If you have a would-be seller close to getting ready to put their home on the market, now’s the time to prepare. 

Falling consumer sentiment suggests potential homebuyers are wary of the short-term economic outlook and future inflation, CoreLogic Chief Economist Selma Hepp said. 

Furthermore, 13% of homeowners said they’d take their home off the market if they learned their ex was considering buying it.

The higher down payment amount compared to last year is due to higher home prices, resulting in larger deposits for buyers.

At the same time, the median sales price for a new home hit its highest level since 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.   

In Chicago, home prices rose 6.6% year over year and 0.19% month over month in December. The annual increase was the second highest in the U.S. after New York. 

At the same time, builder sales expectations for the next six months posted their second-largest drop since the sentiment index started in 1985. 

Chicago is No. 4 among U.S. metro areas with 3,606 units in its office-to-apartments pipeline.

After Chicago, Miami, Las Vegas and Washington, D.C., posted the greatest year-over-year gains. 

The median existing-home price for all housing types in December rose 6% from its year-ago level.    

For the first time in two years, home prices are on the rise in every major metro and Chicago is one of them, according to a new Redfin report. 

Nationally, home sales were up 13.3% year over year and 4.4% month over month, RE/MAX said. 

Zillow has released its list of the hottest real estate markets predicted in 2025 and Chicago made the ranking.

In its last reading before the end of the year, the National Association of REALTORS®  Pending Home Sales Index posted its fourth consecutive monthly increase in November. 

The median-sales price slid from $425,600 in October to $402,600 last month. 

The year-over-year increase of 6.1% is the greatest since June 2021, according to the association.