Northern Illinois Housing Market Update - April 2026

Northern Illinois remained a low-supply, price-supportive market in April 2026. Across detached and attached homes combined, inventory fell 8.8% from a year earlier and months supply declined to 1.7, while the median sales price rose 6.0% to $355,000. Overall closed sales slipped 0.5%, contracts were essentially unchanged, and sellers received an average of 99.2% of original list price.

Median Sales Price -- Trailing 12 Months

Pricing and Value

Metric	Detached	Attached
Average Sales Price	$476,117 (+8.5% YoY)	$403,725 (+0.1% YoY)
Housing Affordability Index	85 (-6.6% YoY)	104 (-1% YoY)
Median Sales Price	$380,000 (+8.3% YoY)	$320,000 (+3.2% YoY)

Market Speed and Competition

Metric	Detached	Attached
Average % of Original List Price Received	98.8% (+0.2 percentage points YoY)	100% (+0.3 percentage points YoY)
Average Market Time	49 days (-2% YoY)	43 days (-6.5% YoY)

Homes for Sale -- Trailing 12 Months

Months Supply -- Trailing 12 Months

Supply Snapshot

Metric	Detached	Attached
Homes for Sale	10,605 (-8.3% YoY)	4,882 (-9.9% YoY)
Months Supply	1.7 (-5.1% YoY)	1.6 (-10.8% YoY)

Market Activity

Metric	Detached	Attached
Closed Sales	6,325 (-1.2% YoY)	3,422 (+0.9% YoY)
New Listings	10,485 (-3% YoY)	5,479 (-0.8% YoY)
Under Contract	7,207 (-2.9% YoY)	3,785 (+6.3% YoY)

What This Means for Sellers

• Inventory remained below last year in both segments, falling 8.3% for detached homes and 9.9% for attached homes.
• Detached sellers received 98.8% of original list price on average, while attached sellers averaged 100.0%, showing especially firm pricing in the attached segment.
• Market time improved to 49 days for detached homes and 43 days for attached homes, but pricing and condition still mattered because activity was not equally strong across every property type.
• Detached closed sales and contracts declined, while attached contracts increased 6.3%, indicating stronger spring momentum for attached housing.

What This Means for Buyers

• Buyers had fewer available homes than a year earlier, with only 1.7 months of detached supply and 1.6 months of attached supply.
• Attached homes sold for 100.0% of original list price on average, so desirable properties in that segment offered limited broad-based negotiating room.
• Median prices increased to $380,000 for detached homes and $320,000 for attached homes, while affordability indexes declined in both segments.
• Attached homes moved faster and recorded stronger contract activity, while detached buyers encountered slightly softer sales and contract volume.

Deeper Market Data

April showed a clear split between detached and attached activity. Detached new listings fell 3.0%, contracts declined 2.9%, and closed sales decreased 1.2%. Attached new listings were nearly level, contracts rose 6.3%, and closed sales increased 0.9%. Despite those different activity patterns, inventory and months supply declined in both segments, helping support continued price growth. Year to date, the combined market recorded 29,978 closed sales, down 3.9%, while the median sales price increased 5.9% to $339,000. The combination of fewer completed sales, lower inventory, rising prices, and a 5.2% decline in the combined affordability index suggests that supply constraints remained a defining feature of the market.