Real Estate News
Local Housing Market
February 13, 2026
ROCKFORD — The Rockford-area real estate market set or tied four different records last year, ranging from all-time highs in home sale prices to all-time lows in the availability of property for sale.
The NorthWest Illinois Alliance of Realtors highlighted those records on Friday and foreshadowed its expectations for 2026 during a news conference that serves as the organization’s de facto state of local real estate report.
Aside from the record high sale prices and low inventory, the three-county region also tied the fastest pace for home sales with an average 20 days on market. The fourth record was Rockford’s 13-month streak of sitting on the National Association of Realtors’ hottest housing markets list.
October 1, 2025
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) - At one point in time, you could find for sale signs on every block. Now, you’re lucky to find one.
Home sales rose seven out of eight months in the Rockford housing market this year, but low housing inventory in the Forest City appears to be sticking around.
According to Northwest Illinois Alliance of REALTORS, inventory in the Rockford housing market-Winnebago, Boone and Ogle Counties hit a new low in March with 150 homes for sale, down 22.3% compared to 2024.
“We’re still trying to figure out exactly the reasons for the low inventory.” Williams explained. “It’s a combination of interest rates being where they are and just seller hesitation to make that change when prices are higher and financing rates are higher.”
Williams says this struggling Rockford housing market forces some homebuyers to back out of deals, explaining she sees an increasing number of sales fall apart, more than she has ever seen before.
“There are so few homes to choose from and because the buyers are having to move quickly and pay more than they would in a slow market.” said Williams.
September 18, 2025
The market moves so quickly in Rockford, Illinois, that agent Kelli Wensky of Dickerson and Nieman requires buyers to send her their “no regret price” when making an offer.
It’s the price that will keep buyers from wondering if they could have purchased for less, or if they don’t make a winning offer, the price that they couldn’t go higher on.
Rockford is the fifth-largest city in Illinois, and one that remains affordable with a median single-family sale price of $155,000, according to Homes.com, but attractive enough to pull in out-of-state buyers and ex-Chicagoans. The low inventory and high demand keep the market moving swiftly, helping agents sell.
“Some agents put a sign in the yard and they sell because there’s no inventory,” said Wensky in an interview.
But Wensky, who posted $3.2 million in sales volume last year, doesn’t just want to dig a sign into the yard and make a quick sale; her hidden talent is providing what she calls her room-by-room analysis for making a home sale-ready, where she sweeps the property to suggest changes that will bring in a higher listing price.
October 17, 2025
The news came earlier this week as the automobile company will bring production on the Jeep Cherokee and Compass to the Stateline.
The move is expected to bring at least 3,000 jobs, something local real estate agents are prepping for as people get set to move to or move back to the area.
"I think if this was to happen now, we would not have enough space for people to move in. I will say they are currently building new homes in the Belvidere/Boone County area," Scot Craig said.
He also believes that could entice developers to jump into action.
"I think they are putting forth the effort to get started and get things moving again and we do have enough space to do that with yet too that aren't developed," Craig said.