Published September 27, 2026 in Market Update

Primary market inventory stayed tight even as Illinois prices kept rising

By Alison Aviles

Real estate, Primary market

Here is the number that changes what you should do: the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted only 1,076 homes for sale across the Primary market in the three months ending July 31, 2026. That is down 7.2% from a year before. Less competition on the seller side can support prices. For buyers, fewer choices means the best homes go fast and preparation matters more than ever.

New listings fell 6.1% across the Primary market, the Real Estate Data Aggregator shows. Fewer sellers are stepping in to replace what sells. That keeps the pool of choices thin for buyers and keeps pressure on pricing for sellers who do list.

Illinois prices are rising faster than the country

The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported that Illinois house prices rose 5.6% between the second quarter of 2025 and the second quarter of 2026. That is well ahead of the national figure. The Federal Housing Finance Agency put the U.S. gain at just 2.1% over the same period. Closer to home, Redfin reported that Chicago home prices rose 9.2% year over year in August 2026. Illinois homeowners have seen real value growth, not just noise.

How each ZIP code stacked up

Prices moved up in every ZIP code in the Primary market. The gains ranged from modest to striking. Here is how the median sale price looked across all ten ZIP codes in the three months ending July 31, 2026, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator.

ZIP 60644 led on price growth, up 20.2% year over year, the Real Estate Data Aggregator shows. ZIP 60612 was close behind at up 16.7%. ZIP 60047 rose 10.2%. Even the slower end of the market, ZIP 60097, was up 1.7%. Every ZIP moved in the same direction.

Speed and competition: not every ZIP reads the same

ZIP 60647 moved fastest. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted a median of 37 days on market there, and homes sold at 104.8% of list price on average. More than 7 in 10 homes sold above list. That is a different experience from ZIP 60644, where the median was 71 days and months of supply rose to 4.1 months.

Not every signal points the same way. In ZIP 60644, prices jumped 20.2% even as sales fell 22.4% and days on market stretched 2 days longer. Higher prices and slower sales can sit in the same ZIP at the same time. That is why the ZIP code picture matters more than the headline number alone.

Mortgage rates and the national picture

Freddie Mac put the average 30-year fixed rate at 7.03% as of September 24, 2026. The 15-year rate averaged 6.42%. Those rates shape what buyers can afford, and they are part of why fewer people are listing and fewer are buying across the country.

The National Association of Realtors reported that existing-home sales fell 2.0% month over month in August 2026. Nationally, inventory hit 4.9 months of supply, the highest level in over ten years, the National Association of Realtors noted. That is a very different picture from this Primary market, where supply sits well below that level in most ZIP codes.

ZIP 60647 had just 1.6 months of supply. ZIP 60641 was at 1.9 months. Both sit far below the national level. Even the ZIP codes with more supply, like 60644 at 4.1 months, are close to or below the national figure.

What this means for you

For homeowners, tighter supply and rising Illinois prices are working in your favor on paper. But the story inside your ZIP code can look quite different from the market-wide number. Days on market, sale-to-list ratios and months of supply all vary a lot from one area to the next.

For buyers, the Primary market is not as loose as the national picture suggests. Most ZIP codes here have well under three months of supply. Homes in ZIP 60641 went under contract within two weeks of listing 66.9% of the time, the Real Estate Data Aggregator shows. Being ready matters.