Chicago's housing market cooled through October on the listing side while closed prices held up. Across the city, 30% of single-family listings carried a price cut and the median condo list price fell to $385,000. Yet October's median sale prices were up 7.1% for single-family homes and 6.6% for condos compared with a year earlier. Mortgage rates peaked at 7.40% in early October before easing to 7.32%.
Single-family homes
The median list price for single-family homes in Chicago was $339,900 as of November 9, down from $349,000 a month earlier. Price per square foot slipped from $212 to $206, and the share of listings with a price cut held at 30%, tied for the highest since we began tracking in August. Altos Research's index of sales pace relative to supply fell to its lowest reading in that period.
Closed sales tell a firmer story. October's median sale price was $375,000, up 7.1% from October 2025, and sellers received 99.0% of their original list price, unchanged from a year ago. The change worth noting is time: homes took 59 days to sell, up 5.4% from a year earlier and the first year-over-year increase in the past twelve months. Over the last three months, contract activity ran about 4.7% below last year.
Condos and townhomes
Condo list prices fell further. The median list price was $385,000 as of November 9, down from $399,000 a month earlier and $415,000 in early August. Price per square foot reached $337, the lowest since August, and 22% of listings carried a price cut. Listings are also sitting longer: the median condo has been on the market 56 days, up from 49.
October's closed condo sales firmed. The median sale price rose to $405,000, up 6.6% year over year and up from $395,000 in September, the first monthly increase after three straight declines. Buyers paid 100.4% of the original list price on average, and homes sold in 40 days, 21.6% faster than a year ago. Over the last three months, contract activity ran about 7.6% below last year.
Why the split? Closed sales reflect deals negotiated weeks earlier. Active listings show where pricing is heading now.
The upper end of the market
The most expensive quarter of Chicago's listings slowed in late October. In single-family homes, the top tier's median list price was $750,000, and those homes have been on the market a median of 63 days, up from 56 in mid-October. Upper-end condos, with a median list price of $1,028,000, have been on the market 70 days, the slowest of any price tier in either category.
Featured neighborhood: Lincoln Park
Lincoln Park (ZIP 60614) is outperforming the citywide market, especially for condos. As of November 9, the median condo list price was $562,500, or $447 per square foot. The median Lincoln Park condo has been on the market 35 days, compared with 56 citywide, and only 19% of listings carried a price cut. Pace is consistent across price points: even the top tier, with a median list price of $1,939,500, has been on the market a median of 35 days, half the citywide upper-end figure. Altos's index of sales pace relative to supply is well above the citywide condo reading, though it eased from a month earlier.
Lincoln Park's single-family market is small, with 16 homes listed at a median of $3,950,000, so a few sales can move the numbers. Only 6% of those listings carried a price cut, compared with 30% citywide. Read our Lincoln Park buyer's guide.
What it means
The citywide numbers describe a market where list prices are adjusting, especially for condos. But Chicago isn't one market. Lincoln Park condos are going under contract in about five weeks at every price point, while upper-end condos citywide are sitting for ten. Before pricing a home or writing an offer, look at the data for that specific neighborhood and price range, not the citywide headline.
Sources and method
Market data in this report comes from Altos Research weekly market reports for single-family homes and condos/townhomes in the City of Chicago, and from the Chicago Association of REALTORS® Weekly Market Activity Report, based on MLS data from Midwest Real Estate Data LLC. Figures cover the weeks of October 3 through November 9, 2026 and are deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Upper-end figures reflect the top price quartile in each Altos segment. Featured neighborhood data reflects Altos Research reports for ZIP code 60614. Mortgage rates are from Freddie Mac, as reported by the Chicago Association of REALTORS®.