Northern Illinois Housing Market Update - December 2025

Northern Illinois ended 2025 with stronger closing activity but fewer fresh listings and less available inventory. Across detached and attached homes combined, December closed sales increased 7.0% from a year earlier, while new listings declined 5.6% and contracts were essentially unchanged. Inventory fell 6.5% and months supply decreased 11.7% to 1.6 months. The combined median sales price rose 2.5% to $322,995, while average market time increased 8.3% to 52 days and sellers received 96.7% of original list price on average, down 0.4 percentage point. The two property segments moved differently: detached sales and contracts increased even as detached prices were nearly flat to slightly lower, while attached prices rose more than 7% despite a decline in attached contracts.

Median Sales Price -- Trailing 12 Months

Pricing and Value

Metric	Detached	Attached
Average Sales Price	$408,512 (-1.2% YoY)	$380,294 (+7.2% YoY)
Housing Affordability Index	94 (+5.6% YoY)	108 (-1.8% YoY)
Median Sales Price	$337,000 (-0.3% YoY)	$300,000 (+7.1% YoY)

Market Speed and Competition

Metric	Detached	Attached
Average % of Original List Price Received	96.4% (-0.5 percentage points YoY)	97.4% (-0.2 percentage points YoY)
Average Market Time	53 days (+10.4% YoY)	51 days (+2% YoY)

Homes for Sale -- Trailing 12 Months

Months Supply -- Trailing 12 Months

Supply Snapshot

Metric	Detached	Attached
Homes for Sale	10,749 (-5.2% YoY)	4,301 (-9.5% YoY)
Months Supply	1.7 (-12.2% YoY)	1.4 (-11.3% YoY)

Market Activity

Metric	Detached	Attached
Closed Sales	5,910 (+9.3% YoY)	2,663 (+2.2% YoY)
New Listings	4,751 (-5% YoY)	2,102 (-6.9% YoY)
Under Contract	3,880 (+4.6% YoY)	1,693 (-9.1% YoY)

What This Means for Sellers

• Supply remained limited at 1.7 months for detached homes and 1.4 months for attached properties, with active inventory down 5.2% and 9.5% respectively.
• Closed sales increased in both segments, but homes took longer to secure an offer: 53 days for detached properties and 51 days for attached properties.
• Sellers received an average of 96.4% of original list price for detached homes and 97.4% for attached homes, both lower than a year earlier. That combination points to the continued importance of realistic initial pricing and property condition.
• Attached-home prices posted strong gains, but attached contracts fell 9.1%, while detached contracts rose 4.6%. Seller conditions therefore differed noticeably by property type.

What This Means for Buyers

• Buyers had fewer available homes to choose from in December, and months supply remained below two months in both property segments.
• Average market time increased to 53 days for detached homes and 51 days for attached properties, while average sale-to-original-list-price ratios remained below 100%. This suggests some listings allowed room for negotiation even within a supply-constrained market.
• The detached affordability index improved 5.6% to 94. The attached index declined 1.8% to 108, but attached housing remained more affordable by this measure.
• Attached median and average prices each rose more than 7%, while detached median and average prices edged lower. Buyers encountered different price trends depending on the type of home they pursued.

Deeper Market Data

The full-year figures were stronger than December's new-listing and contract results. Across all property types, 2025 new listings increased 4.6%, contracts rose 6.0%, and closed sales increased 6.0% from 2024. In December alone, however, new listings fell 5.6%, contracts were essentially flat, and closed sales rose 7.0%. This pattern suggests the year ended with solid completed-sale volume even as the supply of newly listed homes weakened. The detached and attached segments also diverged. Detached closed sales increased 9.3% and contracts rose 4.6%, although the detached median price slipped 0.3% and the average price declined 1.2%. Attached closed sales increased 2.2% and prices rose 7.1% to 7.2%, but contracts fell 9.1%. Meanwhile, market time lengthened and the percentage of original list price received declined in both segments. Taken together, the report points to a tight but uneven year-end market in which transaction volume, pricing, and forward contract activity did not move in the same direction.