6579 Church St. | Zillow
6579 Church St. | Zillow
When it opened in fall 2005, Hanover Park’s Church Street Station promised “urban style living in the suburbs.”
The 126-unit development, by Neumann Homes, was built across the street from the Hanover Park Metra station and “targeted homeowners looking for easy access to transportation” according to a Daily Herald report.
Vipul Shah was one of them. He paid $309,500 -- $386,433 in today’s dollars -- for a three-bedroom, three-bathroom, 1,966-square-foot end unit in June 2006.
Shah sold 6579 Church St. on Feb. 28 for $208,000
He paid $68,779 in property taxes over 12 years of ownership, with his taxes rising from $5,343 (a 1.7 percent effective rate) to $8,636 last year (4.2 percent).
Homeowners in Hanover Park, Glendale Heights and Wayne saw the highest effective tax rates in Dupage County in the second part of 2018, according to an analysis by Local Government Services (LGIS), which publishes the Dupage Policy Journal.
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 Dupage County communities surveyed by LGIS, 17 have effective property tax rates higher than the state average. Glendale Heights topped the list with a 4.27 percent tax rate, Hanover Park was second at 2.97 percent and Wayne came in third with an 2.87 percent rate.
In Church Street Station, Shah wasn’t alone in his plight.
Radiologist Umesh Amind paid $293,000 for his two-bedroom, three-bath unit in February 2007, or $356,307 in today’s dollars.
Amind sold 6571 Church St. on Jan 6 for $192,500.
$11,380 vs. $4,173
His property taxes rose from $5,199 in 2007 (1.8 percent) to $7,114 this year (3.7 percent). Amind paid $67,500 in property taxes over 11 years of ownership.
In unincorporated Glen Ellyn, Brian and Gina Newton sold their five-bedroom, four-bath home at 323 Birchbrook Court for $460,000 on Feb 28.
They paid $500,000 for it-- $644,424 in today’s dollars-- in November 2005.
Over 13 years, the Newtons paid $124,457 in property taxes on 323 Birchbrook Court, including $11,380 last year, an effective rate of 2.5 percent.
When they bought the home in 2005, its property taxes were $7,026, or 1.4 percent.
Bedroom community homes like the Newtons are increasingly competing with similar buys in lower-tax states.
A four bedroom, 2.5 bath in Crown Point, Indiana sold last fall for $460,000; its taxes were $4,173, or 0.9 percent. Indiana enforces a hard, 1 percent cap on property taxes.
A buyer of the identically priced Crown Point home pays $348 per month in property taxes, versus $948 in Glen Ellyn. The $600 difference amounts to $100,000 more in purchasing power for a buyer, who could afford a $560,000 home in Indiana for the same monthly payment.
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Dupage County Effective Property Tax Rates July 1-Dec. 31, 2018
| Community | Effective Tax Rate | Median Tax Bill | Median Sale Price |
| Glendale Heights | 4.27% | $5,552 | $130,000 |
| Hanover Park | 2.97% | $5,338 | $180,000 |
| Wayne | 2.87% | $12,182 | $425,000 |
| Bartlett | 2.69% | $7,674 | $285,000 |
| Carol Stream | 2.62% | $6,231 | $237,750 |
| Roselle | 2.60% | $5,881 | $226,000 |
| Woodridge | 2.60% | $6,627 | $255,000 |
| Bensenville | 2.57% | $4,942 | $192,500 |
| Aurora | 2.55% | $5,697 | $223,000 |
| Winfield | 2.54% | $7,266 | $286,250 |
| Bloomingdale | 2.52% | $6,671 | $265,000 |
| West Chicago | 2.50% | $5,914 | $236,750 |
| Glen Ellyn | 2.44% | $8,602 | $352,000 |
| Lombard | 2.35% | $5,641 | $240,000 |
| St. Charles | 2.35% | $4,903 | $208,250 |
| Wheaton | 2.34% | $7,378 | $315,000 |
| Warrenville | 2.32% | $4,639 | $200,000 |
| Clarendon Hills | 2.25% | $8,773 | $389,500 |
| Glenbard South | 2.22% | $7,112 | $320,000 |
| Bolingbrook | 2.21% | $6,619 | $299,500 |
| Lisle | 2.18% | $7,028 | $322,500 |
| Naperville | 2.18% | $7,532 | $345,000 |
| Itasca | 2.16% | $6,207 | $287,000 |
| Addison | 2.12% | $5,239 | $247,500 |
| Wood Dale | 2.12% | $4,865 | $229,000 |
| Darien | 2.04% | $5,954 | $292,250 |
| Villa Park | 2.03% | $5,074 | $250,000 |
| Burr Ridge | 2.00% | $10,722 | $536,500 |
| Downers Grove | 1.90% | $5,881 | $310,000 |
| Dupage City | 1.89% | $2,327 | $123,000 |
| Elmhurst | 1.89% | $7,433 | $392,250 |
| Medinah | 1.84% | $6,669 | $362,000 |
| Westmont | 1.76% | $4,916 | $280,000 |
| Oakbrook Terrace | 1.75% | $4,729 | $271,000 |
| Hinsdale | 1.74% | $13,455 | $773,750 |
| York Center | 1.66% | $2,617 | $158,000 |
| Willowbrook | 1.43% | $2,726 | $190,000 |
| Oak Brook | 1.38% | $10,144 | $735,000 |
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