Northern Illinois Housing Market Update - September 2025

Northern Illinois entered September with more completed sales and stronger contract activity, even as the number of homes available for sale remained below the prior year. Across detached and attached homes combined, closed sales increased 3.0% and properties going under contract rose 3.4%, while new listings declined 1.1% and active inventory fell 5.2%. The combined median sales price increased 4.0% to $337,000, the average sales price rose 6.7% to $423,563, and average market time increased to 41 days. Months supply declined to 2.0 and the housing affordability index fell to 88, pointing to a market with limited selection, continued price growth, and more time needed to secure an offer.

Median Sales Price -- Trailing 12 Months

Pricing and Value

Metric	Detached	Attached
Average Sales Price	$449,852 (+8.4% YoY)	$373,237 (+4.2% YoY)
Housing Affordability Index	88 (-6.4% YoY)	109 (-5.2% YoY)
Median Sales Price	$361,990 (+4.9% YoY)	$296,555 (+4.1% YoY)

Market Speed and Competition

Metric	Detached	Attached
Average % of Original List Price Received	98.1% (-0.1 percentage points YoY)	98.5% (+0.1 percentage points YoY)
Average Market Time	41 days (+13.9% YoY)	41 days (+7.9% YoY)

Homes for Sale -- Trailing 12 Months

Months Supply -- Trailing 12 Months

Supply Snapshot

Metric	Detached	Attached
Homes for Sale	11,665 (-4.6% YoY)	5,793 (-6.3% YoY)
Months Supply	2 (-3.1% YoY)	1.9 (-9.2% YoY)

Market Activity

Metric	Detached	Attached
Closed Sales	5,833 (-0.9% YoY)	3,048 (+11.2% YoY)
New Listings	9,294 (-1.9% YoY)	5,125 (+0.2% YoY)
Under Contract	5,917 (+1.5% YoY)	2,982 (+7.5% YoY)

What This Means for Sellers

• Supply remained tight, with 2.0 months of inventory for detached homes and 1.9 months for attached properties. Active inventory was down 4.6% and 6.3% respectively.
• Prices continued to move higher. The detached median increased 4.9% to $361,990, while the attached median rose 4.1% to $296,555.
• Both segments averaged 41 days to secure an offer, up 13.9% for detached homes and 7.9% for attached properties. Sellers still had limited competition from other listings, but the longer market time makes realistic pricing and strong presentation more important.
• Attached activity was notably stronger, with contracts up 7.5% and closed sales up 11.2%. Detached contracts increased 1.5%, while detached closed sales declined 0.9%, so seller conditions varied by property type.

What This Means for Buyers

• Buyers had fewer active choices than a year earlier, and both housing segments remained near two months of supply. Well-positioned homes could still attract competition even though average market time increased.
• The affordability index fell to 88 for detached homes and 109 for attached properties. Attached housing remained more affordable by this measure, but attached inventory was also down 6.3% and its median price increased 4.1%.
• Sellers received an average of 98.1% of original list price for detached homes and 98.5% for attached properties. That leaves some room for negotiation across the market, but the data does not show a broad buyer's market.
• Attached contracts and sales rose faster than detached activity. Buyers should compare conditions by property type and by the specific listing rather than relying on one overall market headline.

Deeper Market Data

September's combined closed-sales increase of 3.0% was stronger than the year-to-date trend, where total closed sales were down 1.5%. The property-type split remained important: year-to-date detached closed sales were down 3.2%, while attached closed sales were up 1.8%. In September alone, attached sales jumped 11.2% while detached sales slipped 0.9%. Forward-looking activity also improved for the month, with combined contracts up 3.4%, even though year-to-date contracts remained down 1.1%. New listings were down 1.1% for September and nearly flat year to date, while active inventory and months supply both declined 5.2% from the prior year. At the same time, the combined median price rose 4.0%, average price increased 6.7%, and affordability fell 6.4%. The combination of rising prices, lower supply, improving monthly sales activity, and longer market time suggests a market that remained supply-constrained but increasingly selective.