Market Conditions: How Low Will Inventory Go in Chicago?
It’s still a seller’s market in Chicago as inventory remains near record lows.
One of the reasons new posts have been sporadic is because there really isn’t much coming on to talk about.
Statewide, in May, it looks like inventory jumped 15% year-over-year but we’ll see when the IAR puts out the data in a few weeks. The 15% number is coming from some national housing data firms.
In April, inventory had fallen in the city of Chicago again. Nearly every month, just when I think it can’t go any lower, it does.
April is during the spring selling season, when more homes usually come on the market.
In April 2025, inventory declined 12.2% from the prior year.
Here’s the comparison the last few years since I started tracking it:
- April 2021: 8,502
- April 2022: 6,681
- April 2023: 4,964
- April 2024: 4,652
- April 2025: 4,085
Meanwhile, sales also remain low so it’s a double whammy of low inventory and low sales.
Will we see inventory go under 4,000 this summer?
Anyone have any tales from the front lines in terms of how tough it is to actually buy a property right now?
According to Redfin, there are just 194 homes available in Lakeview right now. This is a dense neighborhood. That isn’t even one new apartment building.
What are people doing?
No one wants to talk about the low inventory? Okay- I guess I will.
It’s so tight that even if you have $2 million, and want to buy a SFH, you have few choices.
Why aren’t more people listing? Because they can’t find anything to move to if they do? Because they might move to the suburbs and there’s nothing available out there either?
Anyone know if remodeling companies are busy because people are stuck in place?