O'Neil Property Group
A small village in southwestern Kendall County with deep agricultural roots, its own schools, and some of the most attainable acreage in the Fox Valley. Quiet by design—and fifteen minutes from everything Yorkville and Plano offer.
Newark is the community I point buyers toward when they want land, quiet, and small-school scale without leaving Kendall County. The village itself is about 1,100 people on a little over a square mile—one of the county’s oldest settlements, with a working downtown strip on Route 71, its own library district, and municipal water and sewer, which is genuinely uncommon for a village this size.
The real estate story here runs on two tracks. Inside the village, you’re looking at established streets—Johnson Street, Coy Park Drive, the Norge Hills subdivision off Townhouse Road—where three- and four-bed homes have been trading in the $290K to $390K range. Outside the village, the 60541 zip stretches across Fox and Big Grove townships, and that’s where the acreage lives: custom homes on one to four acres in communities like Estates of Millbrook and Foxhurst, most recently selling between $480K and $630K, plus a deep supply of build-ready one-acre-plus parcels in the $45K to $80K range. Few places this close to the Fox Valley job corridors let you buy a lot and build for what it costs here.
Settled in 1835 and originally called Georgetown, the village took the Newark name in 1843 and formally organized in 1865. The motto on the village letterhead—“A Community of Pride and Progress”—reads accurately on the ground: the board has been working through road programs, water system upgrades, and a downtown park improvement plan over the past two years, while the Fourth of July still means a parade down Main Street, antique tractors, and a pork chop dinner at the firehouse.
Who buys here? Buyers stepping up to acreage from Yorkville, Oswego, and Plano. Custom-build clients who’ve been priced out of lots closer to Route 34. And a steady stream of people who grew up in the Newark school system and want their kids in it. It’s a thin market—roughly two dozen home sales a year—so the right listing here draws attention fast, and the right buyer needs to be ready when it does.
Route 71 runs through the village—northeast to Yorkville in about 15 minutes, southwest toward Ottawa. Route 47 is a few minutes east and is the usual road to I-80 at Morris, about 15 miles south. Plano is 15 minutes north, and its Amtrak station runs four trains a day to Chicago Union Station on the Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg lines. There’s no Metra service in Kendall County yet—the studied BNSF extension through Oswego, Yorkville, and Plano remains unfunded—so rail commuters drive to the Aurora Transportation Center, roughly 35 to 40 minutes. Plan on about 90 minutes to the Loop by car. Newark works best for people who work in the Fox Valley, work from home, or are done commuting altogether.
What we’re seeing across Newark and the 60541 zip as of summer 2026. This is a thin market—roughly two sales a month—so treat any single month’s numbers as directional.
The trailing-year median sits right around $300K. The typical home value across the zip is higher—about $403K—because rural acreage properties pull the value index up well above what actually trades in the village. Compare Yorkville at ~$380K or Plano for the county’s entry point.
Houses that are priced right go pending in roughly three to four weeks. Land is a different clock—parcels routinely sit for months, which is normal here, not a red flag. Pricing strategy matters more in a market this small than almost anywhere else I work.
The signature opportunity in Newark: one-acre-plus build-ready parcels, many with natural gas available, generally listing between $45K and $80K. Some communities carry covenants—minimum 1,700 sq ft for a ranch, 2,100 for a two-story—so review them before you buy the lot.
Inventory is up sharply from last year, but read the fine print: most of it is vacant land. At any given time only a handful of actual homes are on the market, recently ranging from about $249K in the village to $1.25M on rural acreage.
Homes have been closing about 2% under asking on average—modest negotiating room, not a soft market. With so few homes trading, a well-presented village listing can still command close to full price.
Newark’s median effective rate runs about 2.27% with a median annual bill near $6,700—below the Kendall County median of 2.55%. Newark listings generally don’t carry the Special Service Area line items common in newer Yorkville and Oswego subdivisions, but always verify the full bill on a specific parcel.
Newark’s market splits between village streets and rural acreage communities. These are the names that come up most with my buyers.
The area’s flagship acreage community: 175 one-acre-plus lots with custom homes from the early 2000s, four-plus miles of nature trails, and a modest $350/year HOA. Recent sales $535K–$630K, with lots still available to build on.
See Estates of Millbrook Listings →A small enclave of custom homes on one-acre-plus wooded lots next to a Kendall County forest preserve with a canoe launch. Built late 1980s to mid 1990s, roughly 2,400–3,700 sq ft, no HOA. Recent sales $480K–$561K.
See Foxhurst Listings →Newark’s main in-village subdivision, off Townhouse Road with Norwegian-heritage street names. Ranches and two-stories from the mid-1990s through mid-2000s on quarter-acre lots with municipal water and sewer. 2025 sales $330K–$385K.
See Norge Hills Listings →An active custom-build community southwest of the village with one-acre-plus lots selling in the $40Ks and $50Ks. Recorded covenants set build minimums but there are no association fees. Note: this community is served by Sandwich schools—verify per address.
See Silver Fox Estates Listings →The organic core of Newark—Johnson Street, Coy Park Drive, Oak Ridge Drive—where established homes on village services have recently traded from the mid $200Ks to the high $300Ks, all within a short walk of the library, parks, and Main Street.
See Village Listings →Scattered custom homes on three- and four-acre parcels along the Finnie Road and Millhurst Road corridors toward the Fox River—some with river access, most on well and septic. Recent sales in the $480K–$590K range. School district varies by parcel out here.
