Chicago-area home prices are rising four times faster than the rest of the U.S.
For years, Chicago's housing market lagged behind in price growth. Not anymore. In May, home prices in the Chicago metro area rose nearly four times faster than the national average, marking the sixth straight month the city has led the country in home price gains.
That's according to fresh data from Illinois Realtors and the National Association of Realtors. While national home prices rose just 2.1-percent year-over-year, Chicago clocked an 8.7-percent increase. The median price of a home in the nine-county Chicago metro area (Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will counties) hit $379,900 in May—its highest monthly median ever. In the city itself, homes sold for a median of $390,000, just shy of April's all-time high.
Even though prices are slowing across the country, Chicago's market isn't hitting the brakes nearly as hard. That's what's creating this growing gap between the Chicago area and the rest of the U.S.
So, what's behind the surge in home prices? Affordability plays a big role. Compared to places like New York or San Francisco, Chicago homes still feel like a deal. Add low inventory, strong local demand and steady mortgage rates, and you've got a tight, competitive market. Buyers are showing up ready—and often fighting it out over well-priced listings.
Sellers, on the other hand, are seeing big opportunities. Homes in popular neighborhoods like Logan Square, West Town, Lincoln Park and Wicker Park are flying off the market, often with multiple offers.
Yes, higher prices can be rough for first-time buyers. But they're also a sign of growing economic strength and renewed confidence in Chicago as a place to live, work and invest.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
33 minutes ago
- The Sun
Major DIY retailer offering free car air con checks as temperatures set to reach 34C
A MAJOR DIY retailer is offering motorists free car air con checks as temperatures are set to reach 34C. Halfords customers can get gas and refrigerant levels on their vehicle air conditioning units checked to make sure they're in working order. 1 It comes as temperatures are expected to reach as high as 34C in parts of the UK by Monday. Halfords lets shoppers book their free air con check on its website via You enter your postcode and vehicle registration and it tells you the nearest branch you can get it done. However, you may be charged based on where you live and the type of vehicle. The retailer hasn't said if the free appointments are available all the time, but we checked based on a North-East London location and there were slots until as far away as July 6. Halfords says if the check reveals you need to top up your car air conditioning unit's gas or refrigerant levels, you can buy the products to do this yourself in its stores. However, the RAC says this is usually a job for the specialists. You can also book in for an air con recharge service at Halfords from £65. Checkatrade says having this service done normally costs between £65 and £130, so Halfords is at the cheaper end of the scale. Halfords is not the only place you can have a free air con check carried out though - Kwik Fit also offers a free checking service. Urgent warning over easy nighttime driving mistake that could see you fined £5,000 - but the fix is free You can find out more via However, the cost of getting your air con unit recharged at Kwik Fit is £72.95 or more - more expensive than Halfords. Hot weather car mistakes that can cost you £1,000s Driving in the wrong footwear Swapping trainers for flip flops while driving during bouts of hot weather might seem practical, but it can land you with a big fine. Any shoes which could limit your ability to put pressure on the pedals breaks the Highway Code. If you are found to be ' driving without due care and attention ', you face a £100 fine and three points added to your licence. If the matter escalates to court, you could face fines of up to £5,000. Drinking water while driving If you get distracted and are not considered to be in proper control of your car while drinking water, you could face a fine. If you're involved in an accident as a result of a lapse in concentration, it could see you slapped with a £2,500 bill. The same rules apply to eating behind the wheel, so think again if you're considering diving into an ice cream while driving. Keeping your windows closed and A/C off It might be tempting to save some pennies by closing windows and keeping the AC off during hotter weather. But this can breach Highway Code rule 237, which states that a car must be kept 'well ventilated' in hot weather to reduce drowsiness. Not doing this and being caught could result in a £5,000 fine. How to save money on summer essentials SUNNIER days and warmer weather will leave many of us wanting to kit out gardens and outdoor areas. Sun Savers Editor Lana Clements explains how to get a great deal on summer essentials… It pays to know how to bag big savings on the likes of hot tubs paddling pools, egg chairs and outside bars. Many retailers have flash sales across entire ranges – often this ties into payday at the end of the month or Bank Holiday weekends. Sign up to the mailing lists of your favourite brands and you'll be first to know of special offers. It can be worth following retailers on social media too. Keep a close eye on the specialbuys at Aldi and middle of Lidl drops which drop a couple of times a week and usually mean great value seasonal items such as beach gear and paddling pools. If you are not in a hurry to buy an item, try adding it to the shopping cart and leaving it for a couple of days. Sometimes big brands will try to tempt you into the sale by offering you a discount. Always check if you can get cashback before paying. It's especially worth using sites such as Topcashback, Quidco and app Jamdoughnut when buying bigger ticket items such as garden furniture as you'll get a nice kickback.
