Open Key Realty

We’re getting close to closing day! 🏡

A big thank you to my seller for trusting me with the opportunity to market and sell this Glenview home.

I truly believe this was one of the hottest deals in Glenview — and soon it will officially have a new owner!

If you’re thinking about selling your home or you’re looking for an amazing real estate opportunity, I’d love to help.

Kinga Andrzejewska
Managing Broker | Open Key Realty Inc
📞 773-704-4301
🌐 www.theopenkeyrealty.com

NorthShoreRealEstate JustSold RealEstate

Working with buyers in today’s real estate market is a real adventure! 🏡

Motivated buyers have to be prepared to act FAST. Great homes can receive strong interest during the very first open house and sometimes go under contract within hours or just a few days of hitting the market.

That means being ready before the right home appears:
✔️ Pre-approval completed
✔️ Clear budget and priorities
✔️ Showings scheduled quickly
✔️ Offer strategy discussed in advance
✔️ Flexibility when competition is strong

There is often no time to “think about it for a few days.” My job is to keep my buyers informed about new listings, schedule showings quickly, analyze the property and comparable sales, and help them put together a strong offer when they find the right home.

The search can be stressful, exciting, competitive—and definitely an adventure—but finding the right home makes it all worth it. 🔑🏡

Thinking about buying? Let’s make sure you’re ready before your dream home hits the market.

Open Key Realty Inc
📞 773-704-4301

HouseHunting IllinoisRealEstate polishrealtor

🏡 NEW CONSTRUCTION IN MOUNT PROSPECT — A LOT OF HOME + A LOT OF LAND!

If you’re looking for something newer, more private, and still close to everything, 134 E Morrison Ave in Mount Prospect deserves a look.

This 2026-built ranch offers approximately 1,500 sq ft, 3 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms, an open layout with dramatic 13-ft cathedral ceilings, and a huge ½-acre lot — something that is getting harder to find in the suburbs.

📍 Why Mount Prospect?

Mount Prospect offers a great combination of suburban space and convenient access to Chicago. It is approximately 23 miles northwest of downtown Chicago, close to O’Hare Airport and I-90.

🚆 The downtown Mount Prospect Metra station is on the Union Pacific Northwest Line, providing direct service to downtown Chicago.

🌳 The area offers extensive parks, recreation facilities, and easy access to Cook County Forest Preserves.

🍽️ Downtown Mount Prospect continues to grow with restaurants, shops, entertainment, and newer residential development while maintaining its suburban feel.

🎓 134 E Morrison Ave is located in the John Hersey High School attendance area, part of Township High School District 214.

For buyers comparing Mount Prospect, Arlington Heights, Prospect Heights, or the surrounding Northwest suburbs, this home offers something different: new construction + single-level living + a half-acre lot.

📲 Want to see it in person?
Kinga Andrzejewska | Open Key Realty Inc
📞 773-704-4301

ChicagoSuburbs NorthwestSuburbs IllinoisRealEstate

What if your home could actually help you sleep better, focus more, and feel better every day? 🏡

We’re used to wearing fitness trackers that monitor our bodies. Now, technology is starting to do something similar for our homes.

Ultrahuman Home is a small smart device designed to monitor important factors inside your living space, including indoor air quality, temperature, humidity, light exposure, and noise levels. These are things we don’t always notice, but they can have a real impact on how comfortable and restful a home feels.

For example, poor indoor air quality may make a space feel stuffy, too much light at night can interfere with sleep, temperature changes can affect comfort, and constant background noise can make it harder to relax or concentrate. A device like this collects information about your environment so you can better understand what may need to be adjusted.

From a real estate perspective, I think this is also an interesting sign of where the market is going. Buyers are already paying more attention to energy efficiency, air filtration, smart thermostats, security systems, lighting, EV charging and other smart-home features. In the future, technology that monitors the overall quality of the indoor environment could become another feature buyers ask about.

Luxury is no longer only about beautiful finishes. It is increasingly about comfort, wellness, efficiency and technology working together inside the home.

Would you want your home to monitor things like air quality, lighting, temperature and noise — or do you think this is taking smart-home technology too far?

Source: Ultrahuman

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First-time buyers: working remotely may give you more flexibility than you think. 🏡

If you can work from anywhere, you may be able to look beyond the most expensive markets and find areas where your budget goes further—not just on the home itself, but also on everyday expenses.

And you don’t always have to move across the country. Even within Illinois and the Chicago suburbs, affordability can vary significantly from one community to another.

