By Aidan Sowa · October 2026 · Elmhurst, IllinoisAn Elmhurst homeowner calculates net proceeds the same way a closing statement does: start with the sale price, then subtract every layer in a fixed order, and never skip the conditional layers because they are the ones that move the answer most. On the documented Elmhurst figures, the order is commission first, then seller closing costs, then concessions and repair credits, then carrying costs across the months the sale takes, and finally any mortgage payoff. Run honestly on a $400,000 older home, that worksheet is why a $400,000 list price nets the seller something in the low to mid $300,000s after a normal listed market cycle (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
The worksheet matters because gross price is the number sellers compare and net proceeds are the number sellers actually receive. Two offers that look $20,000 apart on price can finish within a few thousand dollars of each other, or even reverse order, once the layers attached to each route are subtracted. This report gives the worksheet step by step with the documented Elmhurst ranges at each line, works it at $400,000 and again in outline at the city median and at $1,500,000, and shows how the direct off-market route changes which lines appear at all.
Key Findings
- Net proceeds equal the sale price minus commission, closing costs, concessions, repair credits, carrying costs, and any mortgage payoff, in that working order (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
- Commission is the first subtraction: typically 5 to 6 percent, or $20,000 to $24,000 on a $400,000 Elmhurst sale (National Association of Realtors, 2025).
- A survey of 806 agents put average total commission at 5.44 percent nationally and 5.18 percent in Illinois (Clever Real Estate, 2025).
- Seller closing costs are the second subtraction at 1 to 2 percent, and commissions plus closing costs together commonly exceed $24,000 on a $400,000 sale (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
- The conditional layers are large: concessions of $8,000 to $20,000, repair credits of $10,000 to $30,000, and carrying costs of $10,000 to $25,000 across three to six months (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
- Cash closings are a documented part of this market, with 26.7 percent of Elmhurst sales paid in cash at a median sale price of $697,500 in September 2026 (Realty.com, 2026).
What are the first two subtractions every Elmhurst seller should make?
Line one is commission. Take the expected sale price and multiply by the commission rate that will actually be charged, not the rate hoped for. The typical range is 5 to 6 percent (National Association of Realtors, 2025). The surveyed checks sit within it: 5.44 percent as a national average total and 5.18 percent as the Illinois average in a survey of 806 agents (Clever Real Estate, 2025). At $400,000, the subtraction is $20,000 to $24,000 on the typical range, or about $20,720 at the Illinois average. At the September 2026 median of $697,500 (Realty.com, 2026), it is roughly $34,875 to $41,850. At $1,500,000, it is $75,000 to $90,000. Writing the dollar figure, rather than carrying the percentage in your head, is the first discipline of the worksheet, because dollars are what the later lines compete with.
Line two is seller closing costs. The Elmhurst ledger puts these at 1 to 2 percent of the price for title, transfer taxes, and prorations (Frontier Capitals, 2026). At $400,000 that is $4,000 to $8,000. A broader published explainer puts seller closing costs at 1 percent to 3 percent excluding commissions (Houston Association of Realtors, 2026), which gives the worksheet a stress test figure for sellers who want a cautious estimate. Inside this line, one component is exact: the Illinois transfer tax is $1.00 per $1,000 of sale price (Illinois Department of Revenue, 2026), so $400 at the $400,000 level and about $698 at the median. General closing cost guidance for sellers covers the rest of the bundle (Freddie Mac, 2025).
After only these two lines, the $400,000 seller stands at roughly $368,000 to $376,000 on the typical local bands, and the combined floor is the documented one: commissions plus closing costs commonly exceed $24,000 at this price (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Guidance on what recent settlement changes mean for buyers and sellers is relevant here because the split of some of these charges is negotiated rather than automatic (Illinois REALTORS, 2026). A seller who stops the worksheet at this point has an optimistic estimate, not a net. The isolated version of these two lines is laid out in the report on how much it costs to sell a house in Elmhurst.
Which conditional subtractions decide the real answer?
Line three is concessions. On older Elmhurst inventory, buyer concessions run $8,000 to $20,000 in repair credits and price reductions (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Nationally, 46.2 percent of United States home sales included concessions in May, the highest May share on record (Redfin, 2026). The worksheet treatment is simple: if the house is older, carries visible deferred maintenance, or has been listed long enough to weaken the seller position, include a concession line inside that documented range instead of hoping for zero. A worksheet with a zero concession line is a prediction that this sale will land in the favorable half of a documented national pattern.
Line four is repair credits after inspection, which overlaps concessions in spirit but arrives through a different door. On older inventory in Elmhurst, inspection repair credits and price reductions routinely run $10,000 to $30,000 (Frontier Capitals, 2026). The sampled stock was built in 1980 or earlier, so roofs, furnaces, and electrical systems are old enough to generate findings even in a well kept house. A seller can use any pre-listing inspection knowledge to place this line carefully, but cannot responsibly delete it for a pre-1980 house on the listed route.
