How much house can I afford in Illinois?

All-in cost first, always. Estimate only — not a loan quote or pre-approval.

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Illinois at a glance

Median home price
$315,000
Typical closing costs
2%–5% of price
Transfer tax
0.1% of sale price, customarily paid by seller
Closing custom
attorney
Homestead exemption
Illinois's General Homestead Exemption (GHE, 35 ILCS 200/15-175) reduces a primary residence's equalized assessed value (EAV) by up to $10,000 in Cook County, $8,000 in counties contiguous to Cook (DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, Will), and $6,000 in all other counties. It is not automatic in every county — homeowners typically must apply once with their county assessor/supervisor of assessments (Cook County re-verifies periodically); Cook County has since moved to an auto-renewal system for many existing recipients. Illinois also offers several other exemptions not modeled here that can stack with GHE for eligible households: the Senior Citizens Homestead Exemption, the Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze, the Home Improvement Exemption, and the Homestead Exemption for Persons with Disabilities.

First-time buyer / down payment assistance programs

  • IHDAccess Home

    Illinois Housing Development Authority's flagship first-time (and veteran/targeted-area) homebuyer product: a 30-year fixed-rate first mortgage (FHA, VA, USDA-RD, or conventional) paired with down payment/closing-cost assistance of 6% of the purchase price, up to $15,000, as a 0%-interest second mortgage. Repayment is deferred up to 30 years and due only when the home is sold, refinanced, or no longer owner-occupied.

  • IHDAccess Forgivable

    IHDA down payment/closing-cost assistance alternative to Access Home: a forgivable second mortgage equal to 4% of the purchase price, up to $6,000, with no monthly payment and no repayment owed if the borrower remains in the home through a 10-year forgiveness period. Paired with the same 30-year fixed-rate first mortgage options (FHA/VA/USDA-RD/conventional); open to first-time and repeat buyers statewide.

Continue calculating

Mortgage payment calculator

Estimated all-in monthly payment for a home price you have in mind.

First-time buyer programs

Check which down payment assistance programs you likely qualify for.

Take-home pay calculator

What actually reaches your account after federal tax, FICA, and your state's own brackets — with local income tax disclosed rather than guessed at.

Related reading

Closing Costs in Illinois: What You'll Actually Pay

9 min read

Illinois's state transfer tax is only 0.1%, but Chicago stacks city and county tax to about 0.9% — nine times as much. What a $315,000 close really costs.

What Is PMI, and How Do You Get Rid of It?

15 min read

Private mortgage insurance explained in plain English — what it costs, why it exists, the exact federal rules for cancelling it, and how to work out the month your PMI is scheduled to end.

Guides & templates

Buying a Home With Someone Else

$4.99

The operational guide to buying property with a partner, friend, sibling, or parent — credit and DTI mechanics, title vesting, a clause-by-clause co-ownership agreement, and how the exit actually works.

The First-Time Buyer's Playbook: 12 Months to Closing Day

$4.99

A month-by-month plan for the year before you buy: what to do in each phase, what never to touch, how to document every dollar, and how to survive closing day.