Wait for Spring? What the calendar really costs DuPage sellers...and when I’d list instead.

Every fall I hear the same thing from homeowners who are thinking about a move: “We’ll just wait until spring.” This year the national headlines make that sound even smarter. The National Association of REALTORS® says August and September were the two slowest months for U.S. home sales in 2026, and the 30-year mortgage rate is still above 7% - 7.32% as of Freddie Mac’s October 22 survey, down a little from 7.40% the week before.

Waiting for spring is a reasonable instinct. But it isn’t free, and it isn’t always the better move. I pulled three full years of DuPage County single-family data to see what the calendar actually does to sellers. Here’s what it shows.

1. Winter brings fewer competitors — not fewer buyers

DuPage County single-family, monthly averages for 2023–2025. Source: MRED / InfoSparks © 2026 ShowingTime.

The spring market is busy for everyone, including the homes you’re competing against. In an average May, about 1,508 new single-family listings hit the DuPage market. In an average December, it’s about 504 - roughly one-third as many.

Buyers don’t vanish in winter the way listings do. In December, DuPage averages about 0.89 homes going under contract for every new listing - the highest ratio of the year. In May it’s about 0.70. The people house-hunting in December are usually doing it because they have to: a job move, a lease ending, a family change. That’s a serious buyer.

2.  The honest trade-off: spring sellers do get more of their asking price

I’m not going to pretend winter has no cost. Sellers in June averaged 101.1% of their original list price. Sellers in December averaged 98.3%. Median time on market stretches from about 7 days in late spring to about 17 days in December.

On a median-priced DuPage home - $437,088 over the past 12 months - that 2.8-point gap works out to roughly $12,000. That’s real money, and it’s the strongest argument for waiting. Keep in mind these are averages of what happened, not a promise about any one house; the homes listed in June and December aren’t identical.

Here’s the part most people miss: “spring” isn’t one season. March is the quiet sweet spot. In an average March, DuPage sees about 1,210 new listings (20% fewer than May), 0.83 contracts per new listing, 99.5% of original list price, and an 11-day median market time. You get most of the spring pricing with a lot less competition.

3.  Where the market sits right now

Heading into the holidays, DuPage is softer than it was a year ago, but still nowhere near a buyer’s market. Here’s September 2026 versus September 2025:

• Median sale price (12-month rolling): $437,088, up 5.8%.

• Homes for sale: 1,538, up 15.6%...buyers have more to choose from.

• Months of supply: 1.8, up from 1.6. A balanced market is about 6.

• Median market time: 17 days, up from 11.

• Sale price vs. original list: 98.4%, down from 99.3%.

• Homes going under contract: 735, down 11.9% from last September. That’s one month, right after rates crossed 7%; year-to-date contract activity is still up 0.4%. I’m watching it, not panicking about it.

ASK ANDY

“Should we list before the holidays or wait for spring?”

What’s your home worth this winter — and this spring?

I’ll pull a current valuation and tell you honestly whether listing now or in March makes more sense for your house. Get your home value here →

Corridor Watch

Single-family homes, September 2026. Price is a rolling 12-month median; other columns are September only.

• Downtown Wheaton Trick-or-Treating — Saturday, Oct. 31, 10 a.m.–noon. Dozens of downtown businesses are handing out candy; the participating-business map is on the Downtown Wheaton Association site.

• Wheaton Gives Back winter gear drive — last week to drop off new or gently used coats, hats, scarves and gloves for People’s Resource Center. Collection boxes are at nearly 30 downtown Wheaton spots, including the Wheaton Public Library and City Hall, through the end of October.

• Twilight Thursdays start in November — downtown Wheaton retailers extend their shopping hours on Thursdays in November and December.

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.