Analytics built by: Location, Inc.
Raw data sources: American Community Survey (U.S. Census Bureau), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Federal Housing Finance Agency.
Methodology: NeighborhoodScout uses over 600 characteristics to build a neighborhood profile… Read more about Scout's Real Estate Data
With a population of 69,097, 30,727 total housing units (homes and apartments), and a median house value of $130,868, house prices in Decatur are some of the most affordable in Illinois as well as the nation.
Single-family detached homes are the single most common housing type in Decatur, accounting for 73.25% of the city's housing units. Other types of housing that are prevalent in Decatur include large apartment complexes or high rise apartments ( 17.79%), duplexes, homes converted to apartments or other small apartment buildings ( 4.34%), and a few mobile homes or trailers ( 2.69%).
People in Decatur primarily live in small (one, two or no bedroom) single-family detached homes. Decatur has a mixture of owner-occupied and renter-occupied housing.
At the end of World War II, American soldiers returned home triumphant and, with the help of the GI Bill, built homes by the millions on the edges of America's cities. These homes were predominantly capes and ranches, modest in size, but built to house a growing middle-class as the 20th century became the American century. Decatur's housing was primarily built during this period, from the '40s through the '60s. A full 44.53% of the city's housing hails from this era. Other housing ages represented in Decatur include homes built between 1970-1999 ( 31.38%) and housing constructed before 1939 ( 19.73%). There's also some housing in Decatur built between 2000 and later ( 4.35%).
Vacant housing appears to be an issue in Decatur. Fully 14.29% of the housing stock is classified as vacant. Left unchecked, vacant Decatur homes and apartments can be a drag on the real estate market, holding Decatur real estate prices below levels they could achieve if vacant housing was absorbed into the market and became occupied. Housing vacancy rates are a useful measure to consider, along with other things, if you are a home buyer or a real estate investor.
Some of the lowest real estate appreciation rates in America over the last ten years have been in Decatur, where house values have increased just 50.09%, which is annualized rate of 4.14%. This rate is lower than the appreciation rate found in 90% of the cities and towns in America.
NeighborhoodScout's data show that during the latest twelve months, Decatur's appreciation rate, at 5.81%, has been at or slightly above the national average. In the latest quarter, Decatur's appreciation rate has been 3.10%, which annualizes to a rate of 13.00%.
Importantly, this makes Decatur one of the highest appreciating communities in the nation for the latest quarter, and may signal the city's near-future real estate investment strength.
Relative to Illinois, our data show that Decatur's latest annual appreciation rate is lower than 70% of the other cities and towns in Illinois.
One very important thing to keep in mind is that these are average appreciation rates for the city. Individual neighborhoods within Decatur differ in their investment potential, sometimes by a great deal. Fortunately, you can use NeighborhoodScout to pinpoint the exact neighborhoods in Decatur - or in any city or town - that have the best track record of real estate appreciation, by the latest quarter, the last year, 2 years, 5 years, 10 years, or even since 2000, to assist you in making the best Decatur real estate investment or home purchase decisions.
$130,868
for Illinois
for nation
30,727
$1,265 / per month