Today, Standard & Poor’s (S&P) released August 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 August 2015 index value was 134.13 before seasonal adjustment; this translates to a 34.13 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 Chicago, the index increased 1.9 percent from 131.68 in August 2014 to 134.13 in August 2015. This was slightly higher than last month’s YOY growth rate of 1.7 percent.
  • Chicago’s August 2015 index level increased by 0.7 percent from the previous month, outpacing the 10-City and 20-City Composite respective monthly growth rates of 0.3 and 0.4 percent.
  • In a press release, Standard & Poor’s Index Committee Chairman David M. Blitzer said, “Home prices continue to climb at a 4% to 5% annual rate across the country,” noting that the National Association for Home Builders sentiment survey and existing home sales indicators also reflect a strong housing market.

The following charts illustrate home price comparison and trends.

Case1

Case2

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.

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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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