Today, Standard & Poor’s (S&P) released July 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 July 2015 index value was 133.36 before seasonal adjustment; this translates to a 33.36 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 July. In Chicago, the index increased 1.8 percent from 129.95 in July 2014 to 131.05 in July 2015. This was slightly above last month’s YOY growth rate of 1.7 percent.
  • Chicago’s July 2015 index level increased by 0.9 percent from the previous month, slightly above the 10-City and 20-City Composite monthly growth rates (both increased by 0.6%).
  • In a press release, Standard & Poor’s Index Committee Chairman David M. Blitzer said, “Prices of existing homes and housing overall are seeing strong growth and contributing to recent solid growth for the economy. The
    S&P/Case Shiller National Home Price Index has risen at a 4% or higher annual rate since September 2012, well ahead of inflation. An interest rate increase by the Federal Reserve, now expected in December by many analysts, is not likely to derail the strong housing performance.”
The following charts illustrate home price comparison and trends.
Case1Case2

Source: S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices

The full press release and additional data can be found on the S&P website.

Note: values reflect non-seasonally adjusted data, which are typically more appropriate for annual comparisons than monthly ones; however, due to heightened volatility in recent housing values that can skew the seasonal adjustments, S&P recommends using the non-seasonally adjusted numbers, even for month-to-month comparisons.

Chaired by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, World Business Chicago is the public-private partnership leading the Plan for Economic Growth and Jobs in order to drive business development, cultivate talent, and put Chicago at the forefront of the global economy.

WBC’s “Economic Briefs” track indicators from month to month to gauge the strength of several aspects of Chicago’s economy, including unemployment, population, venture capital, job openings and new hires, home sales, tourism, etc. This data provides a clear analytic framework for specific Plan strategies and initiatives. For a summary of these and other economic indicators, refer to WBC’s monthly Chicago By The Numbers.  

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