Evanston home values climbed 7.1% year-over-year to approximately $484,000, according to Zillow data reported June 19 by Evanston Now reporter Adrian Martinez-De La Cruz.

That gain nearly doubles the Cook County average of about 4% and outpaces the broader Chicago metro, where prices rose close to 5% as of April, according to DePaul University's Institute for Housing Studies.

The non-distressed median sale price in Evanston reached $455,000 in May. But the gains aren't uniform across the city. Zillow's zip-code data, updated May 31, shows the 60203 area on Evanston's west side appreciating fastest at 9.7%, with an average home value of $598,643. The 60202 zip code, covering the eastern lakefront neighborhoods, rose 6.7% to $401,174. Downtown Evanston lagged at 2.6% growth, with an average value of $369,794.

The gains come amid persistently elevated mortgage rates. The 30-year fixed rate hit 6.52% the week of June 11, according to Freddie Mac, and Fannie Mae's June forecast projects rates holding at 6.4% through the rest of 2026 and into early 2027.

Tight inventory is a key driver. Geoff Smith, executive director of the Institute for Housing Studies at DePaul University, said Illinois housing stock remains near the bottom of recovery levels nationally. "Inflationary factors are affecting the cost of housing, of building new housing, of improving existing housing," Smith said. "That's also keeping affordability a concern."

Buyers appear undeterred regionally. Midwest pending home sales jumped 8.1% month-over-month and 9.3% year-over-year in May, the strongest gain of any U.S. region, according to the National Association of Realtors. NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun attributed the activity to pent-up demand and buyers accepting rates above 6% as the new normal.

Nationally, however, the picture diverges: purchase loan originations fell 19% in the first quarter of 2026 to roughly 581,000, the lowest quarterly total since early 2014, according to ATTOM data.

For Evanston residents trying to buy in, a $484,000 home at a 6.5% rate with 20% down means a monthly principal-and-interest payment of approximately $2,450.