The lowest-priced tier of homes in the Chicago region have fallen in value by more than 42 percent from their peak in 2007, this week’s Case-Shiller Home Price Index shows.
The latest monthly release, which covers the three months ending in September, showed the lowest tier (homes priced below $173,757) fell 5 percent from the previous month, the second-largest decline for any tier in this recession. The tiered data also show that lower-priced homes have fallen by almost twice as much as the highest tier (homes priced above $286,399), which has fallen by just 23 percent since the housing market peak.
The chart above shows the steep fall experienced by the low tier of homes, which has intensified in the last two monthly releases. Because the Case-Shiller data are three-month averages, this is the first monthly release that is completely post-tax-credit. It makes sense that the lowest tier would take the steepest dive after the expiration of the tax credit, as the credit fueled demand for entry level homes.
Jeff Baird is a real estate valuation consultant based in Chicago. He founded Lakeshore Analytics to bring comprehensive, understandable housing data and analysis to Chicago-area readers. The site features a blog with free market news and charts, summary data on 20 top neighborhoods, and quarterly data subscriptions.