The Midwest Housing Market Revival, Charted

For decades, cities in the Midwest have declined due to an exodus of manufacturing jobs that changed the region’s nickname from the “Steel Belt” to the “Rust Belt.”

While elected leaders from Donald Trump to Bernie Sanders have proposed tariffs on industries whose jobs once sustained the region, the Midwest is rebounding all by itself. Young professionals who previously targeted coastal job markets are finding reasons to go to the Midwest or stay there.

This has been a saving grace for the region’s long-suffering housing markets. While markets in the Midwest took a dive in the year following the COVID-19 pandemic, many have experienced full-blown revivals in the present-day environment.

Using data from Altos Research, HousingWire analyzed select cities in the Midwest to see how the markets have moved since the beginning of the pandemic.

Inventory in the Midwest markets dropped considerably after the pandemic as a result of both increased demand and sellers who were reluctant to list their properties during lockdowns. The result was heavy declines in the number of available homes.

Year-over-year drops in inventory hovered around 50% in 2021 but began to moderate in 2022. Indianapolis experienced a huge surge of inventory starting in July 2022, and year-over-year growth there topped out at a whopping 91.3% in March 2023.

Annualized gains in other Midwest metros peaked around the same time, led by Detroit (+39%), Cleveland (+32.2%) and Madison, Wisconsin (+40.0%) and Milwaukee (+17.6%) experienced strong inventory growth with smaller peaks.

Pending home sales have improved over the course of the post-pandemic era. Year over year, new pending sales were down heavily at the start of 2023. Most cities registered a pullback of about 25%, although Minneapolis was an outlier with a year-over-year drop that bottomed out at 71.1% in January 2023.

Sales declines for these markets moderated over the course of 2023, although Detroit sank again at the end of the year by about 30%. Year-over-year gains ensued in 2024, led by Milwaukee, which is presently at a 50.7% annual rise.

Another bright spot for agents is that median prices have been on a general upward trajectory since the pandemic started and are continuing to make strides.

Presently, Cleveland (+15%) and Detroit (+13.9%) are experiencing the largest annual increases. But Madison (-5.7%), Cincinnati (-3.5%) and Indianapolis (-0.3%) are down year over year.