One of the most interesting and useful ways to use the plethora of data we  release monthly at Zillow is to explore trends on a local, and sometimes hyper-local, level. Since our data begins with Zestimates on the individual home level, our granular ZIP code, city and MSA level tells a lot about what’s happening in local markets.

To highlight this use, we’re starting a weekly series in which we use the monthly Zillow Real Estate Market Reports to explore local housing market trends.

First up is one of the two places I consider my hometown: Champaign-Urbana, Ill. I share my second “hometown” of Boston with fellow Zillowite Steve Brownell, and he’ll analyze that city’s housing market in the coming weeks.

Champaign-Urbana metropolitan statistical area — August 2010 data

Champaign and Urbana are twin cities in Central Illinois and are home to my alma mater, the University of Illinois. Champaign is the bigger of the two cities with a population around 75,000, and about 40,000 live in Urbana. The cities are surrounded by farmland and a number of small- and medium-sized towns, many of which have economies focused on industries related to agriculture. I used data from Zillow’s Real Estate Market Reports pages, which are available on our site to anyone.

Big-picture trends

It’s all about stability in the Champaign MSA. Note the curve of the MSA’s Zillow Home Value Index over time next to the United State’s curve. While Champaign’s home values were fairly heady until the middle part of the decade, they leveled off faster than values at a national level. As of the end of August, the Champaign MSA had a five-year annualized change of 0.27%, compared with -4.61% for the United States as a whole. The 10-year annualized change was more similar, but Champaign still came out ahead: 3.98% versus 3.15%. As a sidenote, the five- and 10-year annualized change figures can be found by downloading the “full report data,” which is found under the “download” heading near the top of the market reports page.

Home Sales

While Central Illinoisans have been more fortunate than many when it comes to their homes’ values, the housing downturn seems to have hit the local market when it comes to sales.

Home sales in the Champaign MSA hit a high every June or July, thanks to seasonality, but the chart doesn’t lie: According to the raw numbers, homes sales in the 12-month period ending August have fallen since 2007. The raw numbers used in any chart in our Real Estate Market Reports pages can be downloaded by mousing over the “download” heading and selecting “Chart Data.”

Hyper-local data

Of course, real estate conditions can vary by city, or even neighborhood. That’s no different in the Champaign MSA. Below is a table, taken from the Real Estate Market Reports page, showing several of the cities and towns in the area and their Zillow Home Value Index, including the change over time.