https://mitirpatel.com/insights/Weekly plain-language notes on the Chicago housing market.https://mitirpatel.com/insights/chicago-housing-market-2026-09-24/https://mitirpatel.com/insights/chicago-housing-market-2026-09-24/Thu, 24 Sep 2026 09:00:00 -0500The average 30-year mortgage rate is now 7.03%, as of September 24. That's up from 6.95% a week ago and 6.30% a year ago. The weekly change is small. On a typical Cook County home, about $384,000 in August, with 20% down, it adds roughly $16 a month. The yearly change is the one to notice: the same loan costs about $148 more every month than it would have last September. Prices haven't eased to… https://mitirpatel.com/insights/chicago-housing-market-2026-09-21/https://mitirpatel.com/insights/chicago-housing-market-2026-09-21/Mon, 21 Sep 2026 09:00:00 -0500Last week I said mortgage rates had edged up. This week they moved more. The average 30-year rate rose to 6.95% as of September 17, up from 6.76% a week earlier and 6.26% a year ago. On a $426,000 home, which is about the typical Chicago sale price, with 20% down, that's roughly $43 more a month than a week ago and $155 more than last September. City prices haven't come down to make up for it. In… https://mitirpatel.com/insights/chicago-housing-market-2026-09-14/https://mitirpatel.com/insights/chicago-housing-market-2026-09-14/Mon, 14 Sep 2026 09:00:00 -0500Last week I shared that bidding wars were easing across Cook County. Inside Chicago itself, the picture is firmer. In August, city homes sold for about 1.4% above their asking price, on average. A year ago, they were selling right around asking. Over the summer, prices were up about 9% from last year, and homes sold a bit faster — 49 days versus 52. Mortgage rates also edged up, to 6.76% as of… https://mitirpatel.com/insights/chicago-housing-market-2026-09-08/https://mitirpatel.com/insights/chicago-housing-market-2026-09-08/Tue, 08 Sep 2026 09:00:00 -0500Something actually changed in the Chicago numbers this month. In August, homes across Cook County sold for 5.1% more than a year earlier. In July, that figure was 8.6%. Prices are still rising — just not as fast. The part that matters if you're shopping: 43% of homes sold above the asking price in August, down from nearly 49% in July. And homes sat a little longer — 51 days, versus 49. In plain… https://mitirpatel.com/insights/chicago-housing-market-2026-09-04/https://mitirpatel.com/insights/chicago-housing-market-2026-09-04/Fri, 04 Sep 2026 09:00:00 -0500Quick update from last week: rates didn't hold steady — they went up. 6.71% on a 30-year loan as of September 3, up from 6.66% a week earlier and above the 6.50% of a year ago. It's bounced between 6.65% and 6.71% since early August. Nobody, me included, can tell you where it goes next. Which is the real point. If your plan is "buy when rates drop," you're waiting on something no one controls,… https://mitirpatel.com/insights/chicago-housing-market-2026-08-31/https://mitirpatel.com/insights/chicago-housing-market-2026-08-31/Mon, 31 Aug 2026 09:00:00 -0500Where Chicago buying stands this week. Mortgage rates have gone nowhere all summer — 6.66% on a 30-year loan as of August 27, and slightly higher than a year ago. If you've been waiting for rates to fall before you shop, that wait hasn't paid off, and I can't tell you when it will. Meanwhile Cook County prices rose 8.6% over the past year. Waiting cost money. What doesn't make headlines: the…