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Why now may be the best time to move to Chicago

According to the latest S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city composite, home prices in just five metros had monthly price drops in November. The worst among them: Chicago.

The third most populous metro in the U.S., Chicago has experienced significant home price depreciation -- in fact, it’s the third consecutive month the city has fallen the most.

Chicago was down 0.7% from October to November, while increasing 2% over the year. Meanwhile, markets like Portland, Ore., saw a 0.3% monthly increase and were up 11.1% over a one-year period.

Stan Humphries, chief economist of Zillow Group, says the Midwest has experienced the slowest, most difficult recovery in the U.S. A lack of key investor groups -- international buyers, retirees and second-home buyers -- puts the Midwest at a huge disadvantage. Humphries says, “If you look at Chicago, Cleveland, Akron or Dayton -- as nice as they are -- they’re not where people are looking to buy.”

He says the horseshoe -- starting in Washington, going down California, across the sand states like Arizona, Nevada, and Texas, down to Florida and back up to Washington, D.C. -- is where demand is strongest. Indeed, Seattle home prices saw a 0.5% increase month over month, San Francisco, San Diego and Phoenix 0.3%, Miami 0.8%, and Washington D.C. climbed 0.1%.

Spiking home prices in hot markets may be locking out young adults, who are also seeking good jobs -- not bogged down by long commutes.

Take Silicon Valley, for example -- rather than having to commute over an hour between the office and where you can afford to live (like Oakland), other cities start to look attractive, he says. Last month the U.S. logged a 5% unemployment rate -- the lowest since February 2008. But cities like Austin and Denver, in particular, seem to be burgeoning with job opportunities, with unemployment rates of 3.3% and 3.9%, respectively.

Now could be the prime opportunity for young adults to ditch the horseshoe and take advantage of Chicago’s sluggish home price growth. Cheaper cost of living, check. Drivable highways, check. Chicago winters are looking more and more tolerable.