Counties with the lowest home prices in Illinois

The real estate market is booming right now thanks to low interest rates, a flood of millennial buyers, and shrinking inventory. The median cost of a home has increased 20% year over year, hitting $347,500, according to a report released in April 2020 by real estate listing website Redfin. These high asking costs—while good for sellers—are pricing many buyers out of the market entirely.

But all things are not equal when it comes to real estate in the United States.

Credible used 2021 data calculated by the National Association of REALTORS to compile a list of counties with the lowest median home values and monthly mortgage payments in Illinois. Counties were ranked by the monthly mortgage payment for a typical home in 2020, from lowest to highest. Ties were broken by median home values in 2020.

The National Association of REALTORS calculated the fourth quarter 2020 median home values by applying the Federal Housing Finance Agency's House Price Index growth to 2019 housing and population data from the American Community Survey and determining an estimate of 2020 median home values for all counties where data is available. The monthly mortgage payments for fourth quarter 2019 and fourth quarter 2020 were calculated for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with a 10% down payment.

Keep reading to discover which county in Illinois has the lowest home prices.