Chicago's real estate market is slightly shifting
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Illustration: Rebecca Zisser/Axios
With pending home sales down 15.8% year over year, Chicago's real estate market is showing early signs of slowing down. But median home prices are still up 4.8% from May 2021.
Why it matters: Despite predictions of a market crash, so far, local data doesn't support the idea.
Yes, but: Monthly reports show early signs of a cooler market, even if it's slight.
What’s happening: Demand is leveling off. More buyers are holding off as homeownership becomes too expensive.
- From May 2021 to May 2022, new listings were down 13% and pending sales were down nearly 16%.
- This comes after mortgage rates surpassed 5% for the first time in 10 years.
- Home-price growth is still slower here than the national median.
Zoom out: Nationally, mortgage applications were down 24%. On average, 6.5% of sellers dropped their asking price each week in June, per Redfin’s latest market update.
- In June, national pending home sales were down 13% from this time last year, which Redfin says is the largest decline since May 2020.
Be smart: Inventory is still critically low overall, which continues to push home prices up.
What we're watching: New listings and pending sales. If more listings flood the market this summer without buyers biting, we will start to see more power shift into buyers' hands.