynstone Golf Club, Stonehenge Golf Course Lake Barrington and Biltmore Country Club.

Feeling hungry? Barrington is home to some very fine dining. Try The Barrington Country Bistro, The Millrose Restaurant and Brewery, or Biaggi's in Deer Park. Of course for less formal occasions there are small cafe's and eateries  like The Onion Pub and The Canteen as well as all the brand name chains.

Worried about the weather in Barrington Illinois - Believe me it's really not that bad. We do get about 34 inches of precipitation ever year. January is our coldest month with an average temperature of 24.5F, August the warmest at 74.8F. Our summers do have hotter days and the winter can get colder but these extreme spells usually do not last long. Yes we get plenty of snow and it can be a headache when commuting home in new snowfall, but generally speaking our community plow services are quick to respond to accumulating snow falls. On average our snow falls yield about 6 to 7 inches, every now and then we get a 24 inch storm, but that is not often. On bad days the schools will close and make up the day at the end of the year. Winter wind can be biting at times.

Many residents of Chicago will select Barrington IL when making the move to the "burbs" based on the award winning school district of Barrington Illinois. When selecting real estate in Barrington close attention should be paid to schools if this is important to you. Why? Simply because not all residents in our zip code of 60010 will attend the Barrington 220 School District. Some of the out lying areas attend 4 other school districts - Palatine - Lake Zurich - Dundee - Wauconda. Barrington has 1 high school, 2 middle schools and 9 elementary schools. There is 1 parochial elementary school. If you need more information about schools ask me or visit the Barrington school score web site.

If you like shopping there are choices in Barrington Illinois. Choose the village for quaint little stores and boutiques offering everything from a cup of coffee to a custom embellished gift. For larger chain stores The Arboretum of South Barrington is the place to go. They also have a multi screen Theater or stay in  the village and go to The Catlow which has a single screen. In the summer Barrington has a Sidewalk Day, where local store owners and other service providers come out onto the sidewalk to showcase there goods. Some of the villages only have local strip malls, Barrington village has a Jewel Osco grocery store and Pharmacy. There are plenty of national and local banks to choose from.

If you like to keep up with local new is Barrington IL our local paper is called The Barrington Courier and is available for delivery every Thursday or at most grocery and pharmacy stores. Barrington also has a new monthly magazine called Quintessential Barrington.

Transport - For commuting to Chicago - The Metra Line runs through the Village of Barrington IL with extra trains during rush hour. It takes about an hour and parking is available. Commuters that live in Lake Barrington use the station at Fox River Grove which is the next stop - it is closer and parking is not as hard to find. The senior living communities have a bus service for their residents but other than that you will need a car.

Commonwealth Edison provides Barrington Illinois with electricity service - Nicor Gas for gas - Comcast for cable TV, phones and internet - water depends on where in Barrington you live. Much of the areas homes are on 1 or more acres and therefore each property will have it's own well and septic system - trash is decided on by each village and commonly is Waste Removal

Property taxes in Barrington are about 1 to 2 percent of the property value, again depending on which county you are on. Taxes are paid twice a year in arrears, in June and September or March and September.

There is 1 active adult 55 and over community in South Barrington and is located in The Woods of South Barrington a new Toll Brothers community of single family homes. South Barrington is known for being one of our luxury home villages. The complex has a clubhouse, swimming, bocce ball, walking paths, putting green and more. Homes are primarily ranches and the complex is very close to shopping at The Arboretum.

The Garlands of Barrington, Sunrise Assisted Living and Lake Barrington Woods are 3 assisted living upscale communities in the Barrington area for our seniors.

So if you are relocating to Barrington Illinois - how do you choose where to live? If you would like an idea of what homes are for sale in Barrington IL, you can search Barrington IL MLS right now.  If you see a property that interests you, call or email me and I will give you more information or set up a time to show the home to you.  Or you can fill out the short form to sign up for free Barrington IL property search and get email updates whenever a new listing is posted.  If you are interested in foreclosures in Barrington I must let you know they are NOT in plentiful supply. Our foreclosure rate is low and the homes that get listed get snapped up.

Looking for a house or condo to rent in Barrington IL - Corinne Guest Broker of Royal Advocate Realty will help you find the right home and our holding company Royal Property Investments LLC also offers property management services to Barrington property owners especially  for Snow Birds - a term used for those that fly south in the winter often times to a far southerly state like Florida where they have a second home. We live here year round and it is our pleasure to watch your home while you are away.

Call me or send me an email for questions or information about Relocation to Barrington IL ~

Wynstone Homes are part of the Gated Community and Golf Course known as Wynstone and is situated in North Barrington Illinois

At the time of writing there are 57 homes for sale in Wynstone North Barrington. Prices start at $575,000 and go up to $4,200,000

• There are 5 three bedroom homes, 27 four bedroom homes and 25 homes have five bedrooms or more.

• There are 2 attached homes for sale with prices of $575,000 and $695,000. These 2 homes are 3 bedroom duplexes on Clubhouse Drive.

• There are 9 available homes for rent in Wynstone with monthly rental amounts from $3,500 to $8,000.

In the last 12 months there have been 15 sales of Wynstone real estate with an average sale price of $913,827. 3 bedroom homes sold for an average of $600,000 and represented 83% of the final list price. 4 bedroom homes sold for an average of $1,039,000 which represented an average of 90% of the final list price. These percentages are low for the Barrington area which still has average list to sales price ratios of the mid 90%'s.

The average market time for detached homes was 414 days, well above Barrington's average, and for attached 793 days.

Residents of Wynstone Real Estate benefit from the Gated entryway of the community, and children attend Lake Zurich district 95 schools.

View all the available homes in Wynstone Real Estate in Wynstone Gated Community and Golf Course in North Barrington Illinois.

The Woods of South Barrington is a Toll Brothers Community with an active adult 55 gated community called Regency Collection at The Woods of South Barrington in Illinois.

South Barrington has long been accepted the luxury part of Barrington and this community is no exception. Setting a higher standard for adult communities is the goal of Toll Brothers and this is the only designated 55 or better community in Barrington.

Located close to the new South Barrington Arboretum Shopping Mall and within easy reach of major arterial routes to Chicago and O'Hare Airport, the homes are luxuriously appointed.

Regency Collection Community Features: Gated Community Walking Trails & Preserved Open Areas Resort Style Club House Outdoor Swimmming Pool Tennis Courts & Bocce Ball Court Putting Green & Shuffle Board Lawn, Snow, Scavenger Included

Regency Collection Property Features:

• 6 Floorplans
• Square footage 2000 to 2483
• 3 Bedrooms (4 Possible)
• 2 to 2.5 bathrooms
• 2 Car Garages (3 on some sites)
• Mostly Ranch Homes
• Choice of Elevations and Exteriors
• Prices from $439,000 to $600,000

The Woods of South Barrington Regency Collection include luxurious upgrades; you can find hardwood floors, granite counter tops, stainless appliances, double ovens, screened in decks, porches, fireplaces, look out basements plumbed for bathrooms, upgraded carpet and pads and more.