Skip to main content
United States · USD

Chicagoreal estate

Chicago is one of the few large US cities where the buyer carries the bigger share of the transfer tax — 0.75% to the city — and where the county reassessment cycle is a real risk.

New YorkMiamiLos AngelesAustinSeattle
County records path
HOA & insurance checked
3D map
50state codes — there is no one US market
Titleinsurance, not a notary, protects the buyer
FIRPTAwithholding hits foreign sellers, not buyers
No SSNneeded to take title as a foreign buyer
What a purchase really costs

$750,000 home in Chicago

Local transfer tax, buyer share (0.75%)
$5,625
Owner's title insurance (≈0.5%)
$3,750
Lender, escrow & appraisal (≈1%)
$7,500
Attorney, recording & prepaids (≈0.3%)
$2,250
Cash needed at closing
$769,125

≈ +2.6% over the price. There is no national property code. Transfer tax is a city and county question — New York adds a buyer mansion tax above $1m, Chicago charges the buyer 0.75%, Texas charges nothing and takes it back in annual property tax. Since the 2024 NAR settlement, buyer-agent compensation is negotiated in writing rather than assumed from the listing.

Rentals run on rules

The rent side, in three lines

  • Deposit caps, notice periods and eviction timelines are state law — one to two months is common, but New York and Florida are not the same statute.
  • Rent stabilization is local: New York City has it, Miami and Austin sit under state preemption against it.
  • Insurance is the variable that reprices a building — Florida wind and flood can move faster than the asking price.

HOA and condo documents are the yield. Read the reserve study and the special-assessment history before the inspection.

Cities

Six metros, six closing customs

The buyer-side transfer tax is the fastest way to see how local this market is: 1%+ in Manhattan, 0.75% in Chicago, zero in Austin and Seattle where the seller pays instead.

Cook County reassesses on a triennial cycle and appeals are a normal part of ownership. A recent reassessment can move a building’s tax line materially between listing and closing; read the assessment history, not just the current bill.

Condominium assessments and deconversion politics matter in the older high-rise stock. Illinois preempts municipal rent control, so the letting model is unregulated in a way New York’s is not.

The North Side lakefront, the West Loop and the South and West Sides are separate markets with separate liquidity. National price averages describe none of them.

FAQ

How much transfer tax does the buyer pay?
The City of Chicago charges the buyer $3.75 per $500 — 0.75% of the price — with a further county and state portion customarily on the seller.
Is there rent control?
No. Illinois state law preempts local rent control, so the rent is a market number, not a regulated one.

All markets: sivrce.com · Georgia marketplace: sivrce.ge · Prices and availability are published only when a verified listing exists. Market currency: USD.