How to Find Houses for Sale in Illinois Suburbs

The Chicagoland housing market is hot right now, with many desirable houses for sale across the Illinois suburbs. But do you know where to start when it comes time to look for your dream home? There are two ways to start your homesearch online right now. Let’s take a look. 

Contact a Mainstreet REALTOR®️ 

When you’re looking for a new home, you want a Mainstreet REALTOR®️ by your side. A Mainstreet REALTOR®️ is your advocate throughout the homebuying process — and through the selling process if you own your current home. 

While some digital tools suggest that you can take on the homebuying process alone, purchasing a new home requires expertise in the local market, contracts, home inspections and more. And given that your home will likely be the most valuable thing you own, it’s critical to get all the details right. Even if you’ve bought and sold homes before, it’s likely been a while. Mainstreet REALTORS®️ handle housing transactions day in and day out, and are up-to-date on how the process has changed during the pandemic.  

You can find a local REALTOR®️ through the National Association of REALTORS®️ site. Then, work with them to start your homesearch off on the right foot. 

Find houses for sale in Illinois suburbs online

According to the National Association of REALTORS®️, 43% of recent homebuyers started their homesearch online. And almost all buyers — 97% — used the Internet to search for a home at some point during the process. 

In 2020, we launched MainstreetHomeSearch.com to help Chicagoland homebuyers get a better sense of local inventory and start to identify homes they’d like to see in person. The site shows all houses for sale in Illinois suburbs listed by Mainstreet’s 18,000 members. Looking for a condo or townhome? You’ll find those on MainstreetHomeSearch.com, too.

On the site, you can filter homes by:

  • Location

  • Number of bedrooms

  • Number of bathrooms

  • Price

  • Property type

  • Property size

  • Lot size

  • Amenities

  • Amount of parking

  • Year of construction

  • Time on market

On MainstreetHomeSearch.com, you’ll find interior and exterior photos of each property, along with descriptions and maps. When you see one you like, you can contact the listing agent directly through the site for more information. 

Not quite ready to start your search? 

Mainstreet has plenty of homebuyer and homeseller resources for you to explore. If you have any questions about the homebuying process, start with our Homebuyer FAQs.