Mainstreet Realtors: Buyer demand holds strong as suburban home prices hit new highs

The Chicago area’s suburban housing market is heating up again, with more homes under contract in May, even as prices continue to increase.

Pending sales rose in both the detached and attached markets, signaling strong buyer interest.

Detached homes under contract jumped 4.9% year over year, from 3,084 in May 2024 to 3,234 last month. Attached homes saw an even bigger increase, up 9.7% from 1,376 last year to 1,510 in May.

“These numbers indicate there is still pent up demand," said Connie Vavra, president of Mainstreet Realtors. “It is still a sellers’ market, but there are early signs that the market is slowly becoming more balanced."

At the same time, home prices climbed to new heights. The median price for detached homes rose 5%, reaching $420,000, up from $400,000 a year ago. Attached home prices also increased, rising modestly from $265,000 to $275,000.

“There are a lot of buyers who are waiting to see if interest rates come down, inventory increases or economic conditions change, but if history is any indicator, the best time to buy is today," said John Gormley, CEO of Mainstreet Realtors. “The reality is that market value continues to increase and for homeowners, their equity compounds year over year."

Sales were down compared to last year, likely due to ongoing inventory constraints. Detached home sales fell 4.3%, from 2,887 last year to 2,764 last month. Attached home sales also declined 5.7%, from 1,353 last year to 1,276 last month.

Time on market also ticked up, with detached homes taking 38 days to sell, up from 34 last year, and attached homes 32 days, up from 24.

“Longer time on market can be partially due to previously stagnant properties now finding buyers as more people enter the summer market. For a few years, if a home stayed on the market for more than a week, people thought there was something wrong with it, but now we need to start recalibrating our expectations," Vavra said.

There were several suburbs with a notable percentage increase in detached homes, homes under contract: Antioch (65.6% increase in homes under contract from May 2024 to May 2025); Aurora (17.9%); Burbank (34.8%); Calumet City (67.7%); Elmhurst (16.7%); Elmwood Park (35.0%); Gurnee (27.6%); Homewood (40.0%); Lansing (25.9%); Lombard (36.8%); Markham (66.7%); Maywood (15.4%); Naperville (11.4%); Oak Forest (47.8%); Orland Park (31.7%); Oswego (8.3%); Round Lake (15.8%); South Holland (26.9%); Streamwood (42.3%); and Sycamore (25.0%).