Cook County Tax Sale Hits 30-Year Low With Fewer Than 10,000 Properties
Only 9,481 Cook County properties are eligible for the December 2026 tax sale, the lowest count since at least 1994, the treasurer's office says.
The number of Cook County properties eligible for the annual tax sale has fallen below 10,000 for the first time in at least three decades, Treasurer Maria Pappas announced Wednesday, marking a significant milestone in the county's efforts to reduce property tax delinquency.
As of Nov. 6, 2026, exactly 9,481 properties are eligible to go up for sale at the Dec. 15, 2026, tax sale, according to records maintained by the treasurer's office dating to 1994. The figure represents a historic low point in a metric that has long served as a barometer of financial distress among Cook County property owners.
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The drop below the 10,000-property threshold is a notable shift from previous years, when the tax sale rolls regularly carried far larger inventories of delinquent properties. Tax sales allow third-party investors to pay the outstanding tax debt on a property in exchange for a lien, giving the original owner a redemption window before the investor can seek a deed.
The treasurer's office has in recent years pursued outreach campaigns aimed at connecting delinquent property owners with payment plans and assistance programs, efforts that analysts have credited with helping to reduce the pool of properties that ultimately reach the sale stage. The timing of the announcement — ahead of the December sale date — gives eligible property owners roughly six weeks to resolve outstanding balances and avoid the sale process entirely.
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