The Real Deal: Chicago Aldermen Stopped Real Estate Transfer Tax Hike
Chicago’s million-dollar property buyers dodged a “deal killer” bullet as the City Council failed to advance a tax hike that would have more than tripled their real estate transfer tax burden.
The initiative to put the question of raising the transfer tax on property sales of $1 million or more to fund city programs to provide permanent affordable housing for Chicago’s homeless population was thwarted Monday, after a special meeting to discuss putting the question to voters failed to meet quorum…
Chicago’s transfer tax rate charges buyers $3.75 for every $500 of a deal’s value, while sellers pay $1.50 for every $500. The proposal would raise what the buyer pays for every $500 to $13.25, while keeping the $1.50 burden the same for the seller. So, taxes on a $1 million purchase would increase from $7,500 to $26,500.
“That either has to come out of the seller’s equity or the buyer’s capital, and buyers of these properties tend to finance these purchases,” Rich Aronson, a realtor with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Chicago, said. “That additional $19,000 is a deal killer, it just is.”
Read more on The Real Deal: https://therealdeal.com/chicago/2022/11/15/chicago-aldermen-thwarted-deal-killer-transfer-tax-hike/
