Tension Between High Demand, Low Inventory Continues to Shape Chicagoland Market

Detached single-family homes that sold in January 2022 spent 29.2% less time on the market than those sold in January 2021, according to Mainstreet data. Attached homes also moved faster in January 2022, spending 23.8% less time on the market than in January 2021.

“We’re continuing to see extremely high demand,” Mainstreet Board of Directors President John LeTourneau said. “Despite the limited supply of homes and buyer fatigue from this sellers’ market, people are determined to buy. In many ways, it’s like the spring market started in March 2020 and never subsided.”

Prices also rose over last year, with detached single-family homes selling for a median price of $309,300 in January 2022 compared to $295,000 in January 2021, a 4.2% increase. The median sale price of attached homes rose 10.7% over the same period, from $175,250 to $194,000. 

While this sellers’ market is expected to continue, it could be tempered somewhat over the course of the coming year. 

“Rising interest rates and inflation remain the biggest factors that could shift the market in 2022,” Mainstreet CEO John Gormley said. “Buyer’s desire for homes will remain strong, but interest rate changes and inflation will put a damper on how much home they can get for their money, and sellers may have to change what they are asking in response.”

The following suburbs saw some of the biggest decreases in the amount of time detached single-family homes spent on the market: 

  • Arlington Heights (-32.5% change in time on market)

  • Aurora (-46.2%)

  • Buffalo Grove (-71.0%)

  • Des Plaines (-44.9%)

  • Elmhurst (-48.5%)

  • Glen Ellyn (-31.6%)

  • Green Oaks-Libertyville (-79.0)

  • Gurnee (-73.5%)

  • Hainesville-Grayslake (-72.2%)

  • Hinsdale (-56.0%)

  • Lansing (-29.9%)

  • Lombard (-43.4%)

  • Long Grove-Lake Zurich-Hawthorn Woods-Kildeer (-45.8%)

  • Mt. Prospect (-25.7%)

  • Naperville (-25.0%)

  • Park Forest (-67.8%)

  • Park Ridge (-44.3%)

  • Round Lake (-29.8%)

  • South Holland (-68.8%)

  • St. Charles (-60.0%)

  • West Chicago (-33.8%)

How are you preparing your clients for rising interest rates? If they haven’t brought the topic up, you may want to. Especially for first-time homebuyers, your guidance as a REALTOR® can make all the difference in the understanding and level of comfort as they navigate these changes.