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

  • Writer: The Biggest News Jason Rosenberg
    The Biggest News Jason Rosenberg
  • 6 hours ago
  • 3 min read

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

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

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