Chicago Housing Market Update: November 2025 – Why Inventory Is Rising and What It Means for Buyers and Sellers

Posted on November 18, 2025 by Jason Rosenberg

Friends, Romans, fellow Chicagoans who still say “the Sears Tower”… lend me your ears (and your pre-approval letters). For the first time since approximately the invention of the iPhone, there are actually houses to look at without having to sell a kidney or sacrifice your firstborn to the bidding-war gods.

Yes, inventory is up. No, the sky is not falling. And yes, I’m writing this while doing a little happy dance in my office (don’t judge—real estate agents have feelings too).

The Numbers That Will Make You Spit Out Your Malört

• City of Chicago median price (October 2025): $380,000 – still up 8.6% year-over-year because, let’s be honest, this is Chicago… prices only go down when the Cubs win the World Series

• Homes sold in October: 2,078 (that’s more than last year—someone finally figured out how to close)

• Average days on market: 56 – faster than last year’s glacial 59 days. Translation: Homes are moving quicker than a deep-dish pizza disappears at a Super Bowl party

• National inventory: Up for 24+ straight months. We haven’t seen this many houses since people still used MySpace

• Months of supply in Chicagoland: 2–3 months. Still technically a seller’s market, but we’re no longer in “Lord of the Flies” territory

• Mortgage rates: Low 6% range. Your parents are texting you articles about how they bought their house for $47 and two chickens

Why Is Inventory Finally Rising? (A Short Play in One Act)

Homeowner with a 2.75% mortgage: “I’m never moving. Ever. I will die in this house.” Life: “Here’s a job in Nashville, a new baby, and your mother-in-law wants to move in.” Homeowner: “…Fine. List it, Jason.”

curtain

Also helping: new construction, investors cashing out, and the fact that people finally believe the election is over and nobody is coming for their suburbs.

What This Means for Buyers (Spoiler: You Might Actually Win One)

Remember when you’d tour a house and the listing agent greeted you with, “Welcome! You’re offer number 47—please remove your shoes and your dignity”? Those days are on vacation.

You now have:

• Choices (plural!)

• Time to think without a 24-hour offer deadline

• The ability to ask for an inspection without being laughed out of the group chat

• Sellers occasionally paying closing costs (I said OCCASIONALLY—don’t get greedy)

What This Means for Sellers (Don’t Panic, But Maybe Panic a Tiny Bit)

Good news: Well-priced, good-condition homes are still selling in under 30 days—often for full price or more. Bad news: That “I’m gonna add $150K because I painted the bathroom myself” strategy? Yeah, that house is now the neighborhood’s most expensive lawn ornament.

The Bottom Line (Now With 100% More Optimism)

Chicago real estate isn’t crashing. It’s just putting on its adult pants after a five-year bender of 3% rates and cash-over-asking offers. We’re heading into a normal, healthy, actually-kinda-fun market in 2026.

So whether you want to buy your first condo, upgrade before the kids outgrow the bunk beds, or finally unload that investment property you’ve been Airbnb-ing to tourists who think Portillo’s is “exotic,” let’s do this.

Call me. Text me. Carrier pigeon me. I’m ready.

Jason Rosenberg 312-895-8882 thejasonrosenbergshow@gmail.com

www.jasonrosenbergrealestate.com

Let’s go make some offers… that don’t make us cry. 🏡😎

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/ece4c1_222aaf15b96c4f9cbcbce0aa24ed7b75/480p/mp4/file.mp4

Sources

• Redfin Chicago Housing Market Data (October 2025) – https://www.redfin.com/city/29470/IL/Chicago/housing-market

• Illinois REALTORS® Monthly Reports (October/November 2025)

• Realtor.com & ResiClub Analytics National Housing Inventory Tracker (2025)

• Zillow and Freddie Mac Weekly Mortgage Rate Survey (mid-November 2025)