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More homes, fewer competing buyers, and rates down two weeks running. What DuPage’s October numbers mean if you’re ready to move up. If you’ve read national housing coverage this fall, you’ve seen the word “frozen” a lot. One economist told Newsweek that the 2026 housing market “never got off the ground.” Rates climbed back above 7% in October, and there’s an election on Tuesday. So the question I keep hearing from families who want more space is a fair one: “Should we wait for rates to come down before we buy?” I pulled DuPage’s October numbers from MRED this weekend. For move-up buyers, they tell a more useful story than the headlines. DuPage didn’t freeze. It opened up a little. More to choose from. There were 934 detached single-family homes for sale in DuPage in October, up 15.9% from 806 a year ago. That’s the most October inventory in the four years of data I pulled. Fewer buyers to beat. 455 homes went under contract, down 9.0% from 500. More homes and fewer signed contracts means less competition for the house you actually want. But don’t expect a sale rack. The rolling 12-month median sale price is $535,000, up 6.7% from $501,375. Homes are still selling at 99.9% of their last list price on average. The opening is in choice and timing, not in price cuts. |
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IS IT STILL A SELLER’S MARKET? Yes. But buyers finally have some room. Months of supply for DuPage detached homes is 1.8, up from 1.5 last October. That ties the highest reading in the 46 months of data I pulled, January 2023 through October 2026. A balanced market is roughly six months, so sellers still hold most of the cards. What’s different is breathing room. Last year, the right house in the right town often meant deciding the same day and waiving things you wished you hadn’t. With more listings and fewer buyers signing, you have more time to look, more homes to compare, and more room to keep an inspection in your offer.
DuPage detached homes for sale (navy) pulled away from homes under contract (gold) this summer and fall. Source: MRED/InfoSparks, pulled Nov 1, 2026. Where you look matters, though. Lombard loosened the most, from 1.6 to 2.3 months. Carol Stream actually tightened, from 1.4 to 0.9 months, and Winfield is still at 1.2. Wheaton rose from 0.9 to 1.3, which is real room by Wheaton standards. |
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RATES AND THE ELECTION Will Tuesday move your mortgage rate? Probably not much, and probably not for long. Mortgage rates track the 10-year Treasury and the Federal Reserve far more than election results. After the last four midterm elections, rates fell over the next three months twice and rose twice. There’s no pattern to bet on. Here’s what has actually moved rates this fall: • The 30-year fixed averaged 7.40% in mid-October, its highest level since November 2023 (Freddie Mac). • It has eased two weeks in a row since, to 7.24% on October 29. A year ago it was 6.17%. • The Fed held its benchmark at 3.75%–4.00% on October 28. Futures markets are pricing a strong chance of another hike at the December 8–9 meeting. If you’re buying, the date I’d circle isn’t November 3. It’s December 9. HERE’S WHAT I’D DO If you’re thinking about moving up in the next six months 1. Know your current home’s number first. For most move-up buyers, equity is the down payment. A real valuation built on this month’s comps tells you what you can actually shop for. 2. Get fully pre-approved now. Ask your lender how rate locks work heading into the December 9 Fed decision, so a move in rates doesn’t catch you mid-search. 3. Look hardest at homes that have sat. Detached homes in DuPage are averaging 33 days on market. Past that point, sellers are usually more open to talking about terms. 4. Don’t wait for rates to fall to start looking. If rates do drop, the buyers on the sidelines come back at the same time. Being early is how you avoid competing with all of them. |
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ASK ANDY “Should we sell first or buy first?” It’s the question every move-up family asks, and this fall the answer is shifting a little. When buyers were lined up around the block, sellers rarely accepted an offer that depended on the buyer selling their own home first. With more listings and fewer buyers, some sellers are more willing to consider one, especially on homes that have been sitting. My take: for most families, I’d get your current home ready to list and know your number before you write an offer, then pick the order based on what you find. If the right house shows up first, a strong offer with a clear plan for your sale is more realistic than it was a year ago. If yours sells first, a longer closing or a short rent-back buys you time. Either way, the plan beats the guess. |
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• Tue, Nov 3 — Election Day. However you vote, check your polling place with the county clerk before you head out. • Sat, Nov 7, 9 a.m.–noon — Geneva Pumpkin Smash. Free pumpkin recycling at the Community Gardens at Prairie Green (Peck and Bricher roads). • Sun, Nov 8 — Carol Stream Veterans 5K Walk/Run. Starts and finishes at the Town Center, 960 N Gary Ave. Proceeds benefit VFW Post 10396. • Sun, Nov 8, 7 a.m. — Graham’s Chocolate Run. Half marathon, 10K and 5K through historic Geneva and along the Fox River Trail. • Sundays, 9 a.m.–2 p.m. — Geneva French Market. Final weeks of the season, Metra lot at Fourth and South streets.  |
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Andy Pupius REALTOR® · Southwestern Real Estate · CFSP · RENE · PSA · AHWD 773-294-0238 · apupius@southwestern.com Real estate built on relationships, not transactions. Straight answers. Steady hands. Every detail handled. Sources: MRED / InfoSparks © 2026 ShowingTime (single-family, city-level, rolling 12 months through September 2026); Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, October 15, 2026. |
