The Wall Street Journal, April 25, 2024, Rockford Is Now America’s Top Housing Market After An Improbable Turnaround
Rockford attracts home buyers who are drawn to its affordable housing stock and its growing healthcare, aerospace and logistics industries. The Rockford metro area, about 90 miles from Chicago and Milwaukee, offers easy access to its larger neighbors. A direct train line to Chicago is due to open in a few years.
Those factors helped the city’s housing market emerge from the 2008-09 financial crisis, said McNamara. The median listing price of a home in the Rockford metro area soared to $235,000 in March, up a stunning 51.7% compared with a year ago, which is the largest gain of any metro area in the ranking’s top 20.