Line five is time. For an older Elmhurst house on the open market, the stretch from initial showing to a funded closing often runs 60 to 120 plus days, stretching to 90 to 180 days once marketing time is counted (Frontier Capitals, 2026). The ledger prices three to six months of that span at $10,000 to $25,000 in pure hold expense: mortgage payments, taxes, insurance, utilities, and maintenance on a house already decided against. The 14 median days on market in the village snapshot (Realty.com, 2026) does not remove this line for older homes, because that median blends new and renovated stock with the older houses this worksheet describes. Sellers should price the months their own category of house actually takes.
Add lines three through five to the first two and the documented result appears. From $400,000, subtract at least $24,000 in commission and closing, then some combination of concessions, credits, and holding costs that can reasonably total $28,000 to $75,000 across the documented ranges, and the worksheet lands in the low to mid $300,000s (Frontier Capitals, 2026). That is not a pessimistic construction. It is the arithmetic of the local ledger. Sellers hunting for any line they may have missed should compare their worksheet against the report on hidden expenses that reduce profits when selling an Elmhurst home.
How does the worksheet finish, with the mortgage and the final check?
Line six is the mortgage payoff, and it is the line that makes every worksheet individual. Subtract whatever balance remains on the property, taken from the lender payoff figure rather than from a monthly statement estimate. A seller with no mortgage skips the line entirely. A seller with a large balance may find it is the largest single subtraction on the page, larger than commission. This is also the line where the recorded history helps verification: recorded deeds, sale prices, and transfer records for Elmhurst are held in county records (DuPage County Recorder, 2026), so the purchase side of the property story can be confirmed from documents rather than memory.
The final step is a cross-check against reality. Compare the worksheet result with what comparable Elmhurst homes actually closed for, using recorded prices rather than listing prices, because a net proceeds worksheet built on an unrealistic starting price is wrong no matter how careful its subtractions are. The market anchors for that check are documented: a median sale price of $697,500 and a 26.7 percent cash share in September 2026 (Realty.com, 2026), and older homes in the sample changing hands at an average of 26.6 percent of new build prices on comparable lots (Frontier Capitals, 2026). If a worksheet starts from a price the recorded market does not support, fix the first line before refining the rest.
Worked in outline at the median, the same worksheet reads as follows. Start at $697,500. Subtract commission of roughly $34,875 to $41,850 at 5 to 6 percent (National Association of Realtors, 2025), or about $36,131 at the Illinois average of 5.18 percent (Clever Real Estate, 2025). Subtract closing costs of about $6,975 to $13,950 at 1 to 2 percent. Then subtract whatever concession, credit, and carrying lines the condition and the timeline justify, and finally the payoff. Each seller median outcome differs, but the structure never changes, and that structure is the deliverable of this report. The fully worked high end version is in the report on how much a seller keeps after selling a $1.5 million Elmhurst home.
What mistakes most often corrupt an Elmhurst net proceeds worksheet?
Four errors recur, and each one flatters the listed route. The first is using the asking price as the starting line when the recorded market supports a lower closing price: the worksheet should start from what comparable Elmhurst homes actually closed for in county records (DuPage County Recorder, 2026), checked against the documented median of $697,500 and the sampled older home ratio of 26.6 percent of new build prices (Realty.com, 2026; Frontier Capitals, 2026). The second error is entering commission as a hope rather than a range: the typical band is 5 to 6 percent and the surveyed Illinois average is 5.18 percent (National Association of Realtors, 2025; Clever Real Estate, 2025), so a worksheet entered at the very bottom of the band should be labeled best case, not expected case. The third error is leaving the concession line at zero for an older house when 46.2 percent of sales nationally included concessions in the documented May report (Redfin, 2026). The fourth is forgetting that closing mechanics have changed in ways that move individual lines between buyer and seller, which is why current guidance on what the settlement changes mean for buyers and sellers belongs beside any worksheet built from older assumptions (Illinois REALTORS, 2026). A worksheet that avoids all four errors will usually match the eventual closing statement within a few thousand dollars, which is close enough to choose a route on.
How does a direct off-market sale rewrite the worksheet?
Frontier Capitals purchases using its own funds and channels off-market opportunities to builders, while making clear that it is not itself a builder. On a direct sale, the worksheet does not merely shrink. Several of its lines are removed outright, which is why a direct price and a list price can never be compared without running both worksheets to the bottom.
First, privacy: there are no showings, no open houses, and no public marketing period, so the house never enters the public market whose timeline drives the carrying line. Second, flexible closing: a direct sale typically closes in 7 to 21 days on a date the seller chooses, or months out with a leaseback to stay past closing (Frontier Capitals, 2026), against 60 to 120 plus days listed. A closing measured in days rather than months cuts the $10,000 to $25,000 holding layer to a fraction of its listed size. Third, no commissions: the 5 to 6 percent line is deleted, preserving $20,000 to $24,000 on a $400,000 sale (National Association of Realtors, 2025). Fourth, no seller closing costs on this route: the 1 to 2 percent line is deleted as well, so the combined deletion passes the documented $24,000 floor for those two layers (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Fifth, no inspections or repairs as a condition: the house is taken as it stands, deleting the $10,000 to $30,000 repair credit line and most of the concession line with it.
