Chicago permits and prices rising
Local social posts show multifamily permitting in Chicago has climbed year‑over‑year — 1,230 units permitted through April 10, 2026 versus 748 a year earlier — while home prices are hitting record highs with tight inventory and multiple bids. Examples cited include North Shore appreciation of roughly 8% annually and viral comparisons showing Chicago still cheaper than NYC, SF and LA. (x.com 1) (x.com 2)
Chicago is issuing more multifamily permits this spring even as buyers are paying record or near-record prices for existing homes. (x.com) (redfin.com) A local post circulating this month said Chicago had permitted 1,230 multifamily units through April 10, 2026, up from 748 a year earlier. The City of Chicago’s permit portal and records system show permit data is publicly tracked, though the city pages do not surface that year-to-date unit tally in the search snippet. (x.com) (chicago.gov) (webapps1.chicago.gov) On the resale side, Redfin said Chicago home prices in February 2026 were up 6.8 percent from a year earlier, with a median sale price of $390,000. Zillow’s Chicago index showed a lower citywide level at $312,457 through February 28, 2026, but it also showed prices rising and homes going pending in about 26 days. (redfin.com) (zillow.com) The squeeze is showing up in how deals get done. Crain’s reported on April 9 that Chicago-area homes were reaching full asking price earlier this year than in 2025, a sign of low inventory and stronger competition among buyers. (chicagobusiness.com) That combination matters because permits affect future supply, while sale prices reflect what buyers are competing over right now. The federal Building Permits Survey tracks permits as an early measure of construction, and annual permit data for metropolitan areas are published by the Census Bureau each spring. (census.gov) (huduser.gov) Chicago’s broader price trend has also been climbing in national measures. The S&P Cotality Case-Shiller Chicago home price index reached 225.335 in January 2026, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis data series updated March 31. (fred.stlouisfed.org) (spglobal.com) In the North Shore neighborhood on Chicago’s Far North Side, Redfin showed a median sale price of $625,000 last month, up 7.4 percent from a year earlier. A separate Redfin neighborhood summary listed an average sale price of $676,000, up 5.3 percent year over year. (redfin.com) Chicago still looks cheaper than the biggest coastal markets in simple median-sale comparisons. Redfin put February 2026 median sale prices at $880,000 in New York, $1.5 million in San Francisco, and about $1.0 million in Los Angeles, all well above Chicago’s $390,000. (redfin.com 1) (redfin.com 2) (redfin.com 3) (redfin.com 4) The open question is whether this year’s faster permitting turns into enough completed apartments to ease pressure on prices. For now, the public data and market trackers are moving in the same direction: more planned housing, and a market where buyers are still bidding hard for what is already built. (census.gov) (redfin.com)
