The Mortgage Bankers Association said the post-Memorial Day increase came despite economic uncertainty and largely static interest rates. 

The Northeast and Midwest remained strong, while Florida, which saw a major runup in prices in recent years, continued to cool. 

Chicago’s housing inventory is on the rise, thanks in part to a boost in new-home construction in the market.

The 6.3% month-over-month decline was the steepest the U.S. market has seen since September 2022. 

At the same time, the pace of home sales continued on its downward trajectory. 

In Chicago, home prices surged 6.5% year over year in March — the second-highest gain in the index after New York — and rose 1.17% month over month. 

The summer is expected to bring an uptick in the pace of home sales, the association said. 

Nationally, home sales slid 1.4% year over year but increased 11.3% month over month, RE/MAX said. 

At the same time, listings under contract declined, and closings rose. 

The association noted, however, that 90% of the responses to its survey tracking homebuilder sentiment were received before the announcement of a 90-day reprieve in U.S.-China tariffs. 

The most recent Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey shows homebuyer activity continued despite the economic uncertainty. 

Listings under contract were also probing new heights for 2025, according to the MLS’s Weekly Market Snapshot. 

Homes that are professionally staged not only attract more attention from potential buyers — they also sell faster and for more money, according to data from the National Association of Realtors’® 2025 Profile of Home Staging.  

Despite the deceleration, the company, formerly known as CoreLogic, expects prices to rise another 4.9% over the next year.

The National Association of REALTORS’® Pending Home Sales Index rose 6.9% in March, compared to economists’ expectations of a smaller 1% gain.

At the same time, “historically low” inventory managed to post gains, Illinois REALTORS® said.