In April, the Chicago area saw the first drop in home prices since the boom years.
According to Illinois Realtors’ data, the median price for a home in the nine-county metro area was $320,000 in April. This is down 1.5% compared to the same period last year.
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The decline in April, while prices were unchanged compared to the same period last year, is a clear indication that the housing boom will not continue.
The 1.5% decline in April is the first drop in Chicago area median home prices over the past year since August 2012. In August 2011, local home prices in Chicago were down by 4% compared to August 2011 as many metro areas struggled to recover from the 2008 housing crisis.
Prices have fallen in the city for the majority of the last eight months, and now have essentially erased all gains made during housing boom.
The national price drop is roughly the same for metro areas. According to the National Association of Realtors, home prices in America fell 1.7% from April 2013 to 2014.
The median sale price in April was $340,000. This is down 8.1% compared to the median of $370,000 for April 2022. The biggest decline in city prices over the past year is tied with December, which saw a drop of 8.9%.
The median price of a home in April 2023 is only 0.6% higher than the April 2020 figure. Most home sales in April 2023 were made before or early during the COVID shutdown. Prices were up 9% in April 2019 compared to that time.
Seven of the eight previous months saw a decline in median home prices compared to the same period a year ago, while September was flat.
According to Illinois Realtors, the peak in city home prices was April 2022. In the metro area, peak prices were reached in June 2022 when the median sales price was $340,000.
It is difficult to compare June and April because the Chicago area home market is highly seasonal.
The number of houses sold is still well below what it was last year, and also below the normal average for years prior to COVID.
Chicago saw 2,028 home sales in April. This is down 37.6% compared to April 2022, and down 20.1% compared to the average April home sales from 2016-2020.
In the metro area 7,593 homes were sold in April, a decrease of 31.2% compared to April 2022, and a decline of 23.8% compared to the average April sales between 2016 and 2020.
A number of factors have a negative impact on the sales. The low number of available homes is one of the main factors. Many buyers also stayed away from the market because of rising mortgage rates and uncertainty over the future of local and national economies.
Illinois Realtors uses the U.S. Census Bureau’s definition of the Chicago metropolitan area. This includes Cook, DeKalb DuPage Grundy Kane Lake McHenry
