This is Illinois’ hottest real estate market, report finds — and it’s not near Chicago
The Land of Lincoln’s “hottest real estate market” is found in central Illinois, according to a new analysis.
The Jan. 9 report, “New States Emerge as Real Estate Hot Spots in 2026 as Americans Seek Affordability,” was published by Florida-based law firm Becker & Poliakoff and named the Champaign-Urbana metro area Illinois’ hottest real estate market.
The report also ranked U.S. states and named Illinois the 34th-hottest for real estate markets. In the analysis, Becker compared metro area and state performances for home price growth, rent, employment, new home purchases, construction permits, rental vacancies, housing cost burden and population relocation, using sources such as the U.S. Census Bureau, Federal Housing Finance Agency and more.
Although Illinois didn’t rank highly for its real estate market, it was named the top state for annual home price growth, according to data from the FHFA. The state didn’t perform as well for new building permits or population relocation.
The state’s top-ranking metro area of Champaign-Urbana is a popular college town, home to the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana, which has more than 60,000 students across its undergraduate and graduate programs.
Champaign is also known as the birthplace of rapper Ludacris, who has returned to perform in his home state on many occasions.
The city of Champaign was also recently lauded among the “Top 100 Best Places to Live in the US in 2025” by online publication Livability. The report recognized Champaign for its housing and cost of living, transportation and education.
Champaign County, in which Champaign-Urbana is located, saw the second-greatest percentage of population growth of any Illinois county from 2020 to 2024, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The rate was still relatively modest, with a 2.97% increase.
Popular real estate company Zillow reports the city of Champaign’s average home value is up 5.5% over the past year, at $224,617. Champaign homes tend to be more affordable than the statewide average, according to Zillow’s figures, as Illinois’ average home value sits at $277,191.
The city has a median monthly housing cost of $1,587 for those with a mortgage, according to the Census Bureau, while median gross rent is $1,103. The Census Bureau reports the city’s median household income is $57,544, with per capita income at $35,886. Champaign’s poverty rate is more than double the statewide figure, at 23.9%.
Which states have the hottest real estate markets?
Here’s how the top 10 states with the hottest real estate markets compared, according to Becker’s analysis:
1. Idaho
2. South Carolina
3. Delaware
4. North Carolina
5. Utah
6. North Dakota
7. Wisconsin
8. Ohio
9. South Dakota
10. Nebraska
The report named California, Louisiana, Hawaii, the District of Columbia and West Virginia among the bottom five states for hot real estate markets, citing affordability, lagging construction and high rental vacancy rates, depending on the state.
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