Home Price Growth Has Slowed To 1.5% Nationally But Chicago Is Still Up 6.9% While Seattle Prices Have Fallen 1.9% Over The Past Year

If you have heard that home prices are soaring everywhere, or that they are crashing everywhere, the latest numbers say neither is right. Across the country, home price growth has slowed to a crawl, but a few cities are still running hot while others are going in reverse.

Aerial view of a suburban neighborhood with trees and mountains.

The S&P Cotality Case-Shiller index, released August 25, 2026, covers June 2026 data. According to the release, national home prices were up 1.5% from a year earlier. In May the figure was 1.2%. Remember that this is a look at June, so it is a snapshot of where things stood in the middle of the year.

The headline numbers

National index: up 1.5% year over year in June 2026, compared with 1.2% in May.
20 City composite: up 2.1%.
10 City composite: up 2.9%.
Chicago: the top performer at up 6.9%.
Seattle: the weakest, down 1.9%.

Look at the spread. Chicago was up 6.9% while Seattle was down 1.9% over the same year. That is a gap of 8.8 percentage points between the leader and the laggard, and it shows how different one local market can be from the next.

Why national numbers can mislead

A national figure is an average of many places. An average of 1.5% can come from some places rising and some places falling, and no single homeowner lives in the average. The 20 City and 10 City composites also differ from the national number, at 2.1% and 2.9%. All three are real measurements of different groups of homes, and they tell a slightly different story each time.

That is why it pays to look closer to home. A homeowner in a city at the top of the list is living in a very different market from a homeowner in a city at the bottom, even though both are reading the same national headline.

How to read an index like this

The Case-Shiller numbers measure how prices changed over a year. A reading of up 1.5% means that, compared with June 2025, prices in the index were 1.5% higher in June 2026. It does not mean every home rose by that amount, and it does not mean your home is worth exactly that much more. Homes in good condition on a popular street can do better than the figure, and homes that need work can do worse.

It is also worth watching the direction over several months, not just one reading. The move from 1.2% in May to 1.5% in June is a small step up, but one month does not make a trend. Keep an eye on the next release before drawing big conclusions.

If you are thinking of selling

Look at your own market, not the headline. A national number of 1.5% does not tell you what homes on your street are selling for. Ask an agent for recent sales close to you.
Get more than one opinion on price. Ask two or three agents for their view on a listing price and the reasons behind it.
Remember the data looks backward. The index describes where prices were over the past year. It is not a forecast of where they are heading.
Be ready for a slower pace. When growth cools, a home priced too ambitiously can sit. Pricing realistically from the start is usually smarter than chasing the market down.

If you are thinking of buying

Look at the local picture. A national gain of 1.5% says little about the price trend in the town where you want to buy.
Do not assume your city follows the pack. In some cities prices are still climbing quickly. In others they are lower than a year ago. Study the market where you want to live.
Think long term. A home is a place to live as well as an investment. Make sure the payment fits your budget today, whatever the index does next.

If you are just staying put

Many homeowners are not selling or buying anytime soon, and for them the index is mostly a curiosity. Still, the number can matter in a few quiet ways. It can shape how you feel about your net worth, how you talk about a future move and whether you consider a home improvement project. But a monthly change in an index is not a reason to make a rushed decision. If your home does what you need it to do, a modest national number is no cause for alarm.

The takeaway

National home price growth was 1.5% in June 2026, up from 1.2% in May. The 20 City composite was 2.1% and the 10 City composite was 2.9%. Chicago led the list at 6.9% and Seattle trailed at a decline of 1.9%. Those numbers say the housing market is not one market at all. It is many local markets moving at different speeds. Know which one you live in, and make decisions based on the facts in your own backyard.

Willow and Hearth