Chicago Leads U.S. Cities as Case-Shiller Home Prices Rise

The S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index, encompassing all nine U.S. census divisions, demonstrated a 1.9% year-over-year gain in July. The 10-City Composite index increased by 3.4% annually, representing an improvement from the 3.0% growth recorded in the preceding month. The 20-City Composite index registered a 2.5% year-over-year increase, advancing from a 2.2% gain in the prior month.

“U.S. home prices declined in real terms for the 15th consecutive month in August 2026, though the gap narrowed as nominal home price growth strengthened,” said Rebecca Kaufman, Associate Director of Commodities at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

“The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index rose 2.1% year-over-year in August, up from 1.9% in July, while consumer prices increased 3.4% (the same year-over-year gain as in July 2026). Chicago led all metros for the sixth consecutive month, posting a 6.7% annual gain, followed by New York (6.2%) and Cleveland (4.3%). On the West Coast, Seattle recorded the largest annual decline for the third consecutive month at 2.0%, followed by Las Vegas (-1.3%) and Denver (-0.8%).”

Chicago led the 20 cities with the most substantial annual appreciation, achieving a 6.9% increase during July, trailed by New York and Cleveland, which experienced annual gains of 5.8% and 4.2%, respectively. Seattle exhibited the most modest performance in July, with a decline of 1.6%.

“Seasonality continued to weigh on headline monthly results,” Kaufman said.

On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the U.S. National and 10-City Composite Indices fell 0.2% and 0.4%, respectively, while their seasonally adjusted counterparts rose 0.3% and 0.4%. The divergence suggests that the typical post-summer slowdown is obscuring some underlying strength in home prices. Affordability, however, remains challenging. With inflation at 3.4%, Brent crude near $100 per barrel and mortgage rates in the mid-to-high 6% range, households continue to face elevated costs alongside persistently high home prices.”

The S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index, encompassing all nine U.S. census divisions, demonstrated an annual appreciation of 2.1% during August. The 10-City Composite experienced an annual growth rate of 3.6%, representing an improvement from the preceding month’s 3.4% increase. The 20-City Composite recorded a year-over-year appreciation of 2.7%, an advancement from the prior month’s 2.5% increase.

Among the 20 metropolitan areas, Chicago achieved the most substantial annual gain, registering an 8.7% increase in August, trailed by New York and Cleveland, which posted annual appreciations of 6.2% and 4.3%, respectively. Seattle, WA, exhibited the most modest performance in August, experiencing a decline of 2.0%.

Note: Cotality continues to have transaction delays from the recording office in Wayne County, the most populous county in the Detroit metro area. These delays impacted the August transaction data and, therefore, no valid August 2026 update of the Detroit S&P Cotality Case-Shiller Index will be provided for the October 27, 2026, release date.

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