Illinois Has a Hot Housing Market — and It’s Not Chicago

If you had to guess what the hottest housing market in Illinois was, where would you think it would be? One of the suburbs around Chicago? Nope, not even close. The hottest housing market in Illinois isn't anywhere near the Chicagoland area and it happens to be one of the most active real estate markets in America right now.

Realtor.com just released their breakdown of "market hotness" for the month of April 2026. They say that it's Springfield, Illinois which is now one of the top 13 real estate markets in America. Why are homes in Springfield so active? Realtor says Springfield "posted the largest year-over-year listing price gain of any market in the top 20 at 26.6%". They added that the median home price of around $250,000 is the cheapest of any city in the top 20 in the United States. Accessibility and affordability are more reasons given for the rise of Illinois' capital city.

Over a decade and a half ago, I decided to study for and get my real estate license. I blame that on the fact that my wife and I were watching too much HGTV at the time. It turns out that I didn't make a very good Property Brother, but I did learn enough about how volatile the real estate market can be and all the different factors that come into play when figuring out if an area is booming or busting. There's no sign that the boom in Springfield will be slowing down anytime soon, but eventually supply and demand swings the other way. For Springfield, that swing may not be very near based on what just happened in April.