Why 2026 Is Positioned to Be One of the Strongest Real Estate Years DuPage County Has Seen in a Long Time
- Jake Kilts
- 19 hours ago
- 2 min read
The DuPage County housing market doesn’t move on emotion or media narratives. It moves on fundamentals—supply, demand, affordability, and timing. When you evaluate those factors objectively, 2026 is shaping up to be one of the most productive real estate years the county has experienced in decades.
Not because of a boom. Because of alignment.
DuPage’s Market Was Slowed by Uncertainty, Not Weakness
From late 2022 through 2025, home sales across DuPage County dropped to unusually low levels. That slowdown wasn’t driven by collapsing demand or falling values. It was driven by one thing: rapid interest-rate changes that made people pause.
Buyers delayed decisions.Sellers stayed put.Household formation continued anyway.
That created a backlog of postponed transactions that didn’t disappear—it accumulated.
Sales Volume Is Expected to Rebound in 2026
National housing forecasts point to a meaningful increase in existing-home sales in 2026, with transaction volume projected to rise at a double-digit pace from historically suppressed levels.
For DuPage County, that matters more than price projections.
Higher sales volume means:
More buyer participation
More seller confidence
Clearer pricing benchmarks
Faster absorption of well-prepared homes
Markets don’t need rapid appreciation to be strong. They need movement.
DuPage County Still Faces Structural Inventory Constraints
DuPage County is largely built out. There is limited land for large-scale new construction, and much of the housing stock is established. Even during slower periods, inventory never reached levels associated with oversupply.
That structural constraint hasn’t changed.
As demand returns—even gradually—it doesn’t take much to rebalance the market. When supply remains tight and transactions increase, pricing stability follows.
Mortgage Rates Are Becoming Predictable Again
The real estate market doesn’t require low mortgage rates—it requires predictable ones.
As rates stabilize into a narrower range, buyers and sellers regain the ability to plan. That predictability restores confidence, which is often the missing ingredient during slow cycles.
Planning replaces waiting.Waiting gives way to action.
Why 2026 Stands Out Specifically
What makes 2026 different is not a single variable—it’s the convergence of several long-term trends:
Years of delayed buyer and seller decisions
Persistent inventory shortages
Stabilizing financing conditions
Continued job and income growth in the region
When those factors align, markets don’t become chaotic. They become efficient.
Bottom Line
The strongest real estate years aren’t dramatic. They’re decisive.
In 2026, buyers who are prepared will have clarity instead of competition shock. Sellers who price and position correctly will benefit from renewed demand without needing unrealistic expectations.
In DuPage County, understanding the fundamentals—not reacting to headlines—will be the advantage.
Contact Jake for more information:
Jake Kilts Dupage Realtor
6304871896