The housing market has changed quite a bit over the past seven years. But how much? And in what ways? We’re looking at how today’s market compares to 2019 across 11 western suburbs, including Burr Ridge, Naperville, Downers Grove, Hinsdale, and Wheaton. Some of the data isn’t surprising. Homes are selling faster, and prices are higher. But when you look more closely, a few things stand out. Here are five numbers worth a closer look.
1. The Disappearing Sub-$500K Home
In 2019, nearly six out of ten homes sold for less than $500,000. Today, it’s less than two out of ten. Across our 11 suburbs, the percent of closed sales below $500,000 fell from 58.4% to only 16.9%. To put that in perspective, imagine taking 100 homes that sold in 2019. About 58 of them sold below $500,000. In 2026, the number is just 17. It’s significant whenever a price bracket that once represented the majority of transactions is now only about one-sixth of the market, and it highlights the affordability challenge buyers in the western suburbs have been facing, especially those looking to buy their first home.
2. From 37 Days to 9. But Not Everywhere.
Another big change pertains to market time. In 2019, the median home spent 37 days on the market. In 2026, median market time dropped to only 9 days, a decline of nearly one month. But there is some variation across the suburbs. In La Grange, the median is only five days. Clarendon Hills is at five and a half. Downers Grove and Wheaton are both at seven, and Western Springs is at eight days. But in Burr Ridge, the median market time is 17 days, and in Oak Brook, it’s nearly 25. This illustrates that while macro trends are helpful to follow, they don’t tell the whole story. When you hear stories about how quickly homes are selling, there’s often a range depending on which specific community you’re looking at.
3. The Two Suburbs That Bucked the Trend
Given how quickly homes are selling, it would be natural to assume that we’re seeing more transaction volume. But the numbers show the opposite. Across our 11 suburbs, closed sales declined by 24.1%. Only Burr Ridge and Oak Brook showed an increase. Burr Ridge closed sales went from 70 to 81, and Oak Brook went from 41 to 44 when you compare 2026 to 2019. Everywhere else, sales were down. Elmhurst declined by 17%. Downers Grove was down nearly 23%. Naperville closed sales fell 27%, and both Wheaton and Clarendon Hills saw declines by over 30%. We should note that we’re dealing with smaller numbers in Burr Ridge and Oak Brook, and even a few transactions can have a significant impact on percentages. But the contrast remains striking. While the western suburbs as a whole saw nearly a quarter fewer sales, Burr Ridge and Oak Brook moved in the opposite direction. Overall, we’re seeing fewer transactions, but the homes that do sell are spending considerably less time on the market.
4. The Rise of the Million-Dollar Home
This might be the most striking number of the five. In 2019, about 1 in 14 homes sold for a million dollars or more. In 2026, it is nearly 3 in 10. That’s a jump from 7.3% to 29.3%. Think about that. Sales are down by almost 25%, but more than three times as many homes sold for a million dollars or more, while the number of homes selling below $500,000 declined by over 78%. The Wall Street Journal recently noted that Hinsdale’s median sale price had reached approximately $1.74 million, compared with $1.27 million in 2023. And nationally, Realtor.com reported that 13.1% of active listings were priced at a million dollars or more in March 2026. These figures provide some context for what we’re seeing locally. Seven years ago, sales over a million dollars represented a small fraction of the western suburbs market. Today, they account for nearly one-third of all closed sales.
5. Whatever Happened to the 90-Day Listing?
Another thing that stood out to me is how rare it has become for homes to stay on the market for three months or more. In 2019, nearly three in ten homes spent at least 90 days on the market. In 2026, it was less than one in ten. Earlier we looked at the median market time dropping from 37 days to nine. But this tells us something a little different. The median gives us the midpoint. This tells us how many homes are taking much longer to sell. Seven years ago, that was a significant part of the market, nearly 30%. Today, it’s 8%. We’re not only seeing a decline in typical market time. We’re also seeing a dramatic reduction in the number of homes that take an extended period to sell.
Seven Years, Five Stories
Several things stand out when you step back and look at the big picture. Homes below $500,000 have become a much smaller share of the market. Million dollar transactions have more than tripled. Homes are selling much faster today than they were in 2019, yet the total number of sales has declined. But even within these 11 suburbs, the differences can be considerable. That’s why it’s important to look at each home individually rather than rely on broad descriptions of the housing market alone. The regional averages are interesting, but they can also conceal substantial differences in sales volume, pricing, and market times from one suburb to another.
Data & Methodology: Analysis of MRED closed single-family home sales across the 11 communities listed below, comparing six-month periods from April through October in 2019 and 2026. Percentages reflect closed transactions within the respective reporting periods, not all existing homes or full-year sales. Data is historical and does not necessarily indicate future market performance.
Burr Ridge · Clarendon Hills · Downers Grove · Elmhurst · Hinsdale · La Grange · Lemont · Naperville · Oak Brook · Western Springs · Wheaton