Northern Illinois Housing Market Update - August 2025

Northern Illinois moved through August with fewer new listings and fewer completed sales than a year earlier, while prices continued to rise and available supply remained tight. Across detached and attached homes combined, new listings declined 8.9% and closed sales fell 5.9%, while properties going under contract edged up 0.5%. The combined median sales price increased 7.7% to $350,000, the average sales price rose 7.6% to $446,528, and average market time increased to 37 days. Inventory declined 3.8%, months supply fell to 1.9, and the housing affordability index dropped to 82, pointing to a market with limited selection, higher prices, and somewhat slower selling times.

Pricing and Value

Metric	Detached	Attached
Average Sales Price	$485,315 (+9.2% YoY)	$369,490 (+3.6% YoY)
Housing Affordability Index	82 (-9.9% YoY)	105 (-7.1% YoY)
Median Sales Price	$382,500 (+8.8% YoY)	$302,004 (+5.2% YoY)

Market Speed and Competition

Metric	Detached	Attached
Average % of Original List Price Received	99% (+0.3 percentage points YoY)	98.8% (-0.5 percentage points YoY)
Average Market Time	38 days (+11.8% YoY)	37 days (+2.8% YoY)

Supply Snapshot

Metric	Detached	Attached
Homes for Sale	11,495 (-3.1% YoY)	5,502 (-5.3% YoY)
Months Supply	2 (-2% YoY)	1.8 (-8.2% YoY)

Market Activity

Metric	Detached	Attached
Closed Sales	6,589 (-5.8% YoY)	3,316 (-6.1% YoY)
New Listings	9,044 (-10% YoY)	4,638 (-6.8% YoY)
Under Contract	5,958 (-2.5% YoY)	3,108 (+6.8% YoY)

What This Means for Sellers

• Competition from other sellers remained limited. Detached homes had 2.0 months of supply and attached properties had 1.8 months, with active inventory down 3.1% and 5.3% respectively.
• Prices remained supportive for sellers. The detached median increased 8.8% to $382,500, while the attached median rose 5.2% to $302,004.
• Homes took longer to secure an offer than a year earlier. Market time increased to 38 days for detached homes and 37 days for attached properties, so accurate pricing and strong presentation still mattered even in a low-supply market.
• Detached homes received an average of 99.0% of original list price, while attached properties averaged 98.8%. The attached segment also posted a 6.8% increase in contracts, suggesting stronger forward activity than the detached segment.

What This Means for Buyers

• Buyers still faced a limited selection, with fewer active listings than a year earlier and less than two months of supply in the attached segment.
• Affordability weakened in both property types. The index fell to 82 for detached homes and 105 for attached properties, while median prices increased 8.8% and 5.2% respectively.
• Average market time rose to 38 days for detached homes and 37 days for attached properties. That may create more time to evaluate some listings, but sellers still received close to their original asking prices on average.
• Attached contracts increased 6.8% even though attached closed sales declined 6.1%. Buyers should expect conditions to vary by property type and by the specific listing rather than assuming the overall sales decline means broad negotiating leverage.

Deeper Market Data

August's 5.9% decline in combined closed sales was weaker than the year-to-date trend, where sales were down 2.1%. The property-type split remained important: detached sales were down 5.8% for the month and 3.6% year to date, while attached sales were down 6.1% for August but remained 0.6% higher year to date. Forward activity also diverged. Detached contracts declined 2.5% for the month and 3.0% year to date, while attached contracts increased 6.8% in August and 1.6% year to date. At the same time, the combined median price rose 7.7%, average price increased 7.6%, market time lengthened 8.8%, and affordability fell 9.9%. The combination of rising prices, lower inventory, slower sales, and longer market time suggests a market that remained supply-constrained but more selective, with attached homes showing stronger contract momentum than detached homes.