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John Ginder is pretty upbeat about the prospects of Woodford County’s real estate market being positioned for growth when the recession ends.
Ginder, president of Re/Max Unlimited in Peoria, and a Metamora resident, said if Woodford County needs to do anything to prepare for that day it is to start exercising its bragging rights.
Current situation
Ginder said the real estate situation in Woodford County, at this time, is like everywhere else.
“Buyers and sellers are uncertain. The political bickering going on is exasperating the situation,” Ginder said.
He said Woodford County communities like Germantown Hills, Metamora and Eureka are not competing with Peoria. He said they are competing with the Dunlap, Washington and Morton school districts.
“It’s a fair fight,” Ginder said.
He said the low crime rates, schools and taxes give Woodford County an advantage. But, as is always the case in real estate it is all about location, location, location.
“These do count when people are looking at that. But, a large factor is also commuting costs,” Ginder said.
Location, when factoring in commuting costs can be a disadvantage for Woodford County since the largest employment base is in Peoria.
Bragging
Ginder said he was aware that Woodford County had been declared “the best affordable place to live in Illinois,” by Bloomberg Business Week.
But, Ginder said he wondered how many people inside or outside Woodford County knew that. Ginder also said he wondered how many who did know it bragged about it to others.
“A lot of people won’t know about it. A community needs to brag about it. They need to call attention to it,” Ginder said. “Does it make a big impact on a decision about where to live? No. But, they still need to brag about it.”
Ginder said Metamora needs to also brag about the IGA store doubling in size as well as about Metamora Fields.
“We don’t have a lot of recreational activities, outside of parks, for the general public in Woodford County making Metamora Fields important. Proximity of groceries is also important. That’s why the IGA expansion is a wonderful thing,” Ginder said.
Looking at Germantown Hills, Ginder said, the new governmental attitude toward business is welcome.
“One of the things that happens when you don’t have a large business base is it is hard to hold down property taxes,” Ginder said.
“The burden is on homeowners. In years past the village board was not business-friendly. They need to be in order to raise more tax revenue.”
Ginder said the communities and county need to work together to develop a business-friendly attitude and plan.
“They need to be out-going. They need to go after job creators. They need to promote small -town living.
There needs to be promotion of this area. Woodford County is thought of as an agricultural county. We need to be more pro-active,” Ginder said.
“Don’t hide our light under a bushel. We have a light. We’re too quiet a county.”
John Ginder is pretty upbeat about the prospects of Woodford County’s real estate market being positioned for growth when the recession ends.
Ginder, president of Re/Max Unlimited in Peoria, and a Metamora resident, said if Woodford County needs to do anything to prepare for that day it is to start exercising its bragging rights.
Current situation
Ginder said the real estate situation in Woodford County, at this time, is like everywhere else.
“Buyers and sellers are uncertain. The political bickering going on is exasperating the situation,” Ginder said.
He said Woodford County communities like Germantown Hills, Metamora and Eureka are not competing with Peoria. He said they are competing with the Dunlap, Washington and Morton school districts.
“It’s a fair fight,” Ginder said.
He said the low crime rates, schools and taxes give Woodford County an advantage. But, as is always the case in real estate it is all about location, location, location.
“These do count when people are looking at that. But, a large factor is also commuting costs,” Ginder said.
Location, when factoring in commuting costs can be a disadvantage for Woodford County since the largest employment base is in Peoria.
Bragging
Ginder said he was aware that Woodford County had been declared “the best affordable place to live in Illinois,” by Bloomberg Business Week.
But, Ginder said he wondered how many people inside or outside Woodford County knew that. Ginder also said he wondered how many who did know it bragged about it to others.
“A lot of people won’t know about it. A community needs to brag about it. They need to call attention to it,” Ginder said. “Does it make a big impact on a decision about where to live? No. But, they still need to brag about it.”
Ginder said Metamora needs to also brag about the IGA store doubling in size as well as about Metamora Fields.
“We don’t have a lot of recreational activities, outside of parks, for the general public in Woodford County making Metamora Fields important. Proximity of groceries is also important. That’s why the IGA expansion is a wonderful thing,” Ginder said.
Looking at Germantown Hills, Ginder said, the new governmental attitude toward business is welcome.
“One of the things that happens when you don’t have a large business base is it is hard to hold down property taxes,” Ginder said.
“The burden is on homeowners. In years past the village board was not business-friendly. They need to be in order to raise more tax revenue.”
Ginder said the communities and county need to work together to develop a business-friendly attitude and plan.
“They need to be out-going. They need to go after job creators. They need to promote small -town living.
There needs to be promotion of this area. Woodford County is thought of as an agricultural county. We need to be more pro-active,” Ginder said.
“Don’t hide our light under a bushel. We have a light. We’re too quiet a county.”
