South Chicago By The Numbers: Prices, Buyers, Permits

Three of the four market signals in our analysis that could be measured in South Chicago, on the city’s Southeast Side, are active: house prices, two-to-six-flat prices and new-construction permits. The median two-to-six-flat sold for $215,000 in 2025, 2.69 times the $80,000 of 2019, the third-largest rise among the 46 areas with enough sales to compare. The tax rolls show 2,320 two-to-six-flat parcels, 140 fewer than in 2006, and 157 of the parcels that left the class are now classed as vacant land.

Drawn from our analyses of county and city records · sales file as updated September 15, 2026 · assembled October 1, 2026

South Chicago in the recordsfigure

Median house sale, 2025$71,600 in 2019. 156 sales in 2025.$137K
Median two-to-six-flat sale, 2025$80,000 in 2019. 112 sales in 2025.$215K
Market signals activeOf four that could be measured.3 of 4
Homes bought by companies, 2024–2529.4 percent in 2018–19.31.6%
Bought 2018–22 and resold within two years202 of 1,613 purchases.12.5%
Assessor valuation as a share of sale price268 sales in 2025. 84 percent with resales set aside.80%
Two-to-six-flats on the tax rolls, 20262,460 in 2006.2,320

What homes sold for

The county recorded sales of 156 houses, 112 two-to-six-flats and three condominiums in South Chicago in 2025. The median house sold for $71,600 in 2019 and $137,450 in 2025, up 92 percent, the tenth-largest rise among the 70 community areas with 20 or more house sales in both years. Citywide the median house went from $230,000 to $320,000, up 39 percent. The median two-to-six-flat went from $80,000 to $215,000, up 169 percent, the third-largest rise among the 46 community areas with 20 or more two-to-six-flat sales in both years; citywide the rise was 62 percent. Too few condominiums sold in one of the two years for a median.

Every area and year, and the rules for which sales are counted: What a Chicago Home Actually Sold For: 245,849 Deeds Since 2018, All 77 Community Areas

Three market signals are active, and one could not be measured

Our gentrification-signals analysis checks five records in every community area for unusually fast change between 2018–19 and 2024–25: house prices, two-to-six-flat prices, the share of homes bought by companies, new-construction permits and new business licenses. In South Chicago, four of the five could be measured and three of those are active. Of the 67 areas scored, three show four signals and 40 show none. A signal is a measurement of change between two periods. It does not describe the people who live in an area or say what happens next.

The five signals in South Chicagoactive

House pricesThe median house price was 1.92 times its 2019 level in 2025. The bar is 1.60 times, from a 2019 median below the citywide $230,000.yes
Two-to-six-flat pricesThe median two-to-six-flat price was 2.69 times its 2019 level in 2025. The bar is 1.78 times.yes
Company buyersCompanies bought 29.4 percent of homes sold in 2018–19 and 31.6 percent in 2024–25, up 2.2 points. The bar is a rise of five points.no
New-construction permitsPermits numbered four in 2018–19 and ten in 2024–25. The bar is 1.5 times the earlier count, with at least eight in the later period.yes
New business licensesToo few first-time business licenses to measure.n/a

Business licenses were too few to measure. The permits signal is active on small numbers: four permits in 2018–19 and 10 in 2024–25. Companies bought 29.4 percent of the homes sold in the earlier period and 31.6 percent in the later. Our reading: two things are happening to South Chicago’s two-to-six-flats at once. The median price of those that sold rose steeply between 2019 and 2025, and many of those that left the class did not become another kind of building: 157 of 213 are now vacant land.

Every area scored, with the thresholds: Where Chicago’s Gentrification Signals Are Active: East Garfield Park, New City and North Lawndale Show Four of Five. Logan Square, Avondale and the Lower West Side Show None.

Who bought

Companies bought 31.6 percent of the 528 homes sold in South Chicago in 2024 and 2025, and 29.4 percent of those sold in 2018 and 2019. Citywide the share was 14.2 percent in the later period. A buyer counts as a company when its name on the deed carries a marker such as LLC, Inc. or Corp.; trustees of land trusts are counted as trusts. Of the 1,613 homes bought here from 2018 through 2022, 202 were sold again by their buyer within two years, 12.5 percent. The citywide rate is 7.1 percent.

The buyer names on the deeds, and the resales, are counted here: Who Is Buying Chicago? The Buyer’s Name on 245,849 Deeds: Companies Bought 13 Percent of Homes and 46 Percent of Those Resold Within Two Years

Two-to-six-flats since 2006

The Assessor’s rolls counted 2,460 two-to-six-flat parcels in South Chicago in 2006 and 2,320 in 2026. Over the twenty years 213 left the class, and the largest group of those, 157, are now classed as vacant land. Another 73 parcels joined the class. Citywide the count fell from 127,818 to 119,943.