The key is finding the right balance between price, lifestyle, commute needs, schools, and long-term value.

If you’re thinking about buying your first home and want to know where your budget could work best, let’s connect.

📞 773-704-4301
Open Key Realty Inc

Source: Extra Space

IllinoisRealEstate NorthShoreRealEstate HomeBuyer

Thinking about renovating before you sell? Not every upgrade adds value.

Some projects may look great, but they can actually make a home less appealing to a larger group of buyers.

A few examples:

1. Converting the garage
Extra living space can sound attractive, but many buyers still want garage parking and storage. In some cases, removing the garage can narrow your buyer pool.

2. Adding a pool
Pools can be a huge plus for the right buyer, but they also come with installation, maintenance, insurance, and seasonal costs. Not every buyer wants that responsibility.

3. Removing the bathtub and installing only a doorless shower
It may look modern and beautiful, but families with small children often prefer having at least one bathtub in the home.

The key is to think about resale before making a major renovation. What works perfectly for your lifestyle may not necessarily give you the best return when it’s time to sell.

Before spending thousands on a renovation, it can be worth asking a real estate professional what buyers in your area are actually looking for.

Planning improvements before selling? I’m always happy to give you an opinion on which updates may help your home stand out — and which ones may not be worth the investment.

Kinga Andrzejewska
Open Key Realty Inc
773-704-4301

Enjoy the little things. ❤️

We spend so much time waiting for the big moments — the big success, the perfect timing, the next accomplishment.

But life is happening right now.

A quiet morning. A good conversation. A smile. Time with people you love. Feeling healthy, peaceful, and grateful.

One day, we may realize those “little” moments were actually the biggest ones.

✨ Don’t wait for a special occasion to enjoy your life.

ChooseJoy

🏡 UNDER CONTRACT in Glenview!

1138 Shermer Rd is officially under contract.

This estate property offered a unique opportunity for buyers looking to remodel, renovate, or build something new in a convenient Glenview location.

✨ 2 bedrooms
✨ 1.1 bathrooms
✨ Attached 1-car garage
✨ Newer roof, furnace & A/C
✨ Public water
✨ Close to The Glen, parks, golf, shopping, Metra and major roads
✨ Sold As-Is

Every property has a different story — and the right marketing, pricing and strategy can make all the difference.

Thinking about selling a home in Glenview or the North Shore? I’d be happy to help you understand your options.

📞 Kinga Andrzejewska | Open Key Realty Inc
773-704-4301

OpenKeyRealty KingaAndrzejewska IllinoisRealEstate

Did you know that making extra payments toward your mortgage principal can potentially save you thousands in interest and shorten the life of your loan? 🏡

The key is making sure any extra money is applied to principal only — not simply counted as an early future payment.

How much you actually save depends on your loan balance, interest rate, and when you make the extra payments, so the results can vary significantly.

Before sending extra money, check with your mortgage servicer about how principal-only payments are processed and whether your loan has any restrictions.

Small financial moves can make a big difference over time.

Thinking about buying, selling, or planning your next real estate move? I’m always happy to help.

📞 Kinga Andrzejewska | Open Key Realty Inc
773-704-4301

ChicagoRealEstate NorthbrookRealEstate PolishRealtor

The U.S. housing market is shifting — and the numbers are getting harder to ignore.

According to Redfin Housing Data, there are now significantly more sellers than buyers in the market. The gap has grown to about 46.3% more sellers than buyers — roughly 629,000 more sellers.

Just one year ago, that gap was around 29.8%.

That means the balance of power is changing.

For buyers, this can create more choices, less pressure to rush into a decision, and in some situations, more negotiating room on price, repairs, credits, or closing terms.

For sellers, it doesn’t mean homes aren’t selling. It means pricing, presentation, condition, and marketing matter more than they did when buyers were competing for almost every property. Homes that are priced correctly and marketed well can still attract strong interest. Homes that are overpriced may sit longer and eventually need a price adjustment.

And one important thing to remember: real estate is local.

National housing trends can tell us where the overall market may be heading, but Northbrook, Glenview, Deerfield, Mount Prospect, Arlington Heights and other Chicago-area communities can behave very differently depending on inventory, price range, school district and property type.

If you’re thinking about selling, buying, or you’re simply curious what your home may be worth in today’s changing market, I’d be happy to look at the numbers for your specific neighborhood.

📞 Kinga Andrzejewska | Open Key Realty Inc
773-704-4301

Source: Redfin Housing Data (2026)

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