Chicago Housing Market

Chicago’s housing market remains one of the nation’s most active, supported by population growth, seasonal demand, and relative affordability. However, persistent inventory constraints continue to contribute to record home prices despite improving listing activity.

Chicago’s housing market entered the spring selling season with momentum, supported by both seasonal buying patterns and longer-term demographic shifts. While warmer weather typically draws more buyers into the market, underlying demand drivers appear to be reinforcing activity this year. According to the latest Census estimates, the Chicago metro area has added more than 130,000 residents since 2023, expanding the region’s population and intensifying competition for housing.

That growth, combined with median household incomes above the national average, has helped sustain buyer activity despite elevated borrowing costs and rising prices. Chicago recorded the highest total number of home sales among the nation’s 40 largest housing markets in April, underscoring continued demand in a market where many major metros remain challenged by slower transaction activity.

While demand remained active, inventory conditions continued to limit market balance. More homes entered the market in April as sellers responded to the spring season, and new listing activity outpaced national trends. However, broader inventory growth remained below the U.S. average, while homes for sale remained more than 50% below pre-pandemic levels.

Homes sold faster than the national average, suggesting additional inventory has yet to meaningfully ease competition among buyers. Although supply conditions are gradually improving, available inventory remains insufficient relative to demand, allowing seller-favorable dynamics to persist.

Persistent demand combined with constrained inventory continued to place upward pressure on home values. Chicago recorded one of the strongest annual rates of price appreciation among major U.S. markets in April, significantly outperforming the national pace and pushing median sale prices to a record high.

Yet Chicago’s housing market remained relatively affordable compared to other major metros. Median home prices continued to trail the national benchmark and remained well below gateway markets such as New York and Los Angeles. That affordability advantage has helped sustain demand, but if population growth and inventory constraints persist, Chicago’s position as one of the country’s more attainable major housing markets may gradually narrow.

The median home sale price in Chicago increased by 5.6% compared to the same time last year, while the national median price rose by 1.7%.

Chicago median home prices rose by $20,002 year over year on a nominal basis in April to $380,000. Meanwhile, the national median home price increased by $6,500 to $390,000.

Chicago was the 28th highest-priced housing market among the top 40 largest markets last month. The Chicago median home price of $380,000 was 2.6% below the national median home price. Chicago's median home price in April is the highest observed price for any month in the market.

The median price of Chicago single-family homes rose $23,500 over the past year to $414,500, while the median townhome price grew 2.8%, and the median condo price rose 4.9%.

The number of active listings in Chicago increased by 4.4% in April compared to the same time last year, while national active listings rose by 6.3%.

Chicago active listings rose by 981 year over year in April to 23,202 active listings. Chicago ranked 25th, on a percentage basis, for the annual change in the number of homes for sale among the top 40 U.S. markets in April.

Chicago active listings were below their pre-pandemic levels in the month of April. Chicago active listings were 54.4% below the April 2019 total of 50,897.

Chicago single-family active listings grew by 4.2% to 14,750 in April. In comparison, townhome active listings rose by 16.5% to 3,010, and condo active listings declined by 0.7% to 5,442.

The number of home sales in Chicago increased by 0.6% in April compared to the same time last year, while national home sales also rose by 0.6%.

Chicago home sales increased by 56 year over year on a nominal basis in April to 8,816. For context, 8,760 sales closed in Chicago in April 2025.

Chicago ranked 17th for the annual change in home sales out of the top 40 U.S. markets in April, on a percentage basis. This year's April increase of 0.6% compares to the 2.1% year-over-year decrease in April 2025.

Chicago single-family sales increased by 0.4% in April to 5,430. In comparison, townhome sales rose by 3.3% to 1,209, and condo sales fell by 0.1% to 2,177.

For questions and commentary about this report:

Adrian Brizuela, Associate Director of Market Analytics at CoStar and Homes.com, based in Chicago, is available for interviews to provide expert insights on this data and the broader residential real estate market.

Adrian Brizuela

Associate Director of Market Analytics

Homes.com

abrizuela@costar.com

Homes.com releases preliminary figures on housing trends on a monthly basis. Although these numbers may change slightly once all transactions are accounted for, they provide an early indication of home price appreciation, inventory changes, and sales volume in Chicago during April 2026.

For most markets, geographical coverage consists of the Census-defined Core-Based Statistical Area (CBSA). Data for San Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami, and New York is at the Metropolitan Division level.

Definition of Sale Prices

Median home price is the midpoint sale price of homes closed during each month. This data includes homes that are detached, attached, and condominiums. Detached homes are single-family units. Attached homes are townhomes, rowhouses, and duplexes. The condominium classification includes co-ops.

Definition of Inventory

Inventory is the number of unique active listings that were for sale during each month. This data includes homes that are detached, attached, and condominiums. Detached homes are single-family units. Attached homes are townhomes, rowhouses, and duplexes. The condominium classification includes co-ops.

Definition of Home Sales

The total number of closed home sales on the MLS during the month. This data includes homes that are detached, attached, and condominiums. Detached homes are single-family units. Attached homes are townhomes, rowhouses, and duplexes. The condominium classification includes co-ops.

About the Homes.com Market Analytics Team

The Homes.com Market Analytics group is a team of experienced analysts embedded in nearly 30 markets across North America. These experts reside in and regularly visit the markets they cover, providing local expertise and a national perspective on all sectors of real estate: residential, office, industrial, retail, and multifamily.

About Homes.com Analytics Data

The Homes.com analytic data is compiled by the CoStar Analytics team, the largest and most experienced analytics team in the real estate industry. The team consists of over 50 economists, analysts, and data scientists, who collectively have more than 900 years of real estate experience and over 30 advanced degrees. Analysts on the team live in and around the markets they cover, enabling them to build deep local knowledge and unique insights.

The data set being used by the team is one of the most comprehensive and robust in the industry. It spans all 393 metropolitan markets, 542 micropolitan markets, and over 35,000 local neighborhoods in the U.S. The data set is sourced from almost 500 Multiple Listing Service (MLS) providers around the country, as well as public record data from each market, and is supplemented by proprietary data collected by CoStar's team of over 2,000 researchers. It includes a complete inventory of all homes in the U.S., including homes for sale, homes for rent, new construction homes, as well as sale comps and rent comps.