Forty-three counties in Illinois reported slight gains in home sales in October, according to Illinois Realtors.

Last month, 12,796 single-family homes and condominiums sold, up 0.3 percent from October 2016. On average, it only took 54 days to sell a home in October, compared to 60 days last year. Additionally, the median price for October 2017 was roughly $185,000, a 3.9 percent increase from last year.

“The underlying desire by buyers to get into a new home remains a constant,” said Matt Difanis, president of Illinois Realtors. “The continued drop in the average time it takes to sell a home in the state coupled with an increase in median prices over last October shows that even in what’s traditionally a slower time many people are willing to wade into the market and make aggressive offers.”

The amount of housing inventory left on the market and the number of mortgage commitments also improved in October 2017. Across Illinois, only 57,911 homes were left on the market at the end of the month, with more homebuyers committing to 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages.

As for the city of Chicago, year-over-year sales remained mostly the same as the previous year, but home sales did increase slightly in October to 8,994 homes were sold, up 0.3 percent from the same time last year.

“Steady seems to be the name of the game, and this fall is proving no different,” said Rebecca Thomson, president of the Chicago Association of Realtors. “Although inventory continues to tighten, we now see an increase in new construction that is fueling price gains, particularly in the condo market. As we enter the holiday season, between the healthy economy and strong demand, these trends show little signs of slowing down.”