Today, Standard & Poor’s (S&P) released February 2016 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 February 2016 index value was 128.77 before seasonal adjustment; this translates to a 28.77 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 1.8 percent from 126.44 in February 2015 to 128.77 in February 2016. This is similar to last month’s YOY growth rate of 2.1 percent.
  • Chicago was among six cities that experienced negative monthly rates of change. Chicago’s February 2016 home price level decreased by 0.31 percent from the previous month, also falling behind the 10-City and 20-City Composites’ respective 0.12 and 0.19 percent growth rates.
  • In a press release, Standard & Poor’s Index Committee Chairman David M. Blitzer observed that, ”Home prices continue to rise twice as fast as inflation, but the pace is easing off in the most recent numbers. The year-over-year figures for the 10-City and 20-City Composites both slowed and 13 of the 20 cities saw slower year-over-year numbers compared to last month.”
The following charts illustrate home price comparison and trends.
Case1 042616 Case2 042616

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

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