Market Watch: Reginald & Barbara Booker lose over $123,000 on sale of Lenox home
The home: 411 Apache Drive, Lenox
The 4,000-square-foot home has 5 bedrooms, 4 baths, an oversized eat-in kitchen with double fireplace, vaulted ceilings, floor-to-ceiling windows, a finished walk-out basement, a hot tub,a deck, a patio, scenic pond views and access to walking trails nearby.
The seller: Reginald & Barbara Booker
The purchase: In July 2007, the Bookers paid $410,000 for the home, or $495,450 in today's dollars, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The purchase: In July 2007, the Bookers paid $410,000 for the home, or $495,450 in today's dollars, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The sale: According to Zillow, the Bookers sold the home for $372,000 on March 28, or $123,540 less than the original purchase price, in today's dollars.
The Bookers originally listed the home for $420,000 on August 2017, but lowered the price a month later to $410,000. In October 2017, they dropped the price to $390,000. In February, April, June and July 2018 the price continued to tumble down to $380,000, $379,000, $369,000 and $365,500, respectively. In August 2018, they lowered the price again to $360,000, but raised it slightly in January to $369,000.
The property taxes: Based on data compiled from Blockshopper.com and Zillow, the Bookers paid $94,742 in property taxes between 2008 and 2017, or 25.47 percent of the sale price.
Illinois' highest-in-the-nation property taxes are eroding home equity and depressing home values across the state. This report is part of a SYHN News Service series on recent home sales that demonstrate the consequences.
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The Financial Facts in Today’s Dollars
| Seller's Purchase Price | Amount Home Sold for in 2019 | Seller’s Property Taxes |
| $410,000 | $372,000 | $94,742 |
