Chi Home Prices Continue Decline

CHICAGO—According to the S&P/Case-Shiller US National Home Price Index published in January, the Chicago metropolitan area recorded a 1.2% decline in home prices between October and November, the worst of any city in the study. This week, however, S&P Dow Jones Indices published the new index showing that prices declined by 0.5% over the following month. It was not the worst record among the nation’s largest cities, but it was still significantly above the average US decline of 0.1%.

Still, even with the cold weather decline in month-to-month prices, the Chicago region now regularly records the biggest jumps in year-over-year prices since the 1980s. Last month, the index showed that Chicago-area year-over-year prices increased by 11.0%, and this week that number stood at 11.3%. This was, however, still below S&P’s 20-city composite of 13.4%.