Michiana Housing Market Report — April 2026

April was the month value growth visibly accelerated. St. Joseph County's typical home reached $230,918 — its year-over-year gain stepping up to +4.3% from the winter's +3.8% — and Berrien County hit $282,246 (+4.7%). With the 30-year fixed easing slightly to 6.30%, spring demand arrived on schedule; spring supply did not. Home-value data runs through March 2026; closed sales through February 2026.

The squeeze tightens

• South Bend — the year's starkest scarcity print: active inventory down 30.3% year over year. The $157,500 median (+21.2% YoY on February closings) and 35-day marketing times told the same story from different angles: not enough houses.
• Elkhart — the winter soft patch reversed hard: a $202,000 median, up 25.5% year over year, with days on market snapping back to 35. The county's factory paychecks showed up when the weather broke.
• Mishawaka — steadier: $175,000 median (+1.9%), 46 days on market — the last slow print before its remarkable late spring.
• Granger — $389,950 median (+1.4%), 44 days, and inventory up 8.5%: the premium market kept quietly accumulating listings.
• Niles — $165,000 median (−11.4%) on 26 listings; the smoothed value measure (+4.4%) remained the reliable line for the border towns.

The pattern forming

By April the year's shape was set: accelerating values in the affordable core, scarcity doing the pushing, and a slow build of inventory at the premium end — two different markets sharing one region.

What to watch

Whether South Bend's 30% inventory deficit produces a bidding-war May, and how much of Granger's listing build converts to sales.

Sources: Zillow Research (home values), Redfin Data Center (sales), FRED / Freddie Mac (rates). Methodology on the About page.

Archive edition: compiled retrospectively from current (revised) Zillow, Redfin, and FRED source data for this month.

Town-by-town data

Mortgage rates