Every homeowner in Orland Township is getting the same reassurance this fall: a bigger number on your reassessment notice doesn't automatically mean a bigger tax bill. That's true, as far as it goes. But it's a countywide average dressed up as personal advice, and averages hide exactly the kind of subdivision that's been quietly outrunning the rest of the township.
Brentwood is one of those subdivisions. The single-family neighborhood south of 135th Street and east of 96th Avenue, built out mostly between 1970 and 1999, has posted a median sale price of $502,000 over the three months ending in June 2026, up 12.3 percent from the same period a year earlier. Orland Park as a whole, over the three months ending in May 2026, sat at a median of $385,000, up 5.8 percent. Brentwood isn't tracking the township. It's running more than twice as fast.
That gap is the reason the standard reassurance deserves a second look if you own, or are considering buying, in Brentwood specifically.
What Landed in Orland Township Mailboxes This Year
Cook County runs its reassessment on a three-year rotation, splitting the county into three geographic groups and reassessing one group each year. In 2026, it's the south and southwest suburban group's turn, and Orland Township, which covers Orland Park, Orland Hills, and a slice of Tinley Park, is part of that group. Notices are going out on a township-by-township schedule that started in the spring and continues into the fall, and once a township opens, property owners get roughly 30 to 40 days from the mail date to file an appeal directly with the Cook County Assessor's Office.
The notice itself lists a new estimated fair market value and, for residential parcels, an assessed value equal to 10 percent of that figure. What it doesn't list is the one number that actually determines whether your tax bill moves: how your increase compares to everyone else's.
The Math Nobody Puts in the Envelope
Property taxes in Cook County work by dividing up a fixed levy, the total dollar amount local taxing bodies need to collect, across every parcel in the township based on each parcel's share of the total assessed value. If your assessment goes up by the same percentage as the township average, your share of the pie stays roughly the same, even though the number on your notice looks alarming.
The Assessor's own published data from the last Orland Township reassessment, in 2023, makes this concrete. That cycle, the township's total assessed value grew 38 percent. Any homeowner whose individual increase landed below that mark actually saw their relative share shrink, even while holding a notice that showed a double-digit jump. Homeowners whose increase outpaced 38 percent were the ones who saw real bill increases, whether because their block sold especially hot, their home had recent permitted improvements on file, or the assessor's mass appraisal model moved their neighborhood code more aggressively than others nearby.
That 38 percent figure won't repeat exactly this cycle. It's a precedent, not a prediction. But it establishes the mechanism: the notice tells you your number, not your rank.
Why Brentwood Is the Subdivision to Watch
Here's where Brentwood's market performance stops being a bragging point and starts being a planning consideration.
In the 2023 reassessment, the Assessor's Office reported meeting all three of the International Association of Assessing Officers' standards for a high-quality sales ratio analysis on single-family properties in Orland Township, meaning the model's estimated values tracked reasonably closely with what those homes actually sold for. That calibration matters here: if the model is doing its job well for single-family homes, and Brentwood's actual sale prices have been climbing at more than double the township's pace, there's a real basis for expecting Brentwood's assessed values to move faster than the township average too, not just its sale prices.
| Measure | Brentwood | Orland Park (townwide) |
|---|---|---|
| Median sale price | $502,000 (3 mo. ending June 2026) | $385,000 (3 mo. ending May 2026) |
| YoY price change | +12.3% | +5.8% |
| Typical home size | roughly 1,986 to 2,645 sq. ft. | mixed single-family and condo stock |
A subdivision running at twice the township's price growth is a plausible candidate to land above the township's overall reassessment curve, which, going back to the mechanism above, is the one scenario that produces an actual bill increase rather than a wash.
What This Means If You're Weighing Brentwood Against Another Pocket
For a buyer comparing Brentwood to a nearby Orland Park subdivision that hasn't been appreciating as quickly, the sticker price isn't the only number worth running. A home that costs more upfront but is tracking closer to the township average may carry a more predictable tax trajectory than a comparably priced home in a subdivision that's been outrunning the pack. Neither outcome is bad. Appreciation is generally the point of buying real estate. But it's worth going in with eyes open rather than discovering the carrying-cost difference on next year's second-installment bill.
For a seller already in Brentwood, the same logic cuts the other way. A notice showing a sharp increase isn't an emergency, and it doesn't mean the appraisal you're relying on for pricing is wrong. Assessed value and market value are calculated differently and answer different questions. But being able to explain the increase in one sentence, tied to how Brentwood has performed relative to the township rather than reacting to the number cold, tends to land better with a buyer's agent or lender during underwriting.
If You Want to Push Back
Orland Township property owners get two separate chances to appeal: first with the Cook County Assessor's Office when the township opens, and later with the Cook County Board of Review once the Assessor's decisions are issued. For single-family and townhome owners, the Orland Township Assessor's office will run a comparables search using similar properties assessed lower than yours, or you can pull your own comps and file directly online. If you bought your home or had it appraised within the last two years and that figure supports a lower market value, that documentation strengthens an appeal.
Two rounds matter because outcomes at the Board of Review level have historically run well ahead of the first round, so a denial at the Assessor level isn't the end of the road if you still believe the number is off.
If the Notice Lands Mid-Contract
If a reassessment notice arrives while your Brentwood home is listed or already under contract, flag it for your attorney and the title company so any appeal-related refund or adjustment gets written into the closing paperwork rather than surfacing as a surprise afterward. Expect a buyer's lender to notice a sharp assessed-value jump during underwriting and ask about it. Having the township-level context ready, rather than just your own percentage, keeps that conversation short.
A Few Questions Worth Asking Directly
Does a pending appeal delay closing? Not on its own. It's a paperwork item for your attorney to track, not a hold on the transaction.
Will this year's 38 percent benchmark repeat? No. That figure describes the 2023 cycle specifically. This cycle's townwide total won't be final until the county finishes processing this year's appeals, which is exactly why comparing your own increase to the township average, once it's available, matters more than the raw percentage on your notice.
When would a successful appeal actually show up on a bill? The value set during a reassessment year carries forward through the three-year cycle, with adjustments typically reflected starting on the following year's tax bill rather than the current one.
Brentwood's run has been genuinely good news for anyone who owns there. Whether it stays uncomplicated good news through this reassessment cycle depends less on the number in the envelope and more on how that number stacks up against the township around it. If you're trying to work out what that comparison means for a specific address in Brentwood, or you're weighing it against another Orland Park subdivision before making an offer, Toni Lucas is glad to walk through the numbers with you. Let's Connect.