See Acreage Listings →Every active listing in Newark and the surrounding 60541 area, pulled directly from the MLS. Use the filters to narrow by price, beds, or property type.
The village is served by two small local districts: Newark Community Consolidated School District 66 for elementary and junior high, and Newark Community High School District 18, whose attendance area covers roughly 100 square miles of southern Kendall County and draws from several K–8 feeder districts.
On Chicago Road in the village. One of two schools in District 66, which serves about 205 students in total—small class sizes by design.
District 66’s upper school, located on Fox River Drive in nearby Millbrook. Serves roughly 90 students in grades five through eight.
On Chicago Road, a few blocks from downtown. About 175 students, with the district drawing from Newark, Lisbon, and Millington-area feeder schools.
In nearby Lisbon (with a Newark 60541 mailing address). Its graduates also feed into Newark Community High School.
Parts of the rural zip—including Silver Fox Estates and some Finnie Road-area parcels—fall in Sandwich CUSD 430 or other neighboring districts rather than Newark 66/18.
Note: District boundaries in this part of Kendall County cross township and municipal lines, and school assignment can change from one parcel to the next—especially on rural acreage. Always verify the current school assignment for any specific address directly with the district before you buy. Our team can help clarify. Visit District 66 · Visit District 18
Townhouse Park is the workhorse—ball fields, three rentable pavilions, a concession stand, and the veterans memorial. Downtown Park sits across from the library and is slated for playground upgrades, and Bank Park adds a green pocket on Route 71.
Newark’s signature day: an 8 a.m. flag raising, a 10 a.m. parade from the high school, antique tractors lining Main Street, kids’ activities at the library, and a pork chop and chicken barbecue at the firehouse. Small-town Americana, unironically.
Roughly five miles north on the Fox River: 1,300+ acres of fishing ponds, river frontage, trails, and seasonal hunting. It’s the kind of outdoor access most suburbs drive 45 minutes for—here it’s a ten-minute trip.
Newark’s own library district, right downtown—story times, book clubs, yoga, and craft programs. For a village of 1,100, having a full library district in walking distance is a quiet luxury.
Whitetail Ridge and Blackberry Oaks in the Yorkville/Bristol area, Cedardell in Plano, and Edgebrook in Sandwich are all within about 20 minutes—plus Fox Bend in Oswego for a longer outing.
Three reasons come up over and over: land, schools you can name every teacher in, and price. Newark buyers are usually stepping up to acreage from Yorkville or Oswego, building custom on a lot that would cost triple closer to Route 34, or coming home to a school district they grew up in. Nobody moves here for the commute—they move here because the trade is worth it.
Village homes trade mostly between the high $200Ks and high $300Ks; established acreage customs in Estates of Millbrook, Foxhurst, and rural Fox Township run roughly $480K to $630K. The typical Yorkville or Oswego home costs meaningfully more per square foot—and a build-ready acre here costs less than many quarter-acre in-town lots elsewhere in the county.
Newark’s median effective rate is about 2.27% with a median bill near $6,700—under the Kendall County median of 2.55%. Just as important: Newark generally doesn’t have the Special Service Area assessments that add hundreds per year in many newer Yorkville and Oswego subdivisions. We still verify the full tax bill on every property we show.
Inside the village you’re on municipal water and sewer; rural properties are well and septic, which we walk buyers through at inspection. Groceries mean a 15-minute run to Yorkville or Plano. For healthcare, the Rush Copley freestanding ER in Yorkville is about 10 miles, with hospitals in Sandwich and Morris close behind. Internet varies block to block—Xfinity cable covers about half the zip, with fixed wireless and Starlink filling the gaps. We check availability per address.
Our office is at 201 E Veterans Parkway in Yorkville, fifteen minutes up Route 71. We live and work in this county. We know which Newark streets are on village services, which rural parcels sit in which school district, and what land is actually worth per acre out here.
In a market with two dozen sales a year, every comp matters. We track each 60541 closing—village ranches to Estates of Millbrook customs—so our pricing opinions are built on the full data set, not a zip-code average distorted by land sales.
Much of Newark’s inventory is buildable land. We help you evaluate lots, covenants, well and septic requirements, and builder options—before you commit to the parcel, not after.
Professional photography, strategic pricing, targeted marketing, contract negotiation, and closing coordination. In a village where the buyer pool is small, presentation and reach decide how fast—and how well—a home sells.
From land banking along the Route 47 growth corridor to long-term holds on acreage, we provide honest analysis of what rural Kendall County property does—and doesn’t—return.
Our Google reviews tell the story: responsive communication, local expertise, and results. We earn referrals by delivering a level of service that national platforms and discount brokerages can’t match.
Real results from real clients. Here’s what buyers and sellers say about working with our team.
The process of selling our home with Ryan was as seamless as one could hope for! He was so professional and supportive throughout the entire process.
Working with O’Neil Property Group was hands-down one of the best decisions I’ve made as a first-time investor. Kealan and his team guided me through every step.
Kealan was great to work with and made selling our house easy. We would definitely call O’Neil Property Group again!
Wow what a great experience. Kealan and his team sold my house very quickly and had multiple offers.
Loved working with Kealan to buy our home in Yorkville. Very knowledgeable and got us our dream home in a tough market. Highly recommend.
Kealan executed a perfect home sale and home purchase strategy to meet our expectations. We reached sales price, purchase price, and timing goals.
Whether you’re buying, selling, building, or just exploring, our Kendall County team is ready to help you make the right move.