Knowledge Base
Tutorials, guides, and videos to using Chicago Cityscape
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Have a question you can't find the answer to? Request a guide
Chicago Cityscape's Address Snapshot is a key tool for valuing any property in Cook County prior to purchase. Specifically, you can find comps and nearby property sales, understand the value-add opportunity, identify financial & development incentives, locate nearby development, and see where amenities & community assets are.
To use this guide, first look up the address and get an Address Snapshot report. Once on the Address Snapshot report page, it's ideal to select the PIN for that address as the platform can show you more information about that property.
In the Address Snapshot report, click on "Property Finder" in the Table of Contents to jump down to the many property maps. Locate the "Property sales" section and click the "Load property sales" button.
A map and table will load showing the most recent 5 sales within a block of the address you looked up. There are filters on the right to narrow down the sales to those of the same property class, are located up to 1 mile away, or were sold in a price range you specify.
The property sales data goes back to 2016 and is updated quarterly. It includes all property sales subject to Real Estate Transfer Tax (and some that aren't) of properties in all real estate sectors.
Every Address Snapshot in Chicago comes with an automated Zoning Assessment. If you chose a PIN-based Address Snapshot (recommended), the Zoning Assessment's Housing Calculator will estimate the number of dwelling units that are allowed (based on the parcel size and the minimum lot area per unit standard). If the existing property has between 1 and 6 units, inclusive, the Housing Calculator will estimate the number of units that can be added to the existing property.
Additionally, every Address Snapshot in Chicago indicates if the property is eligible to have an ADU, whether a backyard house or interior apartment.
Incentives Checker is exclusive to Chicago Cityscape and checks if any of ~30 financial & development incentives are available to development at any location in Illinois. We check for the most incentives in Chicago, and the second most in Cook County.
Click on "Incentives Checker" in the Address Snapshot's table of contents, and then click "Load Incentives Checker".
These incentives include Enterprise Zones (where construction material purchases can have state sales tax waived), Tax Increment Financing districts, Opportunity Areas identified by the Illinois Housing Development Authority, and Difficult Development Areas (which are useful to LIHTC developers).
Incentives Checker is also available at the area level in Place Snapshot.
Before you dive in and purchase a property, it helps to know what's going on in the neighborhood. Chicago Cityscape tracks news and development, posting proposed projects, renderings, and articles to our map.
Click on "Images, News, & Developments" in the table of contents, and then click "Load images, news & developments". A map and table will appear to show the nearest and most recent postings.
Quickly surmise what amenities and community assets are nearby. Our database will show you restaurants, cafés, schools, medical clinics, bars, libraries and more, all within 1 mile walking distance. There's no need to count them, either, because the number of locations in each category is summarized alongside the map and table.
Click on "Amenities" in the table of contents, and then click "Load amenities".
Collecting all of this information into one platform saves time and energy, ensures nothing is forgotten in your due diligence, and offers exclusive features.