Indianapolis has a lower typical home value than Columbus, Cincinnati, Kansas City, Chicago and Milwaukee, and a higher one than Louisville and Detroit (Zillow, September 2026). It also has the largest share of listings with a price cut, 35.8%, and the lowest share of sales above list price, 22.7% in August 2026, of the eight metros in this comparison.
I'm Tyler Lingle, co-founder and broker at Roots Realty Co.. Buyers, sellers and people thinking about a move ask me how Indianapolis stacks up against nearby cities, so I pulled one source for every metro and put the figures side by side. Figures are Zillow's metro-level data, labeled as in Zillow's files: "Indianapolis, IN", "Columbus, OH", "Cincinnati, OH", "Louisville, KY", "Chicago, IL", "Detroit, MI", "Kansas City, MO" and "Milwaukee, WI". Sale figures shown are for August 2026; listing figures for September 2026. Louisville sits just across the Ohio River in Kentucky, so I treat it as a nearby market.
> This fall I watch three numbers in Indianapolis: homes for sale, the share of listings with a price cut and the share of sales above list price. In Zillow's data, homes for sale were up 12.8% from September 2025 to September 2026, 35.8% of listings had a price cut in September 2026, and 22.7% of sales closed above list price in August 2026. The rest of this post shows how those three compare with nearby metros. ## Is Indianapolis cheaper than other Midwest and nearby metros? Indianapolis sits near the lower end of this group on price. Only Louisville ($278,562) and Detroit ($264,316) have a lower typical home value than Indianapolis' $291,634 (Zillow, September 2026). Your own price range may sit above or below any of these figures, so the right comparison depends on the home you want. If you are deciding where in the metro to look, my Indianapolis area guides show live pricing by neighborhood.
| Metro | Zillow's typical home value, Sept 2026 | Change from Sept 2025 | Zillow's typical rent, Sept 2026 | Change from Sept 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis | $291,634 | +1.0% | $1,528 | +3.5% |
| Columbus | $326,910 | +1.3% | $1,525 | +2.9% |
| Cincinnati | $305,940 | +2.2% | $1,522 | +2.8% |
| Louisville | $278,562 | +1.5% | $1,339 | +2.0% |
| Chicago | $355,650 | +5.0% | $2,163 | +4.7% |
| Detroit | $264,316 | +1.8% | $1,514 | +4.2% |
| Kansas City | $324,887 | +3.7% | $1,534 | +3.8% |
| Milwaukee | $384,496 | +5.3% | $1,549 | +5.1% |
| U.S. | $366,157 | +1.2% | $1,932 | +2.7% |
Chicago's typical home value is $64,015 higher than Indianapolis and Milwaukee's is $92,862 higher. Columbus ($35,276 higher), Kansas City ($33,252 higher) and Cincinnati ($14,306 higher) sit between. Detroit is $27,318 lower and Louisville is $13,072 lower. These gaps are my arithmetic on the unrounded values in Zillow's file, so a gap can differ by $1 from the difference between two rounded figures in the table.
Indianapolis' typical home value rose 1.0% from September 2025 to September 2026, the smallest gain of the eight metros. Chicago rose 5.0% and Milwaukee 5.3%. Zillow's typical rent in Indianapolis was $1,528, up 3.5%. Indianapolis, Columbus, Cincinnati, Detroit and Kansas City all sit between $1,514 and $1,534 a month. The Roots Indianapolis rental market post goes further into rent.
Does Indianapolis have more homes for sale and more price cuts? Yes on both counts, compared with most of the group. Homes for sale in Indianapolis rose 12.8% from September 2025 to September 2026. Only Louisville (16.7%) rose faster, and the U.S. figure was 2.4%.
| Metro | Homes for sale, change from Sept 2025 | Share of listings with a price cut, Sept 2026 | Median days to pending, Sept 2026 (Sept 2025) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis | +12.8% | 35.8% | 20 (16) |
| Columbus | +8.7% | 34.9% | 14 (11) |
| Cincinnati | +8.5% | 32.7% | 11 (10) |
| Louisville | +16.7% | 33.4% | 18 (15) |
| Chicago | +1.0% | 27.5% | 14 (12) |
| Detroit | +10.3% | 29.4% | 15 (13) |
| Kansas City | +0.9% | 31.5% | 11 (10) |
| Milwaukee | +7.7% | 20.5% | 22 (21) |
| U.S. | +2.4% | 26.9% | 27 (26) |
35.8% of Indianapolis listings had a price cut in September 2026, the highest share in the table. The U.S. share was 26.9% and Milwaukee's was 20.5%. Median days to pending in Indianapolis was 20, up from 16 a year earlier. Cincinnati and Kansas City were at 11, Columbus and Chicago at 14, Detroit at 15 and Louisville at 18. Milwaukee was at 22 and the U.S. figure was 27.
