Average days on market differ from city to city, but according to Movoto.com, Chicago listings' average days on market has decreased.

By Stephanie Sims

How fast agents sell homes depends on a number of things – location, condition of the property, foreclosure/short sale status and the state of the market. But a hugely important indicator is how many days a listing is on the market, which is directly linked to the number of consumers looking for a new home.

When Movoto Real Estate looked at nine of the 10 largest cities in the U.S., the company discovered that compared to a year ago, houses now sell 12 days faster. This time last year, it took 72 days for a house to sell, and today it takes 60 days. In Chicago specifically, at this time a year ago, homes were on the market for 90 days; now, that amount of time has decreased 6 percent to 85 days.

This time last year, Chicago-area homes were on the market for an average of 90 days. Flash forward and houses are staying on the market for an average of 85 days – a 6 percent decrease.

This evidence supports recent reports that multiple offers are now being received, and is a strong indicator that competition for homes available will increase. In a market with increasing competition, this leads to higher prices, an increasing number of cash offers and a decrease in days on market for listings.