Are home prices falling in Chicago?

Chicago's FHFA house price index changed +5.6% from 2024 to 2025. The latest annual reading is at its highest annual reading in this series. These are annual observations through 2025, not a reading of this month's listings or sale prices. Annual averages can hide changes within a year.

Chicago home appreciation over 1, 5 and 10 years

Nominal FHFA index changes through 2025; state comparison uses identical start and end years.
Period	Metro total	Metro per year	IL total
1 year (2024–2025)	+5.6%	+5.6%	+5.7%
5 years (2020–2025)	+47.2%	+8.0%	+46.9%
10 years (2015–2025)	+68.3%	+5.3%	+64.6%

Total appreciation measures the change between the two annual index values. Per-year appreciation is the compound annual growth rate, not a simple average of annual percentage changes. Figures are not adjusted for inflation and exclude rent, mortgage interest, taxes, insurance, maintenance and transaction costs. They are not an investor's net return.

Chicago housing drawdown and recovery time

Chicago's largest observed annual peak-to-trough decline was 28.6%, from 2007 to 2012. The index first regained that peak in 2022, 15 years after the peak. This measures nominal index recovery, not an investor's break-even date after costs or inflation.

Drawdown is the largest decline from a preceding annual peak in the available 1975–2025 series. Annual observations can understate within-year losses. Longer series include more cycles, so compare coverage periods as well as percentages.

Chicago appreciation by holding period

How much did the entry year matter? This table compares every complete five- and ten-year interval in the available annual series, including periods that ended below their starting value.

Total nominal price change across historical holding periods, 1975–2025.
Holding period	Lowest change	Highest change	Negative periods
5 years	-28.6% 2007–2012	+57.0% 1975–1980	6 of 46
10 years	-17.5% 2006–2016	+105.6% 1982–1992	7 of 41

Periods overlap: adjacent rows in the underlying calculation share most of their years. Counts describe this history, not independent trials or the probability of a future loss. These are price changes before inflation, financing, ownership costs or rental income.

What is the median home price in Chicago?

This series does not report a dollar median. An index of 201.15 is an index reading, not a $201 home price. The index tracks changes in single-family property values; a median sale price depends on which homes sold. Use recent local closed-sale comparables for a purchase or sale decision. See average versus median home prices.

How can investors compare Chicago with other markets?

Use the 100-metro appreciation comparison to compare identical holding periods, then check this market's drawdown and recovery history. Appreciation is one component of a property investment: this dataset does not measure rental yield, vacancy, cap rates or cash-on-cash returns. A metro-wide series covers the broader commuting area, not an individual neighborhood or home. Past appreciation does not predict the next cycle. For the national context, see housing affordability and mortgage rate history.

Chicago housing market cycles

The Chicago metropolitan area has FHFA House Price Index data running from 1975 through 2025. The index, rebased to 100 in the year 2000, stood at 24.7 in 1975 and 201.2 in 2025. Cumulative nominal appreciation since 2000: +101.2%.

Within the 2000–2013 crisis window, the Chicago HPI declined by 28.6% peak-to-trough — from 151.5 in 2007 to 108.2 in 2012.

The pandemic-era surge brought the Chicago HPI from 135.0 in 2019 to 201.2 in 2025 — a cumulative +49.0% move in 6 years.

Located in the Midwest region of the United States, Chicago is one of the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan statistical areas by population. Long-run housing appreciation in Chicago reflects a combination of regional employment trends, in-migration patterns, and local supply constraints. The full year-by-year FHFA HPI for Chicago is in the data table below.

To compare Chicago to the national U.S. housing market, see the national median price history dashboard. Other metros in the Midwest region: see the full metro index. For state-level data, see the state index.

Annual data — Chicago

Download Chicago annual home price index data (CSV)

FHFA House Price Index, 2000=100. Annual data; not seasonally adjusted. Source: U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Year	HPI (2000=100)	YoY change
2025	201.15	+5.63%
2024	190.42	+6.71%
2023	178.44	+7.18%
2022	166.48	+12.62%
2021	147.82	+8.14%
2020	136.69	+1.23%
2019	135.03	+2.83%
2018	131.31	+2.92%
2017	127.59	+3.25%
2016	123.57	+3.41%
2015	119.50	+3.60%
2014	115.35	+5.39%
2013	109.45	+1.18%
2012	108.17	-3.69%
2011	112.32	-6.41%
2010	120.01	-8.15%
2009	130.66	-10.10%
2008	145.34	-4.08%
2007	151.53	+1.11%
2006	149.86	+6.58%
2005	140.61	+10.34%
2004	127.43	+8.58%
2003	117.36	+4.14%
2002	112.69	+6.04%
2001	106.27	+6.27%
2000	100.00	+8.06%
1999	92.54	+3.90%
1998	89.07	+2.33%
1997	87.04	+2.99%
1996	84.51	+2.75%
1995	82.25	+4.15%
1994	78.97	+3.22%
1993	76.51	+2.91%
1992	74.35	+2.86%
1991	72.28	+3.48%
1990	69.85	+5.04%
1989	66.50	+8.50%
1988	61.29	+11.95%
1987	54.75	+9.37%
1986	50.06	+6.49%
1985	47.01	+4.65%
1984	44.92	+5.52%
1983	42.57	+17.69%
1982	36.17	-12.95%
1981	41.55	+7.03%
1980	38.82	-0.94%
1979	39.19	+4.40%
1978	37.54	+16.22%
1977	32.30	+16.90%
1976	27.63	+11.73%
1975	24.73	—

Nearby metros in the Midwest region

Chicago is the only top-100 metro in IL; these are other markets in the Midwest census region, ranked by population.

Sources and methodology

The FHFA House Price Index is a weighted, repeat-sales index that measures average price changes in repeat sales or refinancings on the same single-family properties. The all-transactions index incorporates both purchase mortgages and refinance appraisals; the index is rebased to 100 in the year 2000. Coverage begins in 1975 for Chicago. Source: FHFA HPI datasets; FHFA methodology FAQ. Data shown here end in 2025; the editorial review date does not indicate a new data release.

Home Appreciation & Price History in Chicago