Block Club Chicago: Real Estate Transfer Taxes Would Drop For Most Under Johnson-Backed Homelessness Prevention Proposal

By Quinn Myers, August 23, 2023

CHICAGO — A plan to raise the city’s real estate transfer tax on higher end property sales to generate funding for homelessness services has landed Mayor Brandon Johnson’s blessing — albeit with some significant changes from how it was originally proposed.

The Bring Chicago Home initiative has for years called for the city to increase the tax rate buyers pay on property sales over $1 million, with the additional funds raised dedicated to providing permanent affordable housing and wraparound services for unhoused Chicagoans.