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Rates Went Up Again. Should You Wait to Sell?
If a 3% mortgage is the only thing keeping you in a home that no longer fits, here’s my straight answer, what September’s corridor numbers show, and the move I’d make this fall.
THE NATIONAL HEADLINE
Rates climbed again
Freddie Mac’s average 30-year fixed rate hit 7.40% on October 8, up from 7.28% a week earlier and 6.95% three weeks before that. It’s the highest reading since late 2023, and a year ago the rate was about 6.3%.
In dollars: on DuPage’s 12-month median of $437,175 with 20% down, principal and interest come to about $2,422 a month at 7.40%. That’s roughly $106 more than the same loan at 6.95% just three weeks ago.
If you locked in around 3%, the gap feels much bigger, and that’s why so many homeowners are asking me the same question this fall.
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ASK ANDY
“Rates went up again. Should I wait to sell?”
“We’ve got a 3% mortgage, and the house doesn’t really fit us anymore. With rates over 7%, shouldn’t we just sit tight until they come down?”
My honest answer: don’t wait for rates. Price it right, and move when your life says it’s time.
Nobody can time rates, including me. If rates do drop, everyone who’s been waiting will list at the same time. That means more competition for your sale, and more buyers competing with you for your next home.
Buyers haven’t gone anywhere. They’re just negotiating harder. That’s what I’m seeing in showings right now. Traffic is steady, but buyers want a reason to stretch. A home priced right on day one gives them that reason. A home that “tests the market” gives them time to talk themselves out of it.
Your equity is real, and so is the price of your next home. DuPage’s 12-month median is up 5.9%. Waiting doesn’t make the home you’re buying any cheaper.
About that 3% rate. I won’t pretend it’s nothing. Your next mortgage will cost more. But if your home no longer fits your life (too big, too small, wrong school, wrong commute), the rate shouldn’t be what keeps you there.
Here’s what I’d do: price it sharp the first week, and don’t make a price cut your first move. When a buyer pushes back, a seller-paid rate buydown can sometimes do more for their monthly payment than the same dollars off the price. Whether it pencils out depends on the deal and the lender, so we run the numbers before deciding.
CORRIDOR WATCH
Town by town, September 2026
More homes are coming to market in the corridor, and buyers are taking their time with them. Prices are still climbing everywhere I track.
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Median sale prices are rolling 12-month figures. Everything else is September only. Warrenville and Winfield are small markets, so read their monthly numbers as directional.
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- Wheaton: more choice arriving. New listings rose 20.5% (78 to 94), and supply reached 1.7 months, the highest in the 21 months of data. Sellers still got 100% of original list, and the 12-month median is up 7.4% to $499,300.
- Warrenville: the loosest in the corridor. New listings jumped from 30 to 45, supply hit 2.0 months, and the median sale came in at 97.8% of original list.
- West Chicago: moving against the trend. Homes went under contract in a median 5 days (down from 9) and sold at 101.1% of original list. The 12-month median is up 7.6% to $414,125.
- Winfield: tight, but slower. Just 0.9 months of supply, yet median market time hit 25 days, up from 8.
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What it means if you’re selling: DuPage is at 1.8 months of supply, and a balanced market is about 6, so sellers still have the leverage. But in Wheaton and Warrenville you have more competition than at any point in nearly two years. Price it right the first week; the listings that test the market are the ones sitting.
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THIS WEEK IN DUPAGE
Out and about
- Downtown Wheaton i-Spy Scavenger Hunt, all October. Find 10 hidden Halloween images in participating shops, then turn your map in at the Wheaton Public Library’s first-floor welcome desk for a chance at a $20 Downtown Wheaton gift card.
- Winfield Farmers Market, Wednesday, Oct. 14 and Wednesday, Oct. 21.
- Wheaton Wellness Expo, Saturday, Oct. 24, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., hosted by Wheaton Partners in Progress.
- Save the date: Downtown Wheaton Trick-or-Treating, Saturday, Oct. 31, 10 a.m. to noon. Look for the teal pumpkins, which mark shops with allergy-friendly treats.
Worth knowing: drone delivery near North Avenue
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Amazon has proposed a Prime Air drone delivery site at 27W501 North Avenue, between North Avenue and St. Charles Road. The FAA’s draft environmental review describes up to 1,000 flights a day, a 7.5-mile delivery radius that reaches much of Winfield, West Chicago, Carol Stream and Wheaton, and operations from 6 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. The FAA comment period closed in August. If you want to follow what happens next, your village board meetings are the place to watch.
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