Metro home prices up in August compared to a year earlier

Home prices in the Chicago area climbed 9.6% during August compared with the same time last year, new numbers show.

The median sales price in the metro area was $339,000, a $29,000 jump from August 2022, according to data released Thursday by Illinois Realtors. The data showed that prices were down month-to-month from July to August.

A separate news release Thursday from the National Association of Realtors showed that the median existing-home sales price across the country climbed 3.9% in August compared to the same time last year to $407,100, the third consecutive month the median sales price surpassed $400,000.

The number of homes sold in the Chicago metro area in August totaled 9,103, down from 10,728 during the same month a year earlier.

“Although prices declined in August in both Illinois and the Chicago area, they remain much higher than at this time last year,” said Daniel McMillen, head of the department of real estate at University of Illinois at Chicago, in a news release. “Our forecasts indicate that prices will continue to their usual seasonal decline over the next three months, while remaining higher than this time last year.”

Summer is typically a busy time for the housing market, with the past few months proving busier than earlier this year, yet far from as hectic as in previous years given that mortgage rates remain high and few homes are for sale, as that would require homeowners to swap their 2% to 3% mortgage rates for ones that have hit more than 7% again.

Chicago Tribune’s Kim Quillen contributed.

ekane@chicagotribune.com