SELL YOUR HOME · ELMWOOD PARK, IL 60707

Selling your house in Elmwood Park

Belmont Avenue is your street too. We’re on it.

Our office sits on Belmont, a few blocks from Elmwood Park’s northern edge. Here sellers pay the highest village transfer tax of the four towns we cover, and the “median price” depends on whether condos are counted. John Szurzynski has priced homes here since 2000. Obsługa po polsku.

GET MY ELMWOOD PARK VALUE CALL (773) 407-4077

$308–345K

median sale, by source (2026)

50 days

median time on market

99.4%

of list price

$5 / $1,000

village tax, paid by the seller

Sources: Houzeo MLS data and RealtyTrac (60707), 2026; Cook County Clerk. [Replace with Executive Home Realty MLS data.]

WHICH MEDIAN IS YOURS?

One village, two markets.

Elmwood Park packs about 24,000 people into under two square miles — one of the most densely settled suburbs in the country. Its condo buildings along North Avenue and Harlem sell for far less than its houses, so a median that mixes them tells a house seller very little.

Look at size instead. A typical single-family house here is about 85 years old and 1,445 square feet, and the third and fourth bedrooms are where the value jumps.

TYPICAL ELMWOOD PARK VALUE BY SIZE

1 bedroom (mostly condos)
$135K

2 bedrooms
$262K

3 bedrooms
$361K

4 bedrooms
$421K

THE ELMWOOD PARK TRANSFER TAX

The highest of the four. Plan for it.

Elmwood Park charges $5 for every $1,000 of the sale price and puts it on the seller, on top of the Illinois and Cook County stamps. On the same $400,000 sale, here is what the village alone takes in each town we cover:

VILLAGE TAX PAID BY THE SELLER · $400,000 SALE

Elmwood Park
$2,000

Park Ridge
$800

Norridge
$0 (inspection & stamp fees only)

Harwood Heights
$0 (the buyer pays 1%)

ELMWOOD PARK SELLER, ALL TRANSFER TAXES

$250,000 condo
$1,625

$345,000 median
$2,242.50

$450,000 house
$2,925

State $1.00 + county $0.50 + village $5.00 per $1,000. Rates: Cook County Clerk, Illinois Realtors. Confirm with your closing attorney. Not legal or tax advice.

WHAT BUYERS PAY FOR HERE

Sell the location, not just the house.

Metra to the Loop

The Elmwood Park station at 7600 W Grand is on the Milwaukee District West line, about 10 miles from Union Station. Walking distance to it is worth stating in your listing.

Grand Avenue underpass

The village is moving Grand Avenue under the tracks at what has been called the Chicago area’s longest grade crossing, with $40.1 million secured as of 2025. Buyers near Grand and Harlem ask about it — we have the answers ready.

Older, smaller, solid

Average single-family homes are 85 years old. Updated mechanicals, a finished basement and a garage do more for price here than cosmetic work.

PROPERTY TAX & YOUR SALE

Leyden Township
was reassessed in 2025.

Elmwood Park is in Leyden Township, which the Cook County Assessor revalued in 2025. The new values reach the second-installment bills issued in 2026. That is the bill your buyer’s lender will use, and the basis for the property-tax credit you give the buyer at closing, because Cook County taxes are paid a year behind.

The Assessor’s own report put the 2024 median single-family sale in the township at $334,000, against a median assessed market value of $301,000. Before you list, check that your bill carries every exemption you qualify for — buyers compare tax bills line by line.

Source: Cook County Assessor, Leyden Township 2025 values.

BEFORE CLOSING IN ELMWOOD PARK

The village stamp, step by step.

Elmwood Park inspects every property before it sells — twice — and the first inspection comes before you can even advertise. The rules cover houses, condos and commercial property, whether you sell through an agent or on your own.

No yard sign and no open house until the Listing inspection is done.

Notify the village and pass the Listing inspection first. We file the paperwork the week you decide to sell, so your marketing starts on schedule.

BEFORE LISTING

Notification of Proposed Sale + Listing inspection

UNDER CONTRACT

Stamp Declaration, unsigned deed, PTAX form

5+ WORKING DAYS OUT

Book the final Transfer Stamp inspection

DAY BEFORE / OF CLOSING

Final water bill paid; stamps issued about 24 hours before closing

01

Notify the village

File the Notification of Proposed Sale with Code Administration at Village Hall and schedule the Listing inspection.
Near closing, submit the Transfer Stamp Declaration, signed by at least one seller, with a copy of the unsigned deed and the Illinois PTAX declaration.

02

Two inspections, no fee

A Listing inspection when you notify the village, then a final Transfer Stamp inspection near closing. Give five working days’ notice.
Visual and non-invasive: electrical, plumbing, building, property maintenance, fire code and zoning.
Fix any deficiencies before the stamps are issued, or the buyer signs a village form taking on the repairs.

03

Final water bill

Arrange a final meter reading. A Water Billing Affidavit is part of the stamp process.
Pay the final bill and any delinquent water, sewer or village charges the day before or the day of closing.
Personal checks are accepted for the water bill.

04

Pay the $5 / $1,000 stamp

Seller-paid: $5.00 per $1,000 of the price or fraction of it, minimum $35. A $345,000 sale = $1,725.
Cashier’s check, certified check, money order or cash. No personal checks.
The stamps must be on the deed before it can be recorded.

Smoke and CO detectors: no exceptions

Working smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors must be installed before any stamp is released — including foreclosures and short sales. It is the simplest item to fix and the easiest one to delay a closing.

Exempt transfers

Moving a home into a trust or changing names on a deed still needs a village stamp: a $35 administration fee and a current water bill.

Village of Elmwood Park · Code Administration

Village Hall, 11 Conti Parkway
(708) 452-3942 · 452-3948 · 452-3920
elmwoodpark.org — current forms