Dupage Policy Journal

Illinois' highest-in-the-nation property taxes are eroding home equity and depressing home values across the state. This report is part of a DuPage Policy Journal series on recent home sales that demonstrate the consequences.

The home: 901 S. Park Ave. in Hinsdale.

This 21,100-square-foot home includes 8 bedrooms, 14 baths, a 4-car garage, crystal chandeliers, a reception hall, a resort-style indoor pool, sprawling gardens and the Southeast Hinsdale Pond, all on a 1.4-acre park-like estate.

The seller: Town and Country Homes founder William Ryan and his wife Mary built this Hinsdale mansion in 1978.  

William Ryan was one of the largest residential builders in metropolitan Chicago.  He began Town & Country homes in the Oak Brook area in 1958, expanding later into a national market.  Ryan sold the business to Hovnanian Enterprises in 2005.

Since the sale of the business, the Ryans have been actively involved in philanthropic pursuits within the community.

Their Hinsdale mansion has been on the market since 2016.

The purchase: The couple built the home in 1978 during the height of the company’s growth. 

The sale: William and Mary Ryan sold the estate on November 6 for $3.5 million to an undisclosed buyer, which was $3.2 million less than the original listing price. 

The Ryans originally listed the home for $6.7 million in August 2016.  The sale price was reduced further over the years with a final listing price of $4.299 million in October. Even with this reduction, the house still sold for nearly a million less. 

Other homeowners in the area have also been forced to settle for less than their asking price, like the nearby “Villa Taj” mansion which recently sold for $7 million, nearly $4 million less than the original asking price. 

The property taxes: The Ryans paid $92,138 in property taxes in 2017, or about 3 percent of the recent sale price.