Northern Illinois Housing Market Update - May 2026

Northern Illinois remained a tight, price-supportive market in May 2026 even though overall sales activity softened. Across detached and attached homes combined, new listings fell 8.2% and inventory declined 12.0% from a year earlier, leaving just 1.8 months of supply. At the same time, the median sales price rose 6.5% to $362,252 and sellers received an average of 99.9% of their original list price.

Median Sales Price -- Trailing 12 Months

Pricing and Value

Metric	Detached	Attached
Average Sales Price	$489,669 (+9.9% YoY)	$416,875 (+7.2% YoY)
Housing Affordability Index	84 (-3.4% YoY)	101 (-1.9% YoY)
Median Sales Price	$385,000 (+6.9% YoY)	$326,495 (+5.3% YoY)

Market Speed and Competition

Metric	Detached	Attached
Average % of Original List Price Received	99.6% (+0.6 percentage points YoY)	100.4% (+0.6 percentage points YoY)
Average Market Time	42 days (0% YoY)	39 days (+2.6% YoY)

Homes for Sale -- Trailing 12 Months

Months Supply -- Trailing 12 Months

Supply Snapshot

Metric	Detached	Attached
Homes for Sale	11,276 (-12.3% YoY)	5,118 (-11.3% YoY)
Months Supply	1.8 (-9.4% YoY)	1.7 (-12% YoY)

Market Activity

Metric	Detached	Attached
Closed Sales	6,941 (-4.9% YoY)	3,700 (+2.8% YoY)
New Listings	10,828 (-8.7% YoY)	5,219 (-7.1% YoY)
Under Contract	7,694 (-0.5% YoY)	3,725 (+2% YoY)

What This Means for Sellers

• Available inventory remained limited, with detached inventory down 12.3% and attached inventory down 11.3% from May 2025.
• Detached sellers received 99.6% of original list price on average, while attached sellers averaged 100.4%, indicating that well-positioned attached properties continued to attract strong offers.
• Market time was 42 days for detached homes and 39 days for attached homes, so the broader market remained active without guaranteeing an immediate sale.
• Prices increased for both property types, but closed sales fell 4.9% for detached homes while rising 2.8% for attached homes, showing that seller conditions differed by segment.

What This Means for Buyers

• Buyers faced fewer choices than a year earlier because both new listings and active inventory declined for detached and attached homes.
• Months supply fell to 1.8 for detached homes and 1.7 for attached homes, which points to continued competition for desirable properties.
• Attached homes averaged 100.4% of original list price, while detached homes averaged 99.6%, so negotiating room remained property-specific rather than broad-based.
• Affordability indexes declined to 84 for detached homes and 101 for attached homes as prices continued rising, with attached housing retaining the stronger affordability reading.

Deeper Market Data

The May figures show a clear split between detached and attached activity. Detached closed sales declined 4.9% and contracts fell 0.5%, while attached closed sales increased 2.8% and contracts rose 2.0%. Even with that attached-market strength, new listings declined in both segments, helping keep supply below two months. Year to date, the combined market recorded 40,674 closed sales, down 3.4%, while the median sales price increased 6.2% to $345,000. New listings were down 2.2% year to date and affordability declined 3.3%, so the larger pattern was one of rising prices and constrained supply despite fewer completed transactions.