US Metro Real Estate Intelligence
Rankings/Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN

NeutralTier 1CBSA 16980Compare
Risk Rank: #201 of 287Month: 2025-12Score change (12m): -12
45score
Composite risk percentile vs 287 metros (higher = higher risk)

Executive Summary

Chicago's housing market shows average risk, ranking 201st of 287 metros. The market recently entered Expansion. Current conditions are balanced with stable liquidity. Broad-based growth with healthy fundamentals.

Chicago has maintained relatively stable market conditions throughout the observation period, currently in Expansion.

Inventory is roughly flat (-1% YoY) with homes selling at a normal pace — a balanced market.

Rent growth is roughly keeping pace with price appreciation, suggesting valuations are not stretched.

Cycle Phase

RecoveryExpansionHypersupplyRecession
1 month in current phase·from Recovery

Normal growth conditions with balanced fundamentals

2019202020212022202320242025

Key Dynamics

Risk is primarily driven by migration and price momentum, while affordability provides the most support.

Top Drivers

Migrationp99
Net AGI migration (risk inverted)
Price Momentump80
12-month HPI change
Permit Growthp41
YoY permit change

Market Signals

Inventory is roughly flat (-1% YoY) with homes selling at a normal pace — a balanced market.

Liquidity

Stable
Active Listings YoY
-1.1%p48
Days on Market YoY
+5.9%p60
Months in status84
Data through Dec 2025

Valuation

Balanced
Rent vs. Price Growth
+0.6%p74
Months in status41
Data through Dec 2025Rent growth vs price growth (rent support). Note: Affordability and Valuation measure different structural dimensions and can diverge.
Factor Details
Lower riskHigher risk
Low RiskBelow AvgNeutralElevatedHigh Risk
Price MomentumElevated
+4.7%p80

12-month HPI change — higher = overheating

Permit GrowthNeutral
-6.9%p41

YoY permit change — higher = supply pressure

Permits per CapitaLow Risk
1.72p15

Permits per 1,000 residents — higher = overbuilding risk

AffordabilityLow Risk
0.17p1

Mortgage payment / income — higher = more burdened

EmploymentBelow Avg
+0.6%p36

12-month employment change (risk inverted)

MigrationHigh Risk
-$7Mp99

Net AGI migration (risk inverted)

National Context

Credit Conditions

Credit Regime

Stable

Normal expansion. Credit is available, transactions are healthy — no constraints on current growth momentum.

Bank Lending Standards
-5.7Normal
Rate Change (YoY)
-76 bpsNormal
Mortgage Risk Premium
+191 bpsElevated
Stable for 8 quartersData through 2026-Q1

Supply Pipeline

Supply Regime

Accumulating

Supply pipeline is building up while credit remains available. New units are accumulating in the system — watch for delivery pressure in coming quarters.

Pipeline Ratio
0.92High
Completion-Permit Divergence
+1.9 ppNormal
Accumulating for 4 quartersData through 2026-Q1
Local Signals

Metro Permit Activity

Permit Activity

Cooling
YoY Permit Growth
-6.9%Below norm

Raw signal — not the composite percentile

Relative to 2016–2019 norms for this metro

Builders are pulling back but demand remains healthy. A supply constraint could form — fewer new units entering a market that is still absorbing well.

Employment Concentration

Employment

Limited data
Largest SectorRetail Trade 25.2%
7 of 20 sectors disclosed · QCEW 2024 annual averages
Internal Structure

Chicago's 13 counties show similar risk profiles — the metro-level score is broadly representative.

Low6.0
13 of 13 counties scored

Chicago, IL-IN shows Low internal divergence — county-level differences are minor and the metro composite is broadly representative. DuPage County contributes the most structural risk (Elevated, driven by price momentum), while Lake County anchors the lower end (Average).

Within-metro factor percentiles (0 = lowest risk, 100 = highest risk)
CountyScore
McHenry County<5%
75
DuPage CountyRisk Driver
73
Kane County
64
Will County
62
Cook County
56
Lake County
56
Lake CountyStabilizer
50
Kendall County<5%
42
Grundy County<5%
40
Porter County<5%
36
Jasper County<5%
35
DeKalb County<5%
35
Newton County<5%
25
Score History
MonthScore
2025-1154
2025-0953
2025-0656
2025-0458
2025-0156
2024-1157
2024-1055
2024-0857
2024-0557
2024-0258
2023-1155
2023-0855
2023-0650
2023-0346
2023-0246
2022-1247
2022-1145
2022-0943
2022-0842
2022-0644
2022-0341
2022-0242
2021-1240
2021-0944
2021-0744
2021-0448
2021-0348
2021-0148
2020-1248
2020-1048
2020-0847
2020-0647
2020-0347
2020-0245
2019-1247
2019-0948
2019-0748
2019-0645
2019-0447
2019-0147
Data Vintages
Price (HPI)2025-Q4
Permits2025-12
Income2024
Employment2025-12
Migration2022