Rockford Ranks No. 9 Housing Market for Fall
Wall Street Journal and Realtor.com place the Illinois city ninth on their fall housing list, its second straight quarterly ranking at that spot.
Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Residential
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Rockford ranked No. 9 on the Wall Street Journal and Realtor.com fall housing market list, marking its second consecutive quarterly placement at that position. Appleton, Wisconsin topped the fall list at No. 1, and no other cities in Illinois or Wisconsin made the ranking.
Why it matters
The ranking reflects sustained housing market strength in the region, with Realtor.com citing strong demand and limited supply that keep it a sellers' market. For Rockford residents, the result signals continued competition among buyers and sellers in the local market.
The fall ranking weighs price growth, median list price, days on market, unemployment, wages and other economic indicators across 200 metro areas. Average sales price in the three-county region reached $250,085 in September, below the July record of $257,447, though the source does not say how these figures compare with the same period in earlier years.
The players
Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is a major national business newspaper published by Dow Jones, co-producing this housing market ranking with Realtor.com.
Realtor.com
Realtor.com is a national real estate listings platform operated by Move, Inc., which co-produces the quarterly housing market rankings and publishes its own hottest markets list.
The details
The fall list, produced by the Wall Street Journal and Realtor.com, evaluates the 200 most populous metropolitan areas using a weighted sum of indicators. Rockford also ranked No. 9 on the summer list and No. 19 on the spring list, and was the top-ranked metro on the April 2024 list. Lynchburg, Virginia is the only Top 20 market outside the Midwest and Northeast.
Timeline
- April 2024: Rockford was the top-ranked metropolitan area on the list.
- December 2024: Rockford reached the top spot on Realtor.com's hottest housing markets list.
- Spring 2026: Rockford ranked No. 19 on the housing list.
- Summer 2026: Rockford ranked No. 9 on the housing list.
- August 2026: Rockford reached the top spot on Realtor.com's hottest housing markets list.
Season Trajectory
Rockford's rise from No. 19 in spring to No. 9 in summer and fall follows Realtor.com's finding that the Northeast and Midwest continue to see strong demand and limited supply. Its placement as the only Illinois or Wisconsin city on the fall list points to a regional pattern rather than a single-city anomaly.
Buyers in the Rockford area face a market where demand is strong and supply is limited, which keeps competition high for available homes. Sellers in the region are in a stronger position, though the average sales price in September was below the July record.
The takeaway
Rockford's consistent placement near the top of national housing rankings shows that regional demand and limited inventory are shaping local conditions. Residents considering a purchase or sale should weigh current prices against the recent record high.
Further reading
For more on local home buying trends, explore the Residential section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Rock River Current - Illinois - Wisconsin.
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