Property sales volume in Evanston has lagged year-ago levels for four of the past five months.
Property sales volume in Evanston has lagged year-ago levels for four of the past five months.
For the city’s fiscal year ending in February, real estate transfers on which taxes were paid dropped 15 percent to 1,805 compared to 2,125 the previous year.
The average selling price of homes and other property covered by the transfer tax was up 13 percent for the year, to $451,461 from $399,702. In February, the average selling price was $471,993 compared to $374,235 a year earlier.
Total real estate transfer tax receipts for the fiscal year fell 4 percent below year ago levels, and met the city’s $4 million budget target with just $7,444 to spare. The transfer tax is charged at a rate of $5 per $1,000 of selling price.
The largest transaction reported in February was the $7.4 million sale of a courtyard apartment building at 834-840 Judson Ave.
The transfer tax figures include both commercial and residential property, but exclude transactions involving tax-exempt entities and transactions between related parties for which no market price is established. There were 54 exempt transations last month.