It was a slightly slow start to the year in the Chicagoland suburbs as homes there took longer to sell in January compared to the same month last year. Detached homes up were on the market for an average of 56 days, up seven days year over year, while attached homes averaged 45, an eight-day bump.

The new data comes from Mainstreet REALTORS®.

The suburbs which saw the greatest year-over-year growth in time on the market for detached homes was, in order: Schaumburg (up 168%); Country Club Hills (up 158%); Antioch (up 146.9%); Gurnee (up 119.2%); Long Grove-Lake Zurich-Hawthorn Woods-Kildeer (up 92.5%); Mount Prospect (up 51.4%); Chicago Heights (up 46.8%); Palatine (up 44.4%); Tinley Park (up 36.4%); Hoffman Estates (up 23.7%); and Arlington Heights (up 22.0%).

However, a press release from Mainstreet stressed that the market still favors sellers as there were only 1.7 months of inventory available in the Chicagoland PMSA.

“Inventory in Chicagoland is up a mere 6% from the same time last year, but I’m willing to guess that is one of the contributors to the increased time on market last month,” said Connie Vavra, President of Mainstreet REALTORS®.

Rising prices also signal strong demand. The median price for a detached home rose 7.4% year over year, hitting $365,000 in January. Meanwhile, attached home prices increased even more, by 11.5%, reaching $262,000.

Home sales increased as well for both home types. Detached sales rose 4.1% with 1,586 homes sold in January; attached home sales rose 3.4% with 771 total sales.

“There’s still a lot of demand for very little inventory,” said Mainstreet CEO John Gormley. “We need to focus on meeting consumers where they are and providing them with a diversity of housing options, from detached single-family homes to attached homes and multi-family dwellings, and even accessory-dwelling units.”

“A shift in buyer demographics may be influencing market dynamics. More sellers are willing to give up their low interest rates this year, and boomers continue to enter the market,” said Vavra. “Traditionally, buyers put down 20% to 30% when purchasing a home, but I’m seeing some boomers, with significant equity, putting down as much as 50% to 60% — a trend that’s keeping competition strong despite rising rates.”