Every flat parcel of 2006, followed to 2026: Chicago’s Tax Rolls Show 7,875 Fewer Two-to-Six-Flats Than in 2006. Of the 13,049 Parcels That Left the Count, 6,208 Are Now Classed as Single-Family Houses.

Valuations, appeals and mortgages

The Assessor valued the 268 houses and two-to-six-flats sold in South Chicago in 2025 at 80 percent of their sale prices, at the median. Citywide the figure is 81 percent. Of those sales, 40 were of a home that had sold within the two years before. With those set aside the figure is 84 percent, against 83 percent citywide. Owners of 6.7 of every 100 houses appealed their assessment to the Board of Review for tax year 2025, counting each house once, against 17.5 citywide, and 47 percent of those appeals won.

Valuations against sale prices, area by area: Chicago Houses and Two-to-Six-Flats Sold in 2025 Were Valued at 81 Percent of Their Sale Prices. Those Resold Within Two Years, at 60 Percent.

Appeals per 100 houses, mapped: Nearly Half of Lincoln Park’s Houses Appealed Their Property Tax Assessments. On the Southeast Side, About One in 24 Did.

Federal mortgage records show 163 home-purchase loans in South Chicago in 2025, and the county file shows 271 sales. The two are separate systems with different coverage and do not match sale for sale. Of the sales, 87 were for $100,000 or less, and lenders made 11 purchase loans that size. The records do not say how the other sales were paid for. Of the loans, 33 were marked as not for the borrower’s own occupancy.

The lending records and their limits: At Least 1,532 Chicago Homes Sold for $100,000 or Less in 2025. Lenders Wrote 289 Mortgages That Size.

Permits and licenses

The city issued two new-construction permits in South Chicago in the first half of 2025 and four in the first half of 2026. Citywide the counts were 666 and 698. Counted two years at a time, the area had four in 2018–19 and ten in 2024–25. A permit is an approval to build and is not a finished building.

Every permit of the half-year, by area: Chicago Issued 698 New-Construction Permits in the First Half of 2026. Here’s Where They Went.

First-time business licenses numbered 44 in 2019 and 28 in 2025. Citywide they fell from 7,464 to 6,503. The file counts licenses issued and does not show whether a business opened or stayed open.

The citywide count: Chicago Licenses 1,000 Fewer New Businesses a Year Than Before the Pandemic. The Gap Is Downtown.

City services

For requests to 311 created from January 1, 2024 through June 15, 2026, the median time to close in South Chicago was: graffiti removal, 0.9 days on 757 requests, against 0.7 days citywide; potholes, 4.8 days on 974 requests, against 5.8 days citywide; streetlight outages, 2.6 days on 1,588 requests, against 2.5 days citywide; abandoned vehicles, 8.0 days on 1,939 requests, against 11.6 days citywide; rodent complaints, 3.0 days on 609 requests, against 3.1 days citywide. A closed request is the city’s record that it closed the request. It does not confirm the repair.

Every request type and area, with the method: A Chicago 311 Garbage-Cart Request Took a Median 15.9 Days to Close, a Pothole 5.8 and a Traffic-Signal-Out Report 3 Hours: 883,837 Requests Timed by Community Area

Affordable-rental inventory and the L

The city’s affordable-rental inventory lists three developments with 164 units in South Chicago, 38th by units among the 66 community areas on the list. The inventory is the city’s own list of developments its programs support. It was last updated December 30, 2024 and is partial by its own description.

Our count of that inventory is in a piece that also covers the state law barring rent control: New York City’s Rent Board Set 2026-27 Stabilized Increases at Zero. Illinois Law Bars Chicago From Controlling Private Rents.

No L station lies inside South Chicago’s boundary.

Every station against its own 2019 count: Only Two L Stations Are Busier Than Before the Pandemic. Neither Is Downtown.

How this page is built

Every figure on this page is read from the published output of the analysis linked beside it, as those stood on October 1, 2026. Nothing here is measured separately, and each linked analysis states its own sources, periods and limits. The sale prices and buyer shares come from the county’s sales file as updated September 15, 2026. The county is still adding sales dated 2025, and those figures get another reading in January 2027. This page reports what the records show and takes no position on where anyone ought to live.

Assembled by KCM Desk from the analyses linked above. Published October 1, 2026. Human-guided and edited — about this desk. If you spot an error, corrections come first.