Today, Standard & Poor’s (S&P) released May 2015 values for its Case-Shiller Home Price Index, which tracks the prices of existing single-family homes in 20 U.S. metro areas. The index in each metropolitan area extends from a base value of 100 in January 2000. For example, Chicago’s May 2015 index value was 130.81 before seasonal adjustment; this translates to a 30.81 percent appreciation since January 2000 for a typical home in the Chicago market.

• All 20 cities tracked and both composite indices showed positive year-over-year returns in May. In Chicago, the index increased 2.2 percent from 127.95 in May 2014 to 130.81 in May 2015. This growth was lower than that of April 2015, when prices increased 2.5 percent from the previous year.
• Chicago’s May 2015 index level increased by 1.3 percent from the previous month, slightly higher than the 10-City and 20-City Composite monthly growth rates (1.09% and 1.10%, respectively).
• In a press release, Standard & Poor’s Index Committee Chairman David M. Blitzer said, “As home prices continue rising, they are sending more upbeat signals than other housing market indicators. Nationally, single family home price increases have settled into a steady 4%-5% annual pace following the double-digit bubbly pattern of 2013. Over the next two years or so, the rate of home price increases is more likely to slow than to accelerate.”