3756 N. Sheffield Ave. in Wrigleyville | Zillow
3756 N. Sheffield Ave. in Wrigleyville | Zillow
Georgia and Christopher Glynn purchased their 850-square-foot condo in the Near North's Delaware Place on the Park development in 2003 for $316,000.
The 25-story building on Washington Square Park features a 24-hour doorman, a rooftop deck, a health club and a bike storage room.
With inflation, the Glynns would have paid $442,090 had they purchased the unit today. Instead, they sold the one-bedroom, one-bath condo last month for $286,500 -- or a loss of $155,590. That doesn't include any money they put into making improvements on the home, which was listed on Zillow as having new wide plank white oak floors and a newly updated kitchen with stainless steel appliances.
Between 2004 and 2017, the Glynns were billed $48,155 for property taxes by Cook County, according to Zillow, which made their effective property tax rate 16.8 percent.
Homeowners in Chicago's Near North, Wrigleyville and Forest Glen neighborhoods saw the highest effective tax rates on the North Side during the second part of 2018, according to an analysis by Local Government Services (LGIS), which publishes the Chicago City Wire.
The effective property tax rate, or the percentage of your home’s value that you pay in property taxes each year, averages 2.31 percent in Illinois, three times the 0.87 percent tax rate in neighboring Indiana, according to WalletHub.com.
Across the nation, the average tax rate is 1.3 percent.
Of the 38 North Side communities surveyed by LGIS, the Near North -- at 2.91 percent -- had an effective property tax rate higher than the state average. Wrigleyville wasn't too far below the average at 2.01 percent while Forest Glen had a 1.87 percent property tax rate.
In the shadow of Wrigley Field
David Hellman listed his 3-bedroom condo at 3756 N. Sheffield Ave. in Wrigleyville on Jan. 25. By March 12, it had sold for $8,000 above his $719,900 asking price, according to Zillow.
That's where the good news ends, however.
From 2013, a year after Hellman and then-partner Catherine A Sabo purchased the duplex condominium for $420,000 ($471,024 in today's dollars), to 2017, taxes on the property jumped from $5,299 to $7,904 -- or a 49.16 percent increase.
Unlike Hellman, David J. Hart can't even say he made money off the sale of his loft-style townhome on Cornelia Avenue.
He purchased the two-bedroom, two-bath unit in August 2004 for $387,000 ($519,135 with inflation). Zillow reported that the property sold on March 12 for $381,000 -- for a $138,135 loss.
While owning the home, Hart's property tax bills totaled $69,171, for an effective property tax rate of 18.16 percent.
Up north in Milwaukee, a similarly sized condo in the Harbor View neighborhood was purchased for $326,500 in 2003, or $456,780 in today's dollars. It sold again in 2007 for $415,000 ($521,173, inflation adjusted). And, most recently on April 5, sold for $507,000.
Its property taxes in the last year actually fell 14.16 percent.
In Chicago's Forest Glen neighborhood, the 1,195-square-foot single-family home at 4901 W. Balmoral Ave. recently sold for $275,000, according to Zillow.
In 2005, Mindy Marshall paid $420,000 for the two-bedroom, two-bath Cape Cod-style home. Her tax bills while owning the property totaled $67,125, for an effective property tax rate of 24.41 percent.
Marshall saw the tax bill climb from $4,364 in the first year that she owned the home to $6,246 last year.
No doubt, that 43.13 percent increase had something to do with Marshall losing the home to foreclosure in 2018.
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Effective Property Tax Rates for Chicago's North Side July 1-Dec. 31, 2018
| Neighborhood | Effective Tax Rate | Median Tax Rate | Median Sale Price |
| Near North | 2.91% | $4,654 | $160,000 |
| Wrigleyville | 2.01% | $8,661 | $431,500 |
| Forest Glen | 1.87% | $3,609 | $192,500 |
| Ravenswood | 1.82% | $7,181 | $394,500 |
| Mayfair | 1.82% | $5,135 | $282,500 |
| Andersonville | 1.78% | $7,966 | $447,500 |
| North Park | 1.78% | $5,072 | $285,000 |
| Roscoe Village | 1.74% | $9,554 | $547,500 |
| West Rogers Park | 1.74% | $4,181 | $240,000 |
| Albany Park | 1.72% | $5,051 | $294,500 |
| North Mayfair | 1.64% | $5,016 | $305,000 |
| Edison Park | 1.64% | $5,637 | $343,750 |
| Gold Coast | 1.64% | $5,542 | $338,000 |
| North Center | 1.64% | $9,664 | $590,000 |
| Belmont/Cragin | 1.62% | $4,155 | $257,000 |
| Montclare | 1.59% | $4,066 | $255,000 |
| Norwood Park | 1.58% | $5,021 | $318,000 |
| Lincoln Square | 1.57% | $8,224 | $525,000 |
| Edgebrook | 1.56% | $7,469 | $477,500 |
| Lakeview | 1.50% | $6,762 | $450,000 |
| Portage Park | 1.49% | $4,559 | $305,000 |
| Big Oaks | 1.49% | $4,157 | $278,250 |
| Sauganash | 1.49% | $6,452 | $432,000 |
| Streeterville | 1.48% | $4,652 | $315,000 |
| River North | 1.47% | $5,669 | $385,000 |
| Union Ridge | 1.46% | $3,925 | $268,750 |
| Avondale | 1.45% | $5,787 | $400,000 |
| Old Town | 1.44% | $4,623 | $320,000 |
| Jefferson Park | 1.44% | $4,679 | $326,000 |
| Edgewater | 1.43% | $2,499 | $175,250 |
| Oriole Park | 1.42% | $4,074 | $286,500 |
| Uptown | 1.42% | $3,204 | $225,500 |
| Lincoln Park | 1.41% | $7,762 | $550,000 |
| Boystown | 1.39% | $3,281 | $235,500 |
| Goose Island | 1.38% | $6,039 | $437,500 |
| O'Hare | 1.33% | $4,045 | $305,000 |
| Rogers Park | 1.31% | $2,284 | $175,000 |
| Buena Park | 1.18% | $2,778 | $235,000 |
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