Prices have now risen in the Chicagoland suburbs for one year straight. According to recent data from Mainstreet Organization of REALTORS®, May marked the 12th month in a row that prices there rose, year over year.

Last month, the median sales price for a detached suburban home was $400,000: a 9.6% increase from May 2023. At the same time, those home sales were down just 35 sales with 2,832 total transactions.

Meanwhile, attached suburban home sales were down 2.4% in May with 1,332 homes sold as prices rose 11.3%, hitting $238,000.

And, looking forward, Mainstreet predicts further affordability challenges. “For those sitting on the sidelines waiting for the market to improve, I think we have a long way to go,” Mainstreet President Tim Ryan said in a press release. “If borrowing becomes more affordable, homebuying will become more expensive because we will have even more buyers with the same amount of limited inventory.”

The release also quoted Mainstreet member and Team JC broker associate Matthew Bowser who does not foresee “much of a pick-up.” Browser said, “Even though interest rates have naturally floated down again, just under 7%, the market still lacks inventory, and sellers are still unwilling to let go of their 3 to 4% interest rates.”

“Affordability is going to remain a challenge for the foreseeable future,” Mainstreet CEO John Gormley concluded.

At the same time, inventory is still well below the ideal five-to-six-month range in DuPage, Kane and Cook counties. DuPage County and Kane County both experienced year-over-year increases, both hitting 1.3 months’ supply. Cook County has 2.1 months’ supply, down 4.5% from last year.

In turn, homes are still moving fast. Time on the market was down for both house types: The average number of days on the market dropped to 34 for detached homes and to 24 for attached homes.