Chicago, IL Housing Market Update: May 2026

Key Takeaways

• Chicago’s housing market favored sellers somewhat in May, but the balance of power was almost even.
• Home prices, sales and listings all rose as activity returned to the market.
• The city’s seasonal trends behaved more ‘normally’ than they have in years, in line with the slow reset of the national market.

Snapshot of the Chicago housing market

The spring housing season was in full swing in May and the Chicago market followed suit. Sales rose, houses moved faster and prices rose. It took about seven weeks for the listing to sell, but the well-priced listings moved faster than in previous springs. The market was almost perfectly balanced, but strategy still mattered.

Learn everything you need to know about the Chicago, Illthe housing market as we get closer to summer, and what buyers and sellers can do to succeed.

Snapshot of the US housing market

Nationally, prices are rising, inventory is growing and current sales are increasing. The long-term slow and expensive buyer’s market that has defined the post-pandemic market is finally showing signs of thawing – but buyers are still in control.

“Housing has been stuck in a rut for years, with buyers and sellers overpriced and not enough homes to make ends meet,” says Chen Zhao, Redfin’s head of economic research. “While conditions are still tough, many cities are undergoing a year-long reset from the pandemic, with price growth slowing and inventories rising, improving affordability as wages rise. Pending home sales have risen over the past three months, which is an early sign that buyers and sellers are starting to re-enter the market. But volatility related to the war in Iran is keeping everyone on edge.”

Let’s dive into the Chicago housing market.

The Chicago housing market has been somewhat in favor of sellers

In Chicago, buyers outnumbered sellers by just 0.5% in May, tilting the market slightly toward sellers. The number of buyers rose 5% year over year in May, while the number of sellers remained essentially stable. Nationally it was essentially the opposite; there were 47% more sellers than buyers.

Houses moved relatively quickly. The average home was on the market for 51 days and 44% of homes were under contract within two weeks. Meanwhile, 37% of homes sold above the original list price, compared to just 26% nationally.

Active buyers should move quickly to well-priced offerings; Good priced homes still get multiple offers. Sellers can be confident about demand, but should not set prices too high; The data shows that buyers are active but not desperate, and overpriced homes are waiting.

Prices rose at a less frenzied pace

The average sales price in Chicago was $379,900 in Mayan increase of 5.4% year on year. That was a continued upward trend, but a slowdown from the 8.3% annualized growth at this point in 2024 and the 6.1% gain last year. Chicago’s appreciation exceeded that of the entire country (where prices rose just 1.9%), but the gap narrowed.

To put this data into context, Chicago’s average sales price has nearly doubled from its post-recession lows. The strongest growth occurred during the pandemic, when prices rose by $50,000 in less than two years. The current growth rate is much more sustainable, averaging around 5–6% per year since mid-2024.

However, home seekers should not wait for price drops from sellers. Only 11% of active listings in Chicago have seen a price reduction, compared to 20% nationally. That said, sellers who lower their price cut their list price by an average of 4%. Sellers must match their prices to the market, and buyers must make competitive offers.

The stock remained stable

The number of active listings remained stable at 26,679, an increase of less than 1% year-on-year– essentially flat after several months of modest growth. The number of new homes rose 4%, a sign that more homeowners were choosing to sell. Combined with a monthly supply of 3.1 (compared to 3.5 nationally), Chicago remained a tighter market than the US as a whole.

The data painted a picture of a market that normalized unevenly: Inventories reached levels near multi-year recovery levels, but demand absorbed much of it before supply could meaningfully accumulate. For buyers, this meant a similar number of options as last year and still a limited influence on the price.

All data is a Redfin analysis of MLS, US Census Bureau, and/or county record data. Check the Redfin Data Center for additional in-depth data on the housing market.