Chicago Leads Nation in Home Price Growth, Again

The Chicago area has led the nation in home price growth for the second straight month, showing the positives of a market that’s more resistant to volatile shifts.

Single-family home values in Chicagoland rose 4.2 percent year-over-year in June, Crain’s reported, citing data from the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices, which tracked price growth for 20 major U.S metros. Nationwide, home prices dropped 0.5 percent compared to June 2022.

Prices in the area grew 4.6 percent in May compared to one year prior, and they rose 4.1 percent in April, ranking second at the time. The elevated home values puts the Windy City in unfamiliar territory, as it’s historically been near the bottom of such lists.

While other U.S. metros experienced unprecedented price surges in the years following the pandemic, Chicago’s remained relatively flat. Now, as home values in other markets have fallen, the stability of Chicago’s market has proven to be advantageous in some ways, especially amid high interest rates pushing down property values across much of the country.

Although the latest report indicates a slightly reduced growth rate compared to the previous month, this narrowing gap between Chicago and the national average highlights the city’s steady progress.

Following Chicago in terms of price growth, Cleveland registered the second-highest increase at 4.1 percent, closely trailed by New York with 3.4 percent growth, the outlet reported. San Francisco and Seattle witnessed the most substantial drops of 9.7 and 8.8 percent, respectively. Notably, these cities were among the top performers just a year ago, emphasizing the sudden changes in the housing market since last year.

Craig J. Lazzara, managing director at S&P DJI, underscored the regional variations in the study, observing that the top-performing cities were predominantly east of the Mississippi River, while cities hit hardest by declines were situated in the western part of the country.

—Quinn Donoghue