Chicago home prices rose 6.9 percent in the year to July, the biggest gain among the 20 cities in the S&P Cotality Case-Shiller index. The national index rose 1.9 percent over the same year, so Chicago ran about three and a half times faster than the country. S&P Dow Jones Indices published the figures on September 29. Seattle sat at the bottom, with prices 1.6 percent lower than a year earlier.
Chicago, New York and Cleveland lead the 20 cities
New York ranked second at 5.8 percent and Cleveland third at 4.2 percent, according to S&P. Chicago has now been the top metro for five straight months. The gap between Chicago and Seattle is 8.5 percentage points.
The national index also picked up speed. S&P reports that the U.S. National index rose 1.9 percent in the year to July, up from 1.6 percent in June, with Chicago on top of the city list for five straight months. Even so, a national gain under 2 percent means most of the 20 metros are growing far slower than Chicago.
The composites are far more modest. The 20-City Composite gained 2.5 percent in the year to July, up from 2.2 percent in June, and the 10-City Composite gained 3.4 percent, up from 3.0 percent. A handful of strong cities pull the averages up while others drag.
Cotality’s release on June data had Chicago at 6.9 percent too, with Seattle weakest at a 1.9 percent decline. The leader held its pace from June to July while the weakest market improved slightly, to 1.6 percent.
Detroit is missing from the July table. S&P says transaction recording delays in Wayne County mean no valid July figure will be published for the city. Chicago therefore led the 19 metros with a July reading.
Whether a homeowner’s own street looks more like Chicago or Seattle depends on the metro, and the index cannot say for a single house. It tracks repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change, not the value of any one property. Anyone asking if prices are rising locally should look up the local metro’s line.
Retirement deadlines, in your inbox: Miss an enrollment or claim deadline and the money can be gone. The Retirement Money Brief keeps you ahead of the ones that matter, every weekday.
Get the Retirement Money Brief →
We may earn a commission from links on this page.
Three cities fell while Chicago climbed
Seattle recorded the largest decline for the second straight month, at 1.6 percent. Las Vegas followed at 1.3 percent and Denver at 1.1 percent. Those are the three declines S&P lists for July.
S&P also notes a split by region. Six of the eight Eastern metros had larger annual gains in July than in June, while only two of the eight Western metros did. Seattle, Las Vegas and Denver all sit in the West.
The federal government’s index shows a similar divide. The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported on September 29 that its index rose 0.3 percent in July and 2.6 percent over the year. By census division, annual gains ran from 6.3 percent in the Middle Atlantic to 0.6 percent in the Mountain division.
The FHFA monthly numbers show the same split. Prices in the Middle Atlantic division rose 1.5 percent from June to July, while the Mountain division fell 0.8 percent. Denver and Las Vegas, two of the cities S&P shows falling, sit in the Mountain division.
A gain on paper, a drop after inflation
Rebecca Kaufman, associate director of commodities at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said home prices “continued to decline in real terms in July 2026.” S&P counts the 14th straight month in which national prices fell after adjusting for inflation. Consumer prices rose 3.4 percent over the year.
Against that 3.4 percent, the city results sort cleanly. Chicago, New York and Cleveland all rose faster than consumer prices. The national index, at 1.9 percent, did not, and Seattle, Las Vegas and Denver fell outright.
S&P points to what drives affordability. Kaufman said persistent inflation in shelter and other core categories bears on housing more directly than energy-driven price changes. Core inflation was 2.5 percent, while energy was up 14.7 percent and gasoline 24.6 percent.
Kaufman also said seasonal factors “weighed heavily on home prices in July.” The national index rose 0.12 percent from June before seasonal adjustment and 0.3 percent after it, while the 20-City Composite slipped 0.01 percent before adjustment and rose 0.3 percent after.
When a rising market meets a sale
A higher local price raises the stakes of the home-sale tax rule. The IRS lets a seller exclude up to $250,000 of gain, or $500,000 for a married couple filing jointly, if the home was owned and used as a main residence for at least two of the five years before the sale.
Those limits are fixed in dollars while local gains are not. A seller in a metro that climbed like Chicago’s could reach $250,000 of gain sooner than a seller in Denver, where prices fell 1.1 percent. The question for an owner is what the house is worth after costs, not only what the metro index did.
Does a metro gain change what this house costs to keep?
A metro index says what prices did across a city, not what one house costs each year or what it would net on a sale. An owner reading Chicago’s 6.9 percent or Seattle’s decline learns nothing about the insurance bill, the equity or the tax on the house in question.
Cut Your House Costs takes that turn, from the market number to the cost of keeping the house. It covers a lower home insurance bill by shopping and asking for every discount, and home equity options compared, from a HELOC to a reverse mortgage. The home-cost audit worksheet sets the yearly costs side by side.
Compare HELOC and reverse mortgage options in Cut Your House Costs →
More Financial Reading
- 21 Ways to Stretch a $2,087 Social Security Check
- 15 Places to Find Your Share of the $4.25 Billion States Give Back
- The New $6,000 Senior Deduction and 14 More Tax Moves for Retirees
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
