CHICAGO—A dwindling inventory of homes for sale continued to shape results in the metro Chicago real estate market during October, RE/MAX reports. Compared to the same month last year, 10% fewer homes were for sale in October, helping reduce total homes sales in the seven-county area by 5% to a total of 8,693 units.

However, with fewer homes available, buyers acted quickly and offered higher prices. The October median sales price for the metro area was $219,000, up 9.5% from last October's figure of $200,000. The average time a home sold in October spent on the market before finding a buyer fell to 83 days from 90 days one year earlier. That is the shortest average for October since 2005.

As reported in GlobeSt.com, s everal factors have caused the shortage. Housing prices are still off their pre-recession peaks, for example, making some potential sellers reluctant to jump into the market

Still, “this is an outstanding market for those with a home to sell,” says Jack Kreider, executive vice president and regional director of RE/MAX Northern Illinois. “An average market time of under 90 days puts upward pressure on prices, and we certainly saw that play out in October. The increase in mortgage interest rates since the presidential election will serve to reinforce the urgency homebuyers already feel, so we expect an active market right through the holiday season and into 2017.”

Sales declined in five of the metro area's seven counties. Sellers in Kane County saw the best results; sales activity there rose 8% and the median sales price gained 11.5% to $218,500. McHenry County also has a solid October, with sales activity and the median sales price both up 7%.

October's softest market was in Lake County. There, home sales fell 7%; the median sales price declined 4% and average market time increased by six days.

The median sales price rose and average market time in October declined in the six other metro counties as well as the City of Chicago. The strongest price increases outside of Kane were in Cook and Will counties, where the median price gained 10%.

RE/MAX analyzed home sales data collected by MRED, the regional multiple listing service. It covers detached and attached homes in the Illinois counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will. Detached homes are typically stand-alone single-family dwellings. Attached homes include condominium and cooperative apartments along with townhouses.

October's softest market was in Lake County. There, home sales fell 7%; the median sales price declined 4% and average market time increased by six days.

Instant Insights /

Homes for Sale Inventory Keeps Dwindling

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