Telegraph
33 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Our welfare system needs reform, not arbitrary cuts
As the smoke settles from yet another astonishing tyre-screeching U-turn by Kier Starmer on his welfare proposals, the stark reality is that instead of significant savings, we will all now face an extra tax bill of £3bn in the autumn. This U-turn isn't surprising to me because their proposal was a classic panicky short-term Treasury driven cut but in no way genuine reform. I even doubt that the savings would in the longer term have materialised. This is because I believe they were going at it the wrong way. The Covid lockdowns blasted a hole in our welfare system. Since 2020, the number of households where no one has ever worked has doubled. Economic inactivity due to long-term sickness has risen by 800,000. And taxpayers today are shelling out an extra £30 billion every year on sickness and disability benefits, on top of an already bulging bill. Lockdown reversed much of the progress we had made under the transformations of Universal Credit, in part relaxing eligibility rules and assessments for benefits, a leniency that astonishingly continues to this day. But also expanding the 'claim culture', albeit inadvertently, through schemes like furlough. It is easy to forget that by 2019 we had the lowest rate of workless households on record. Clearly, we have to get a grip. But solving this problem will take thought, courage and time. The Government's proposals are rushed in order to be 'scored' by the OBR in time for the Spring Statement. In a panic, the Treasury opted to simply top-slice spending by raising the threshold for disability benefits across the board. This leads to some deeply concerning outcomes. According to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), three in four Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants with arthritis, two in three with cardiovascular disease, and even a third with cancer could lose support. Yet there is another way, one which focuses on the root causes of the crisis. But that must start with a grown-up conversation about mental health. Monthly PIP claims have more than doubled, driven in large part by a threefold increase in people citing mental health conditions. Meanwhile the majority of people on Universal Credit receiving health-related top-ups now also report poor mental health. Tragically, it is disproportionately young people fuelling this rise, those most likely to suffer the mental and emotional consequences of being out of work. And yet it is the system itself that is driving worklessness and dependency. Of course, PIP eligibility does not require someone to be out of work. Yet five in six recipients are. Taken in the round, once you tot up all the various benefits, the system has tilted towards incentivising ill health rather than supporting recovery. There is another way. New research from the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) shows that better targeting of mental health benefits – focusing help to those with more serious conditions – could save the Government up to £9 billion. A more humane and sustainable approach to reform would recognise that, for many people with anxiety or depression, ensuring proper treatment is much more compassionate than parking them on benefits and slamming the door to an independent life. First, the government could use the savings to fund a £1 billion investment in NHS Talking Therapies, expanding 1.5 million additional treatment courses. CSJ polling also finds that nearly half the public believe people with less severe conditions should be supported through programmes and services, compared to one in five saying cash. Second, the Government should accelerate the rollout of Universal Support, originally launched by the last Conservative government and now rebranded as Connect to Work. This scheme works with the local charities and community organisations best placed to help people who are furthest from the workforce. These inspirational people are already on the ground, collaborating with employers to tackle the most difficult barriers to work, whether family breakdown, debt, addiction, and poor health. Finally, for the first time, sickness benefit is being brought into Universal Credit as I had designed originally. The DWP now has powerful tools Universal Credit provides. The NHS has made it clear that for depression and anxiety, the largest new claimant group, work is a health treatment. Yet far too many people were left on sickness benefit with no meaningful contact. Many who were off work for health reasons received no time with a work coach at all. Now under Universal credit that can change. The system should be doing more – using AI to free up work coach time – to increase the contact time with claimants and not leaving them parked on the sidelines. Our welfare system needs reform, not arbitrary cuts. I understand the pressure Liz Kendall is under. But short-term fixes risk doing lasting damage. We need a system that treats people with compassion while actively supporting them to recover and return to work. That's how to reduce dependency, control costs, and rebuild lives.
Scotsman
34 minutes ago
- Scotsman
Aberdeen land new multi-million pound investment and name 'major factor' in Pittodrie transfer plans
Aberdeen has secured a huge new investment. Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Aberdeen have announced they have secured an £8million investment that will see their Cormack Park training complex given a major overhaul. Following the Dons AGM in December 2024, chairman Dave Cormack confirmed his plans to build a brand new indoor pitch located at the club's Westhill training base, and those intentions are now set to be given the go ahead after a cash injection from Cormack, director Tom Crotty and further investment. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The Scottish Cup winners will now undergo work on creating a 4G pitch that will be used by the Aberdeen senior teams, both men and women, the Dons academy teams and Aberdeen FC Community Trust programme. On the forthcoming plans, chief executive Alan Burrows said: 'This latest injection of funding, approved at our last Annual General Meeting, takes the total investment from Dave, Tom and their colleagues to over £25 million in the last few years. We're incredibly grateful to our investors for the new funds, which will provide a significant portion of the capital required for these improvements at Cormack Park and our stadium, while also being able to continue to invest in the squad and the football operation. Aberdeen CEO Alan Burrows (right), chairman Dave Cormack (centre) and director of football Steven Gunn celebrate winning the Scottish Cup against Celtic in May. | SNS Group 'Our training facility at Cormack Park is fantastic, and the addition of a full-sized, indoor arena and additional operational space will take it to a whole new level, opening new possibilities for our men's, women's, academy and community programmes. In addition, we have recently been able to more than double the investment in our scouting and talent ID department across the continent. This is only possible with the support we get from our investors and our fans through AberDNA memberships.' Head coach Jimmy Thelin has already been active in the transfer window, agreeing deals for Nicolas Milanovic, Emmanuel Gyamfi, Kusini Yengi and Nick Suman, as he approaches the Scottish Premiership opener against Hearts at Tynecastle on August 4. However, with the Dons playing European football this term, Burrows has confirmed the club is planning for future additions, with Swedish teenager Elias Pihlstrom linked to Pittodrie in recent days. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad
