What Is the Cost to Sell a House in Chicago?

What are common expenses for home sellers in Chicago?

The total cost to sell a house in Chicago depends on your specific situation. You can probably expect to run into these common expenses for home sellers in Chicago:

• Home preparation
• Realtor® fees in Chicago
• Seller concessions
• Closing costs
• Attorney fees

Home preparation

Many factors influence the cost of preparing your home for sale, including the home’s size, age, and level of wear and tear. The following price estimates are a guide to assist you in preparing to sell your home.

• Home repairs (based on home maintenance cost): $2,458
• Home staging: $1,500-$4,000 
• Professional cleaning services (deep cleaning): $180 to $375
• Paint for interior spaces: $967-$3,075
• Landscaping work: $1,249-$6,071
• Pre-listing inspection: $296-$424, if desired or needed

We estimate that the cost for you to prepare your home for sale in Chicago ranges from $6,650 to $16,403. You may pay more if you decide to build a structure for greater buyer appeal, such as a gazebo, or need to paint the house, which can cost $1.50 to $4 per square foot. The prep costs can represent 2%-7% of your home’s sale price.

Prepping your house for sale is most likely a good investment and will attract more buyers. “Buyers, especially first-time homebuyers, are shying away from anything that needs much work,” Valdez says.

The potential cost is why it’s vital to consult with your realtor before undertaking any large renovation projects or repairs. An experienced local real estate agent will know what needs to be fixed and what you can skip to sell your house faster and for more money.

Realtor® fees in Chicago

Agent commissions are one of the higher costs in a real estate transaction. Historically, sellers typically paid the commission for both their agent and the buyer’s agent, which meant higher overall commission costs (6% of the home’s sale price, split between the two agents). With the landmark NAR lawsuit settlement, sellers are no longer required to offer a commission to the buyer’s agent, shifting the responsibility for that fee to the buyer themselves. 

The new commission structure lowers seller’s costs, as they would only cover their listing agent’s fee or 3% of the home’s sale price. However, in some cases, sellers might still need to offer a good commission to get buyer’s agents interested. 

Let’s break down the agent commissions based on Chicago’s median home value of $355,000: 

• If you cover both the listing agent and buyer’s agent fees, your total commission would be $21,300. 
• If you only pay the 3% listing agent commission, your cost would be $10,650.

This may seem like a lot, but partnering with a proven professional can make a huge difference in your final net proceeds. Our data shows that the top 5% of agents across the U.S. sell homes for as much as 10% more than the average real estate agent.

For illustration, your median price home is $355,000. If you use a top agent, you may sell your home for as much as $35,500 above the asking price. In that case, a 10% higher selling price can make the Realtor fee a profitable investment, and the journey is so much easier with an experienced professional guiding you every step.

See how commissions impact total selling costs in our overview example chart later in this story.

Try HomeLight’s Agent Commissions Calculator to get an idea of how much you might pay in Realtor® fees in Chicago.

HomeLight’s free Agent Match platform can connect you with a top real estate agent in your market.

Seller concessions

Seller concessions are another cost to sell a house in Chicago. These are indirect costs you offer to the buyer to make your home more attractive. As of writing though, Chicago is a seller’s market with strong buyer demand, giving you more leverage at the negotiating table.

Nonetheless, it’s important to be aware of the concessions you can provide to expedite the home sale or alleviate buyer concerns. Here’s an overview of the buyer incentives you can provide and how they contribute to the cost to sell a house in Chicago:

• Home inspection fees: $296-$424
• Home warranty: $80 to $8,100
• Buyer’s closing costs: $12,277
• Repair credit

As previously stated, Chicago’s market did not experience the wild swings that the rest of the country experienced. Sellers still have the upper hand.

“It’s very difficult [for buyers] to get seller concessions just because you’re going to have more than one offer at a single time and people are waiving certain parts of the contract,” Valdez says. That means you probably will not need to make any seller concessions, but you should know the costs.

Closing costs and additional fees

So what closing costs do sellers typically pay in Chicago? It depends, but the total seller costs can add up.

Closing costs are fees associated with a home purchase that buyers and sellers pay at the close of a real estate transaction. The average seller closing cost total in Chicago can vary widely because of variable high-dollar factors such as mortgage payoff amounts, taxes, and title fees. Based on our research, closing costs can be 6% to 10% of the home’s selling price, which is between $21,300 and $35,500.

Here is how some of the average costs might look:

• Certificate of zoning compliance: $120
• Survey of property lines: $462-$575 
• Escrow fee: $3,550-$7,100 (1%-2% of $355,000)
• Title insurance premiums: $2,050
• Title fees: $3,000+ (depending on the price of the home, deposit, and loan amount)
• Title transfer taxes: $1,065
• Homeowner’s association dues: $312
• Mortgage loan payoff: Mortgage balance + early pay-off fee
• Reconveyance recording fees: $50 to $150
• Tax proration seller credit: Up to $7,455

Chicago sellers are also responsible for a tax proration seller credit, paying a portion of the property taxes for the current tax year up to the closing date. These taxes are paid in arrears, meaning taxes are assessed for the previous year but paid in the current year. In Cook County, sellers see a tax proration of 110% of the previous year’s total tax bill.

When you sell your property, you must provide the buyer with a credit for the portion of the calendar year that you owned and lived in your home. Suppose you sell it on July 1. You would provide an additional amount as a prorated tax credit for the time you occupied the home (January 1 to July 1).

Attorney fees

Hiring an attorney is a common cost to sell a home in Chicago.

“I’ve done a lot of transactions, and every single one of them has had an attorney. Sometimes people come in from other states and think that they don’t need one. Eventually, they run into an emergency that requires an attorney,” Valdez says.

While it’s not required by state law, hiring an attorney is a standard operating practice in most typical Chicago real estate transactions, especially for reviewing and approving title documents.

At-a-glance home selling cost example for Chicago

This at-glance analysis is based on the median home sold price of $355,000 in Chicago. These figures can be a helpful planning tool for you as you prepare to sell your home.

Selling expense	Example cost	% of the  home sale price
Home preparation	$7,100	2%
Realtor fees (commissions)	$10,650	3%
Seller concessions	$533 (inspection)	0.15%
Closing costs, taxes, fees (includes tax proration credit)	$21,300	6%
Mortgage payoff (state average)	$194,636	55%
Attorney Fees	$710	0.2%
Total selling cost example	$234,929	66%

*Based on Chicago’s median sold home price of $355,000

In the example above, if you’ve successfully sold your home for $355,000, you could potentially make a profit of $120,071. That’s a nice tidy sum!

Relocation expenses

Don’t forget relocation costs! You have to move somewhere, after all. The cost of moving depends on where you are moving and whether you want movers to pack up your belongings. Here is the general cost to move after you sell your home:

• Typical cost to move: $884-$2,570
• Typical cost to move out of state: $2,000-$7,000

How can I reduce my seller costs in Chicago?

There are several ways to reduce the cost to sell a house in Chicago. Some strategies are more effective than others.

Some of the things that you can do to reduce seller costs include:

• Make DIY repairs where possible
• Negotiate a lower commission with your real estate agent
• Use a discount-commission agent or brokerage
• Put your home up for sale by owner (FSBO)
• Do not offer seller concessions or buyer incentives
• If you agree to pay closing costs or offer a repair credit, raise your home’s purchase price
• Avoid the urge to over-improve or make unnecessary fixes
• Sell your house off-market
• Time your home sale using HomeLight’s Best Time to Sell Calculator
• Use a top-performing agent with a proven list-to-sell ratio

But do note that using a discount broker or going the FSBO route can mean more work for you and less money in the long run. A discount broker may give you limited support and less personalized advice.

On the other hand, navigating the real estate market on your own is challenging and not common. According to NAR, only 6% of home sales are FSBOs. Moreover, FSBO homes sold for a median of $380,000 in 2023, significantly lower than agent-assisted homes at $435,000.

A top real estate agent will know the market and be able to provide the seller value. “With a Realtor®, you’re paying for professional advice. For instance, a discount broker might not offer value propositions that an experienced and professional broker can,” Valdez says.

No one wants to pay money, but reducing your seller costs in the Chicago market might not be the right play. In most cases, doing nothing to the house means reducing or limiting your buyer pool. You want to do enough to entice your buyer.

“The house has to capture the buyer’s attention. We go into a property and make recommendations,” Valdez says. Those recommendations are the “minimum number of upgrades that make financial sense to close a sale.”

How much will I make selling my Chicago home?

Several factors play a role in the net proceeds you’ll make on your home sale, including:

• Method of selling (agent, FSBO, cash buyer, or iBuyer)
• Cost of repairs and improvements
• Total concessions or buyer incentives
• Closing costs, including state, county, and local taxes
• Mortgage balance payoff amount

The mortgage payoff amount is typically the most significant determining factor for calculating your net proceeds. The average Illinois homeowner has a remaining mortgage balance of $194,636.

If you’ve paid off your mortgage before selling your home, you can calculate your profits by taking the sale price minus selling costs. Ask your agent for a net sheet to be sure of your calculations.

The timing of your home sale is a determining factor in how much you will make. You want to strike when the iron is hot, and for most people, that means listing your house in spring and selling by the early summer. Typically, families want to be in their new home before the next school year.

Use HomeLight’s Best Time to Sell Calculator to decide when to sell for the most money or the speediest. You may be able to list your home in March and sell it by June for 5.95%, or $21,123 more than normal.

Try HomeLight’s free Net Proceeds Calculator to get how much you might make selling your Chicago home.

As you look ahead to your next home purchase, try these other free HomeLight tools for buyers:

• Home Affordability Calculator
• Down Payment Calculator
• Closing Costs Calculator

Know what to expect, plan, and partner with a top agent

The first step in determining the cost to sell a house in Chicago is to get a home value estimate.

Then you need to make a plan to maximize your profits. Our data shows that the top 5% of agents across the U.S. sell homes for as much as 10% more than the average real estate agent. HomeLight’s free Agent Match platform can connect you with a top real estate agent in your market.

Typically, the cost to sell a house in Chicago is 14% or more of your home’s final sale price.

That 14% comes from the cost of:

• Home preparation
• Realtor® fees
• Seller concessions
• Closing costs
• Taxes (state, county, and Chicago)
• Tax proration

Your mortgage payoff is also a tremendous expense when you decide to sell your home. Typically, it can amount to about 50% or more of your total costs.
HomeLight’s Agent Match can connect you with the highest-performing agents in your market who can help you make the best of your home sale. See our data-backed list of the top real estate agents in Chicago.

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