What remains on the direct worksheet is the agreed price, the mortgage payoff if one exists, and the seller own moving timeline. That short worksheet is why the direct route deserves a line in every serious net proceeds comparison, and why sellers focused on the final figure rather than the headline price often end there. Homeowners looking to push the final number further, on either route, can read the report on how Elmhurst homeowners can maximize their profits when selling, which treats the worksheet as the starting point for negotiation rather than the end of it.
Methodology and limitations
This worksheet is built from the Elmhurst research ledger compiled around the sample of 12 older homes, 10 acquired by builders, with older homes averaging 26.6 percent of new build prices (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Each range is documented: commission (National Association of Realtors, 2025; Clever Real Estate, 2025), closing costs (Frontier Capitals, 2026; Houston Association of Realtors, 2026; Freddie Mac, 2025), the transfer tax (Illinois Department of Revenue, 2026), concessions (Redfin, 2026), and market context (Realty.com, 2026).
The limits should be kept in view. The ranges describe typical older home sales, not a specific address: a renovated home near downtown Elmhurst or in the York District can command a premium that changes the first line, a Salt Creek Corridor property can face flood related adjustments, and individual commission or closing splits are negotiated (Illinois REALTORS, 2026). A sample of 12 homes is not a census of 60126. The worksheet gives the correct structure and the documented local ranges; a specific net still requires the specific price, payoff, and closing statement for the house in question.
Conclusion
Calculating net proceeds in Elmhurst means subtracting in order: commission of 5 to 6 percent, closing costs of 1 to 2 percent, concessions of $8,000 to $20,000 where they arise, repair credits of $10,000 to $30,000 on older inventory, carrying costs of $10,000 to $25,000 across the listed timeline, and finally any mortgage payoff (National Association of Realtors, 2025; Frontier Capitals, 2026). On a $400,000 listed sale, that order produces the documented landing zone in the low to mid $300,000s. On a direct sale, several lines disappear and the landing zone rises accordingly.
Elmhurst homeowners who want the worksheet completed for their own address, under both routes, can call Frontier Capitals at 401-219-4207 or write to [email protected] and ask for the itemized version in writing.
If the price a house sells for and the amount its seller receives can differ by $60,000 or more, which of the two numbers should a homeowner plan their next move around?
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the formula for net proceeds on an Elmhurst sale?
Sale price minus commission, minus seller closing costs, minus concessions and repair credits, minus carrying costs, minus any mortgage payoff (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Each line has a documented Elmhurst range in this report.
How much does a $400,000 listed Elmhurst sale net?
Something in the low to mid $300,000s after a normal market cycle, once commission of $20,000 to $24,000, closing costs, credits, and holding costs are all subtracted (National Association of Realtors, 2025; Frontier Capitals, 2026).
Which line do sellers most often forget?
Carrying costs. Three to six months of market time adds $10,000 to $25,000 in pure hold expense on the listed route, while a direct sale can close in 7 to 21 days (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
Should the worksheet use the Illinois average commission?
It is a sound middle estimate: a survey of 806 agents found an Illinois average total commission of 5.18 percent, inside the typical 5 to 6 percent range (Clever Real Estate, 2025; National Association of Realtors, 2025).
How can a seller verify the figures in the worksheet?
Check closed prices and transfer records in county records (DuPage County Recorder, 2026), test closing estimates against published guidance (Freddie Mac, 2025; Houston Association of Realtors, 2026), and check the transfer tax line against the $1.00 per $1,000 state formula (Illinois Department of Revenue, 2026).
Sellers in Elmhurst also ask How to Sell a House Fast After a Failed Listing in Elmhurst?, What to Do When a House Has Been Sitting on the Market in Elmhurst? and What Are the Options for Selling a Elmhurst House With Major Water Damage?
Sources
- Frontier Capitals, 2026. 189 neighborhood builder demand study: 12 homes sampled in 60126, 10 acquired by builders, average older home price 26.6 percent of new build, minimum lot 7,365 sq ft, ranked 78th of 189. Market data.
- Clever Real Estate, 2025. National survey of 806 agents: average total commission 5.44% in 2025, Illinois average 5.18%. Industry report.
- DuPage County Recorder, 2026. Recorded deeds, sale prices, and transfer records for Elmhurst. Official record.
- Freddie Mac, 2025. Closing cost guidance for homebuyers and sellers. Industry report.
- Illinois Department of Revenue, 2026. Real estate transfer tax: $1.00 per $1,000 of sale price; residential disclosure requirements. Government data.
- National Association of Realtors, 2025. Typical seller commission structures, Elmhurst market. Industry report.
- Realty.com, 2026. Elmhurst housing market snapshot, September 2026: median sale price $697,500, 26.7% paid in cash, 14 median days on market. Market data.
- Redfin, 2026. Seller concessions report: 46.2% of U.S. home sales included concessions in May, the highest May share on record. Market data.
- Houston Association of Realtors, 2026. Seller closing costs explained: 1% to 3% of the sale price, excluding commissions. Industry report.
- Illinois REALTORS, 2026. Consumers: what the settlement changes mean for buyers and sellers. Industry report.