Northern Illinois Housing Market Update - November 2025

Northern Illinois entered late fall with prices still rising even as transaction activity and available supply contracted. Across detached and attached homes combined, November closed sales fell 12.0% from a year earlier, new listings declined 9.6%, and contracts decreased 3.9%. Active inventory dropped 8.0% and months supply moved down to 1.8 months. At the same time, the combined median sales price rose 5.5% to $336,000 and the average price increased 6.9% to $429,925. Average market time increased to 45 days, sellers received 97.5% of original list price on average, and the housing affordability index declined to 90.

Median Sales Price -- Trailing 12 Months

Pricing and Value

Metric	Detached	Attached
Average Sales Price	$452,353 (+7.9% YoY)	$384,261 (+4.9% YoY)
Housing Affordability Index	90 (-3.2% YoY)	110 (-0.9% YoY)
Median Sales Price	$360,000 (+7.5% YoY)	$300,000 (+5.3% YoY)

Market Speed and Competition

Metric	Detached	Attached
Average % of Original List Price Received	97.4% (-0.2 percentage points YoY)	97.8% (-0.4 percentage points YoY)
Average Market Time	45 days (+4.7% YoY)	44 days (-2.2% YoY)

Homes for Sale -- Trailing 12 Months

Months Supply -- Trailing 12 Months

Supply Snapshot

Metric	Detached	Attached
Homes for Sale	10,595 (-7% YoY)	5,073 (-10% YoY)
Months Supply	1.9 (-3.7% YoY)	1.7 (-11.1% YoY)

Market Activity

Metric	Detached	Attached
Closed Sales	4,749 (-13.1% YoY)	2,331 (-9.8% YoY)
New Listings	5,971 (-10% YoY)	2,974 (-8.8% YoY)
Under Contract	4,503 (-5.1% YoY)	2,354 (-1.4% YoY)

What This Means for Sellers

• Inventory remained limited, with 1.9 months of supply for detached homes and 1.7 months for attached properties. Active inventory was down 7.0% and 10.0% respectively.
• Prices increased in both segments, but closed sales, contracts, and new listings all declined from November 2024. That combination points to a market where values remained firm even though fewer transactions were moving through the pipeline.
• Detached homes averaged 45 days to secure an offer, up 4.7%, while attached homes averaged 44 days, down 2.2%. Pricing strategy should reflect the specific property type rather than treating the market as one uniform category.
• Sellers received an average of 97.4% of original list price for detached homes and 97.8% for attached properties. Both figures were slightly lower than a year earlier, reinforcing the importance of realistic initial pricing and property condition.

What This Means for Buyers

• Buyers had fewer homes to choose from, as active inventory declined in both property segments and months supply remained below two months.
• Average sale-to-original-list-price ratios were below 100% in both segments. This suggests some listings allowed room for negotiation, although conditions can still vary considerably by property and location.
• The affordability index declined to 90 for detached homes and 110 for attached properties. Attached housing remained more affordable by this measure, even though attached prices continued to rise.
• Prices rose while sales and contracts declined. Buyers may encounter less uniform competition than the headline price gains alone suggest, particularly when comparing detached and attached homes.

Deeper Market Data

November's pullback in activity was sharper than the year-to-date pattern. Across all property types, November closed sales were down 12.0%, while year-to-date sales were down 2.1%. New listings fell 9.6% for the month compared with a 0.7% year-to-date decline, and contracts decreased 3.9% for the month versus 1.8% year to date. Prices moved in the opposite direction: the combined November median rose 5.5%, while the year-to-date median increased 6.8%. This suggests the reduction in transaction volume had not translated into broad price declines by November. The property segments also diverged over the longer period. Year-to-date detached closed sales were down 3.7% and contracts were down 3.4%, while attached closed sales increased 1.1% and contracts rose 1.4%. In November itself, however, both segments posted declines in sales, contracts, listings, inventory, and affordability, with attached inventory and months supply falling more sharply than detached supply.