Chicago was an outlier among major United States markets in terms of home-price growth in March, Cotality said, citing the S&P Cotality Case-Shiller Home Price Index. 

Wheras the pace of national, annualized home-price growth in March slowed to 0.66% from 0.75% in February, Chicago saw a 6.1% jump in March, up from 5% in February. Month over month, March’s national price increase dipped to 0.7% from an average 0.8% gain from 2015 to 2019, while Chicago saw a 2.2% increase compared to an average of 0.9%.

“Buyers are rejecting current price tags, but sellers refuse to offer steep discounts. The result is in a standoff,” Cotality Principal Economist Thom Malone said. “Monthly price growth in March was the slowest since 2019. Sales were also low, indicating that sellers are still waiting for the rest of the economy to catch up with the housing market. Still, the modest appreciation points away from any immediate price drops and signals that buyers might be the ones who end up giving the most ground.”   

Ultimately, the United States market remains in a “holding pattern.”  

“Prices reflect homeowners who are clinging to the equity,” Cotality said. “But house hunters cannot stretch their budgets any further. This gridlock means homes are spending longer on the market and overall appreciation is flattening out.”  

Looking ahead, any changes will depend on whether sellers decide to start trimming asking prices, with any shift in that direction slow to materialize. 

“We can expect a housing market defined by minimal, single-digit price growth for the foreseeable future,” Cotality concluded.