Kendall County

Kendall County posts a gross rent-to-price ratio of 0.072, which translates to a 4.68% cap rate on a median-priced asset at $395,398. That cap rate lands in the middle of the spectrum: better than a pure appreciation play, not good enough to carry the property on leverage. At 6.85% financing, the math confirms it, producing estimated monthly cash flow of negative $529 and a cash-on-cash return of negative 6.98% on a $79,080 down payment. Year-over-year price growth of 3.21% is real but moderate, not enough on its own to justify absorbing that carry loss unless you have a longer time horizon and high conviction on continued appreciation. The overall score of 63 out of 100, ranking 295th nationally out of 1,000 counties and in the 62nd percentile, puts Kendall in the upper-middle tier nationally but only 70th out of 102 Illinois counties, which tells you it is not an outlier within its own state.

The cash-flow score of 72 and appreciation score of 81 together describe a market that leans toward appreciation but offers more rent coverage than most. The negative leveraged cash flow means this county suits an appreciation-oriented buyer better than a cash-flow operator, particularly one who can bring a larger down payment to reduce the mortgage load or who targets properties below the median where rent yields may be tighter on absolute dollar terms but more favorable by percentage. A value-add operator hunting distressed assets in the $300,000-$340,000 range, where rent levels remain in the $2,300s, would close the gap materially. An all-cash or near-cash buyer captures the 4.68% cap rate clean, which is competitive relative to many high-cost suburban Chicago markets. The affordability index of 45 and the corresponding score of 45 signal that tenant demand could be constrained over time if wages do not keep pace with home prices, a meaningful consideration for underwriting future rent growth.

The property tax picture is the sharpest underwriting issue in this market. Illinois carries a state-average effective rate of 2.27% (Tax Foundation 2024 estimate, with the honest caveat that actual county and township rates in Kendall may differ), which at a $395,398 purchase price produces $8,976 in annual taxes alone. Add $1,068 in estimated annual insurance and the combined monthly tax-and-insurance load is $837, essentially a full additional mortgage payment sitting on top of principal and interest. At 2.27%, this rate deserves its own line on your underwrite and should be stress-tested against the county assessor's actual levy before you sign anything. Investors accustomed to Sun Belt markets where effective tax rates run 0.50%-0.90% will find this to be a structural drag that does not disappear with appreciation.

Looking at the neighboring counties in the data, DuPage County is the most relevant comparison: median home price of $416,478, median rent of $2,039, and a rent-to-price ratio of 0.059 against Kendall's 0.072. Kendall is meaningfully cheaper to buy into and generates better relative rent coverage, which is the core argument for choosing it over DuPage despite DuPage's slightly higher overall score of 66 versus 63. Monroe County illustrates the low end: $327,942 median price but $1,285 median rent produces a rent-to-price ratio of 0.047, the weakest in the comparison set, making it a poor trade-off even at the lower entry point. Calhoun and Greene counties offer prices as low as $106,001 and $184,783, with overall scores of 65 and 61, but neither provides rent data in this dataset, so the actual yield picture there is opaque. Bond County scores highest of the neighbors at 67 with a $154,738 median price, but again, no rent figures are provided to evaluate actual cash flow.

The case for Kendall over its comparables comes down to this: an investor who wants suburban Chicago exposure, believes in the long-term demand from households priced out of DuPage, and can either put more equity in or buy below median to close the cash-flow gap will find Kendall's 0.072 rent-to-price ratio the best-documented yield in this immediate peer group. The stability score of 50 is a caution flag, and the tax burden is not a rounding error. Go in knowing the property tax rate may be higher than the state average used here, run your own county assessor numbers before closing, and build a margin of safety into your rent projections rather than assuming 3%-plus appreciation compounds indefinitely.