Market Watch: Gurnee couple pay more than a quarter of home's sale price in taxes
The home: 5509 Chancery Road, Gurnee
The 3,574-square-foot home has 4 bedrooms, 4 baths, an attached garage, vaulted ceilings, a pantry closet, a large kitchen island, a sitting room, huge windows, custom finishes and rests on 0.92 acres.
The seller: Tina C. & Allen P. Williams (Trustee)
The purchase: In May 2006, the couple paid $840,000 for the home, or roughly $1.05 million in today's dollars, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The purchase: In May 2006, the couple paid $840,000 for the home, or roughly $1.05 million in today's dollars, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The sale: According to Zillow, Williamses sold the home for $540,000 on March 18, or $514,467 less than the original purchase price, in today's dollars.
The Williamses originally listed the home for $650,000 in March 2018 and lowered the price in September 2018 to $615,000. In October, November and December 2018, the price dropped to $599,900, $589,000 and $574,000, respectively. In January, the decreased again to $559,500.
The property taxes: Based on data compiled from Blockshopper.com and Zillow, Williamses paid $145,037 in property taxes between 2008 and 2017, or 26.86 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 |
| $840,000 | $540,000 | $145,037 |