Do homes sell over list price in Indianapolis? Some do, and fewer than in any other metro in this comparison. 22.7% of Indianapolis sales closed above list price in August 2026, down from 23.8% in August 2025.
| Metro | Share of sales above list price, Aug 2026 | Share of sales below list price, Aug 2026 | Median sale-to-list ratio, Aug 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis | 22.7% | 52.3% | 99.48% |
| Columbus | 36.2% | 43.7% | 100.00% |
| Cincinnati | 31.2% | 48.8% | 99.86% |
| Louisville | 24.0% | 50.9% | 99.70% |
| Chicago | 45.8% | 39.1% | 100.00% |
| Detroit | 41.8% | 42.4% | 100.00% |
| Kansas City | 39.9% | 37.1% | 100.00% |
| Milwaukee | 55.7% | 34.1% | 100.83% |
| U.S. | 29.3% | 51.1% | 99.66% |
Milwaukee's share of sales above list price was 55.7%, Chicago's was 45.8%, Columbus's was 36.2% and the U.S. figure was 29.3%. The median sale-to-list ratio in Indianapolis was 99.48%, the lowest of the eight metros. Columbus, Chicago, Detroit and Kansas City were at 100.00% and Milwaukee was at 100.83%. For a closer look at what sells over asking in Indianapolis, see the Roots post on whether houses sell over asking price in Indianapolis.
What do MIBOR's local numbers show? MIBOR, the local REALTOR association, reports data for the 17 central Indiana counties in its BLC service area. For single-family homes in September 2026, MIBOR's median sale price was $320,000, up 1.3% from a year earlier, and active inventory rose 16.3% (MIBOR Market Insights Report, September 2026). I keep MIBOR and Zillow in separate sentences and compare each with its own year-earlier figure. For the price question, read the Roots fall update on whether Indianapolis home prices will drop. For who holds leverage in a negotiation, see Is Indianapolis a Buyer's Market?. For a monthly read on the whole metro, the Roots Indianapolis real estate market update is the place to look
What does this comparison mean for buyers, sellers and people moving here? Buyers. If you are buying here, you have more listings to choose from and more price cuts than in most of this group, and fewer buyers pushing offers above list. Zillow's estimate of income needed to buy a typical home with 20% down was $81,558 for Indianapolis, IN in September 2026. How much a lender will approve depends on your income, debts and credit, so talk to a lender before you pick a number. My buyer page explains how I work with buyers. Ian DeFelice, an agent on my team at Roots, works with first-time buyers, and he wrote about what a first-time buyer can ask for in Indianapolis, from repairs to rate buydowns.
Sellers. Price against Indianapolis closed sales. In August 2026 the median sale-to-list ratio was 99.48% and 22.7% of sales closed above list price (Zillow). A list price set by looking at Chicago or Columbus can land above what buyers here have been paying. I wrote more about timing in Should I Sell My Indianapolis House Now or Wait?, and my seller page covers how I price a listing.
People moving here. If you are weighing Indianapolis against the metro you live in now, use these tables as a first filter, then look at specific homes with an agent. The Roots relocation checklist is the next step. If you are looking at Indianapolis as an investor, I wrote about where to buy investment property in Indianapolis, sorted by strategy, and my investor-friendly realtor page explains how I work with investors. If you are moving from another city, my relocation page is the place to start. If you want to talk it through, you can book a 15-minute call with me. One conversation carries no obligation.
Sources: Zillow research data, https://www.zillow.com/research/data/, files under files.zillowstatic.com/research/public_csvs/: zhvi/Metro_zhvi_uc_sfrcondo_tier_0.33_0.67_sm_sa_month.csv (typical home value, September 2026), zori/Metro_zori_uc_sfrcondomfr_sm_month.csv (typical rent, September 2026), invt_fs/Metro_invt_fs_uc_sfrcondo_sm_month.csv (homes for sale, September 2026), perc_listings_price_cut/Metro_perc_listings_price_cut_uc_sfrcondo_sm_month.csv (share of listings with a price cut, September 2026), med_doz_pending/Metro_med_doz_pending_uc_sfrcondo_sm_month.csv (median days to pending, September 2026), pct_sold_above_list/Metro_pct_sold_above_list_uc_sfrcondo_sm_month.csv, pct_sold_below_list/Metro_pct_sold_below_list_uc_sfrcondo_sm_month.csv and median_sale_to_list/Metro_median_sale_to_list_uc_sfrcondo_sm_month.csv (August 2026), and new_homeowner_income_needed/Metro_new_homeowner_income_needed_downpayment_0.20_uc_sfrcondo_tier_0.33_0.67_sm_sa_month.csv (income needed to buy a typical home with 20% down, Indianapolis, IN, September 2026). Local figures: MIBOR Market Insights Report, September 2026 data (17 central Indiana counties, single-family). Percent changes and dollar gaps are my arithmetic.