Chicago’s home price growth stayed near the back of the pack among the 20 largest U.S. metropolitan areas during the recent three-year housing price surge.
Chicago ranked 19th on the list in terms of its home price increases amid the historic seller’s market, Crain’s reported, citing online property information service Attom. It found that between 2019 and 2022, the median price of homes sold in the Chicago area rose 24.3 percent to $281,000, with Baltimore as the only city below that rate.
In 16 of the 20 metros, prices rose 30 percent or more from 2019 to 2022, while homes Riverside, Calif.; Atlanta; Tampa; and Phoenix jumped by more than 50 percent.
While Chicagoland homeowners didn’t rake in as new value during sales, at least one market analyst thinks that bodes well for the area’s performance during the broader slowdown in deals caused by rising interest rates.
“Some of the markets that experienced the fastest price growth over the pandemic may see more significant price declines as the housing market rebalances,” Odeta Kushi, deputy chief economist at First American Financial, which publishes a monthly house price index, told the outlet.
Values of existing Chicago homes could also be preserved by the fact that there’s less competition from oncoming supply, as new home sales in the area also notched their lowest mark since the depths of the Great Recession last quarter.
Since prices didn’t skyrocket as much in Chicago as some other markets, market experts expect adjustments to be more modest.
“Price volatility makes homeowners uncomfortable,” Daniel McMillen, a professor of economics at the University of Illinois Chicago’s Stuart Handler Department of Real Estate, told the outlet. “Chicago feels more comfortable,” despite the more limited price growth.
— Victoria Pruitt