The calculator below is pre-filled with Cook County's own property tax rate and insurance average (expand "More options" to see or edit them) — not just Illinois's statewide figures.
County data last updated 2026-08-20. FIPS 17031. Full source list on /methodology.
All-in cost first, always — pre-filled with Cook County tax and insurance figures. Estimate only, not a loan quote or pre-approval.
Not your state? Find your calculator here.
Tell us your income and savings instead, and we'll work out the max home price and a qualification signal for Illinois.
How much house can I afford in Illinois? →Fewer listings, fewer buyers, and sellers who have a reason to be on the market in December. Here is what a winter discount is actually worth on a $400,000 house — in monthly payment, in lifetime interest, and in the seller concessions a quiet market makes possible — and the three ways a winter purchase goes wrong.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.