Chicago-Area Home Prices up 100% From 2000

Home prices in the Chicago area rose 8.7 percent year-over-year in March, and they’ve doubled since the dawn of the 21st Century, Crain’s reported, citing S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices.

Chicago’s home price index for March reached 201.46, surpassing the 200 mark for the first time. This index uses January 2000 as a baseline of 100. The spike in home values can be attributed to a combination of low inventory and increased demand.

Home price growth in Chicago has lagged behind other major metros, with cities like San Francisco and Phoenix crossing the 200 threshold for the first time in 2005. Nationwide, home prices are up threefold since 2000. Indices in San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles and Miami have topped 400.

The steady home price growth in Chicago reflects a housing market that’s more resistant to volatile market shifts. During the post-pandemic housing boom, for instance, Chicago was consistently near the bottom of the pack in terms of price growth.

The script has flipped, however. In January, Chicago prices were up 10.1 percent year-over-year, followed by a 10.3 percent increase in February, significantly outpacing the nationwide average by roughly 5 percent.

March was the fourth consecutive month of 8 percent or higher increases for Chicago, following a jump from 4.4 percent in September to 7 percent in November.

The median price of homes sold in the nine-county Chicago metro area hit a record high of $350,000 in April, surpassing last summer’s peak of $349,990, according to Illinois Realtors. In the city limits, the median price reached $370,000, tying the record set in April 2022.

Despite those price jumps, sales volume is still relatively low compared to pre-pandemic levels, shedding light on the impact of high mortgage rates. There were just over 8,000 home sales in the metro last month, up 5 percent year-over-year. But that’s still significantly lower than pre-pandemic levels, when April sales typically hovered around 10,000.

—Quinn Donoghue