A new ranking from the Wall Street Journal and Realtor.com puts Rockford as the top housing market in the country. (Photo via Canva)By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — The city is now home to the top real estate market in the country, according to a new ranking released Thursday by the Wall Street Journal and Realtor.com.
The housing market ranking evaluates the real estate market and economic health of the 200 most populous metro areas in the country. The Rockford metro area was the only one in Illinois to crack the Top 50. Peoria landed at 59.
“It’s a great validation of what we’re seeing locally in the market with our year-over-year price increases, hitting our record highs,” said Conor Brown, CEO of the NorthWest Illinois Alliance of Realtors. “We know we’re such an affordable market, but we have seen an influx of people from Chicagoland and elsewhere coming into the market being so impressed with how much they can buy, and they’re really helping drive the prices.”
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The new report is a major turnaround from one released by the Wall Street Journal a decade ago, when Rockford was declared the underwater mortgage capital of America. At that time, about 32% of the metro area’s homes were valued at less than the money owed on the mortgage.
Now, the city is being praised for an affordable housing stock and growing health care, aerospace and logistics industries.
“To have this comeback story from dead last to absolutely the hottest market in the country is quite remarkable,” Brown said. “It’s great to have the national recognition because sometimes we’re so inward focused. When you have an outside media source like the Wall Street Journal recognizing us as the hottest market in the country is amazing.”
The housing market in the Rockford region broke three records last year, including the highest ever annual average sales price of $192,431. The highest monthly sales price ever came in August, when home sales peaked at $205,198, according to data from the Northwest Illinois Alliance of Realtors.
The average sales prices in Boone, Winnebago and Ogle counties have continued to beat year-over-year marks each month in 2024. It was up nearly 19% again in March, with average sales prices hovering around $202,000.
Mayor Tom McNamara told the Wall Street Journal that real estate was just a part of the city’s comeback.
“We are also seeing a huge boom in entrepreneurs who are from here and opening things such as retail stores, small manufacturing companies, gift shops, restaurants and bars,” he told WSJ.
The median listing price of a home in the Rockford area was $235,000 in March, according to WSJ. That’s up nearly 52% from a year ago and is the largest gain of any metro area in the ranking’s Top 20.
The rest of the Top 5 on the WSJ ranking were Canton-Massillon, Ohio; Ann Arbor, Michigan; Akron, Ohio; and Springfield, Missouri. See the full list here.
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas