Chicago appreciation rates and housing market information

Chicago housing market information

With 2,895,964 people, 1,152,871 houses or apartments, and a median cost of homes of $265,496, Chicago real estate prices are well above average cost compared to national prices.

large apartment complexes or high rise apartments are the single most common housing type in Chicago, accounting for 39.61% of the city's housing units. Other types of housing that are prevalent in Chicago include duplexes, homes converted to apartments, or other small apartment buildings (32.01%), single-family detached homes (24.81%), and a few row houses and other attached homes (3.41%). This particular housing mix is relatively uncommon and characteristic of cities that are compact and walkable, and which often have a lively downtown.

People in Chicago primarily live in small (one, two, or no bedroom) units, chiefly found in large apartment complexes or high rise apartments. Chicago has a mixture of owner-occupied and renter-occupied housing.

At the end of World War II, American soldiers returned home triumphant and, with the help of the GI Bill, built homes by the millions on the edges of America's cities. These homes were predominantly capes and ranches, modest in size, but built to house a growing middle-class as the 20th century became the American century. Chicago's housing was primarily built during this period, from the '40s through the '60s. A full 44.97% of the city's housing hails from this era. Other housing ages represented in Chicago include homes built between 1939 and earlier (38.00%), and housing constructed from 1970-1994 (14.30%). There's also some housing in Chicago built between 1995 and later (2.73%).

Chicago home appreciation rates

Appreciation rates for homes in Chicago have been tracking above average for the last ten years, according to NeighborhoodScout data. The cumulative appreciation rate over the ten years has been 93.53%, which ranks in the top 30% nationwide. This equates to an annual average Chicago house appreciation rate of 9.35%.

Over the last year, Chicago appreciation rates have trailed the rest of the nation. In the last twelve months, Chicago's appreciation rate has been -2.44%, which is lower than appreciation rates in most communities in America. In the latest quarter, NeighborhoodScout's data show that house appreciation rates in Chicago were at -0.20%, which equates to an annual appreciation rate of -0.80%.

Relative to Illinois, our data show that Chicago's latest annual appreciation rate is higher than 28% of the other cities and towns in Illinois.

One very important thing to keep in mind is that these are average appreciation rates for the city. Individual neighborhoods within Chicago differ in their investment potential, sometimes by a great deal. Fortunately, you can use NeighborhoodScout to pinpoint the exact neighborhoods in Chicago - or in any city or town - that have the best track record of real estate appreciation, by the latest quarter, the last year, 2 years, 5 years, 10 years, or even since 1990, to assist you in making the best Chicago real estate investment or home purchase decisions.