Statewide home sales dropped more than 10% from last year during November, according to new data from Illinois REALTORS®. At the same time, there was a 22.2% decrease in homes for sale.

With 20,568 homes on the market in Illinois during that period, the association reported 9,508 sales. Meanwhile, the median price was up 9.5%, rising to $265,000, and the average time on the market was down to 27 days.

“The housing market is continuing its long-running trend of low sales and relatively high prices,” Dr. Daniel McMillen, a professor of real estate and associate dean for faculty affairs at the University of Illinois-Chicago College of Business Administration, commented in a press release. “The trend toward low sales should continue through the winter, which always is a slow time for housing sales in Illinois. However, the recent trends toward lower inflation rates, interest rates and unemployment rates can be expected to lead to a rebound in the market if the trends continue.”

Zooming into the Chicago metro area, the picture was similar. As inventory decreased 25.5% from last year, home sales slipped 10.2%, with a total of 6,242 homes sold. At the same time, the median price increased 9.5% to $323,000, and the average home sold in 24 days: a five-day decrease.

The city proper saw an identical slump in sales: 10.2%, with 1,399 home sales during November; inventory there decreased 25.1%. However, the median price increase was lower, rising just 5% to $322,500. The average time on the market was also higher at 33 days, although the number reflects a two-day decrease year over year.

“In November, steady median sales prices combined with slowing closed sales were symptoms of continued inventory shortages,” Chicago Association of REALTORS® President Drussy Hernandez concluded. However, she highlighted a stronger interest in attached city homes, as opposed to single-family options.

Condo sales slipped 7.1% in Chicago during November while single-family home sales slipped 14.2%. “The decrease in single-family home sales in comparison to condo sales showed that buyers were finding more success, and inventory, in the condo market,” Hernandez said.