S&P Index Shows Chicago-Area Home Prices Rise Again

By Dream Town · September 1, 2010 · Market News

Single-family homes in the Chicago metropolitan area saw prices increase slightly in June from the previous month, according to the latest Standard & Poor’s/Case Shiller index. This is the third straight month-over-month gain for the Windy City and surrounding suburbs.

The new data reveals Chicagoland home prices did better than all other major cities tracked by S&P/Case Shiller (except Detroit and Minneapolis, which had the same percentage increase as Chicago). The index follows home appreciation in 20 locations, including New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Phoenix, San Francisco, Portland and Miami. Chicago’s home prices improved 2.5% from May to June and only fell 0.1% from the same time a year before.

Nationally, home prices increased 4.4% from the first quarter of 2010 to the second quarter. This is a 3.6% improvement from the previous year. Real estate analysts and economists are hesitant to declare any sort of stabilization, though, especially because these numbers reflect sales motivated by the federal Homebuyer’s Tax Credit.

Something else to keep in mind, the S&P/Case Shiller index only accounts for single-family home sales. In places like Chicago where there is a significant supply of condos and townhomes, the figures may not account for the entire residential real estate market.