What sells off-market in Cook County, IL
By Josh MillerUpdated 4 min readExpired and cancelled listings sold best in Cook County, IL, and it wasn't close: about 19 of every 100 owners whose listing expired or was cancelled sold off-market within 12 months of the filing, against about 1.1 of every 100 houses picked at random in the county. Two thirds of those 1,448 sales came in the first 3 months, so the first letter has to go out fast.
In Cook County (Chicago), about a third of the home sales recorded over 12 months never went through an agent's listing. The list those sellers were most often on is one you can pull every week: expired and cancelled listings.
Below is every list we could measure in Cook County, out of about 932,000 single-family homes, with how many owners on each sold off-market and when.
Lists that start with a filing
Foreclosures, expired listings, liens and judgments start on a date: something got filed with the county. Here is how many owners on each list in Cook County sold off-market afterward, sorted by how many of every 100 sold within 12 months.
| List | Owners on the list | Sold off-market within 3 months | Sold off-market within 12 months | Of every 100, sold within 12 months | Busiest quarter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Expired or cancelled listing | 7,464 | 964 | 1,448 | 19.4 | Months 1 to 3 |
| Foreclosure filed | 2,814 | 24 | 294 | 10.4 | Months 10 to 12 |
| Lien filed against the property | 2,183 | 39 | 144 | 6.6 | Months 4 to 6 |
| Judgment against the owner | 1,748 | 21 | 84 | 4.8 | Months 4 to 6 |
Nothing else came close in Cook County. The next best, foreclosure filings, sold off-market at about 10 of every 100 within 12 months, against about 19 for expired and cancelled listings.
Every list here that starts with a filing beat a house picked at random in Cook County, which sold off-market at about 1.1 of every 100 over 12 months. The order still matters: the same postage goes further at the top.
Lists that just sit there
Vacant houses, back taxes, equity and owners who live somewhere else don't start on a date. Those owners can sit on a list for years. Read the shaded bottom row first: it's a house picked at random in Cook County, and a list that can't beat it is buying stamps and nothing else.
| List | Owners on the list | Sold off-market within 12 months | Of every 100, sold within 12 months |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sitting vacant | 20,130 | 724 | 3.6 |
| High equity, living elsewhere | 38,844 | 999 | 2.6 |
| Owns it free and clear | 262,945 | 3,443 | 1.3 |
| Owner 65 or older, living elsewhere | 8,536 | 97 | 1.1 |
| Any house, picked at random | 932,478 | 10,450 | 1.1 |
The best of them in Cook County was vacant houses: about 3.6 of every 100 sold off-market within 12 months, against about 1.1 of every 100 houses picked at random. Every standing list we could measure here beat the random house, which is not true in most counties.
Equity lists beat a random house in Cook County, but they are big lists, so a small edge still costs a lot of postage.
When to mail in Cook County
Go early on expired and cancelled listings. In Cook County, the first 3 months after the filing were the busiest quarter for that list: 964 of the 1,448 off-market sales within 12 months on expired and cancelled listings came in that first stretch.
Liens on the property and judgments against the owner peaked a little later in Cook County, in months 4 to 6 after the filing (sales by quarter for liens on the property: 39, then 44, 36 and 25; judgments against the owner: 21, then 22, 22 and 19). Start in month one and keep going through the year.
Stay longer on foreclosure filings. Their busiest quarter in Cook County was months 10 to 12 after the filing (24, then 41, 74 and 155 sales by quarter), so a single letter in month one misses most of the owners who end up selling.
Whatever the list, take out anyone who already sold or listed the house before every drop.
How we counted
For filings from October 2024 through March 2025, we counted every off-market, arm's-length sale recorded in the county afterward. Counted from the county's own records by FirstPulse, the data engine GoForClose runs on.
Lists that sit there, like vacant houses or back taxes, and the house picked at random are counted over 12 months. Probate and divorce are left out: there are too few on record in most counties to measure honestly.
Compare another county
- What sells off-market in Wayne County, MI: expired and cancelled listings led there.
- What sells off-market in Harris County, TX: expired and cancelled listings led there.
- Every county page
For the method behind these tables, read which motivated seller lists actually sell, when to mail each list and how the lead services compare.
Questions investors ask about Cook County
What list sells best in Cook County?
Of the lists we could measure in Cook County, IL, expired and cancelled listings sold off-market most often: about 19 of every 100 owners whose listing expired or was cancelled sold within 12 months of the filing, against about 1.1 of every 100 houses picked at random in the county over 12 months.
When should I mail foreclosure filings in Cook County?
Longer than most investors do. In Cook County, the busiest quarter for off-market sales after a foreclosure filing was months 10 to 12 (24, then 41, 74 and 155 sales by quarter). Start in month one and keep going until the owner sells or lists.
Do absentee owners over 65 sell in Cook County?
A little more often than a random house. In Cook County, IL, about 1.1 of every 100 owners 65 and older who live somewhere else sold off-market within 12 months, against about 1.1 of every 100 houses picked at random. The lists that start with a filing did better.
Can I see this for my county?
Yes. Any of 563 counties can be read free at goforclose.com/read, counted from that county's own records, with no call needed to see it.