One of the shortcomings of all sites that let you search for Chicago homes for sale is that they don’t always list the neighborhood schools. That’s because only school district numbers are required in our multiple listing system (MLS). School districts may encompass several neighborhood schools. Neighborhood school names are optional in the MLS. Since sites that list homes for sale are primarily fed from the MLS, they can only display the information provided.
CHICAGO SUBURBS
Listings for homes for sale in Chicago suburbs typically include school names. If a listing doesn’t:
- Search for the school district number within the county for the home on Wikipedia’s list of school districts in Illinois. I know that Wikipedia isn’t an “official” site for Illinois schools, but it has the best list of Illinois school district websites that I’ve found. Don’t just search for the school district number. The same number may be used by districts in different counties.
- Many school district sites have a map showing the boundaries for their individual schools. If there isn’t a map or you can’t determine the school for the listing from the map, call the school district.
CITY OF CHICAGO
Unfortunately, most of the time school names are not provided for homes for sale in Chicago proper. Fortunately, Chicago Public Schools has a terrific system, Chicago Public Schools Locator (shown below), for finding the neighborhood schools for a specific address and for displaying the neighborhood school boundaries.
Chicago Public Schools Locator
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Fran Bailey shows, previews and tracks downtown Chicago homes for sale giving her the insights needed to help her clients negotiate the best price and terms. Fran has been quoted in numerous Chicago and national publications. To schedule showings of listings regardless of broker or to contact Fran email her at fran.bailey@bairdwarner.com or call 773.793.4516. Learn More
Fran Bailey, Realtor
