How to Win in the 2026 Real Estate Market: What Every Western Suburbs Home Seller Needs to Know

If you are thinking about selling your home in Downers Grove, Woodridge, Westmont, Lemont, or anywhere across DuPage County's western suburbs, the rules have changed and they have changed fast. I'm Shanon Tully, lead broker of The Tully Team at Platinum Partners Realtors and a Downers Grove real estate agent who has been selling homes in this market long enough to know the difference between a strategy that moves a property and one that leaves it sitting. Active housing inventory rose more than 16% year-over-year in 2025 — one of the largest annual increases since the pandemic-era crunch.¹ At the same time, 62% of homebuyers in 2025 paid below the original list price, the highest share since 2019, with the average discount hitting 7.9%, the biggest in over a decade.² Here in DuPage County, the median sale price sits at approximately $412,000 as of early 2026, with homes averaging 62 days on market. Your listing strategy matters more right now than at any point in recent memory.

What does that mean for sellers in the western suburbs? It means the days of putting a home on the MLS, snapping a few photos, and waiting for offers are over. Today's buyers are more informed, more cautious, and more willing to walk away. The listings that win are the ones that make it easy for buyers to say yes at every stage, from the first scroll to the final offer.

Here is what that actually looks like.

Know What the 2026 Buyer Is Filtering For

Before we talk strategy, it helps to understand what is driving buyer decisions right now. It is not just about bedrooms and bathrooms anymore. Today's buyer in Downers Grove and across DuPage County is thinking about what a home will cost them after they buy it.

Layout and Function Over Size

According to Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate's 2026 Design Trends Report, 86% of buyers say flexible layouts help them see past square footage. Dedicated home offices, walk-in pantries, multipurpose rooms — these features outweigh raw size. Nearly half of buyers in that same study said they will not buy a home that does not feel right the moment they walk in.³

Move-In Ready Is Increasingly Non-Negotiable

Home inspections are the number one reason deals fall apart today.⁴ In mid-2025, 15% of pending sales fell through, above the 12% historical norm, largely because financially stretched buyers will not absorb surprise repair costs.⁴

The tolerance for deferred maintenance has evaporated. Buyers are already stressed about affordability. When a buyer sees deferred maintenance, they do not see "potential." They see risk. In fact, 58% of agents report buyers want closing cost credits, and 20% recommend sellers reduce price based on inspection findings.⁵

I have seen this play out in a way that still stays with me. I had a client whose home would have commanded $700,000 with normal upkeep and maintenance. Because of years of deferred maintenance, the home ultimately sold for less than $400,000. That is more than $300,000 in lost equity. What made it even harder to watch was that he had been paying property taxes on the inflated assessed value for years, essentially paying a premium for an asset he was quietly destroying. Deferred maintenance is not a cosmetic issue. It is a wealth issue.

Energy Efficiency as a Financial Filter

Energy efficiency is being evaluated as a financial hedge — against utility costs, against climate risk, against future insurability. According to Zillow's 2026 Home Trends Report, terms like "zero-energy ready" and "home battery system" appearing far more frequently.⁶ Sellers who understand this can position features like updated HVAC systems, new windows, or solar panels not as nice-to-haves, but as cost-saving assets.

The bottom line: sellers who understand this mindset can position their listing to meet it head-on.

Win the Screen Before You Win the Showing

The online listing is the first showing. By the time a buyer walks through the front door, they have already decided they are interested or they have scrolled past.

The First Photo Is Everything

85% of homebuyers consider listing photos the most critical factor when evaluating a property online.⁷ Not the price. Not the description. The photo.

Listings with professional photography receive up to 61% more views and sell 32% faster.⁷ In a market where inventory is rising and buyers are choosier, professional photography is an enormous opportunity for sellers who take presentation seriously.

Go Beyond Standard Photography

Going above and beyond can garner even more attention for your home. Twilight photos used as the primary listing image average 76% more views.⁷ Homes with aerial or drone photos can often sell faster.⁸ Listings with video get 403% more inquiries.⁸

These are not small edges. In a market where buyers have more options, these are the differences that help a listing generate momentum.

3D Tours Are Becoming Expected

Virtual tours do two things at once. They filter out unqualified buyers before they waste anyone's time. And they give serious buyers the confidence to move faster when they do show up in person. In fact, listings with 3D virtual tours sell up to 31% faster and for up to 9% more.^9,10

The visual package for a listing is doing the work of an open house before anyone sets foot in the property. If the first photo does not stop the scroll, the square footage and the price will never get a chance to matter.

Remove Every Reason to Say "No"

In a slower market, uncertainty creates lower offers or no offers. Every unanswered question is a reason to negotiate down or walk away.

The smartest move? Answer the scary questions before they are asked.

That starts with a pre-listing inspection. For $300 to $800, a seller can identify and address issues on their own timeline and terms, before a buyer's inspector turns a minor finding into a deal-killing negotiation. NAR has been actively encouraging this approach, noting that pre-listing inspections allow sellers "the opportunity to address any repairs before the For Sale sign even goes up."¹¹

I want to be honest with you about pre-listing inspections, because I think sellers deserve a complete picture. I offer this option to my clients here in the western suburbs, but I do not recommend it universally. Here is the reason: if an inspection reveals something you are not willing or able to fix, you may now have a legal disclosure obligation that you did not have before. That can work against you when trying to get an offer on the table. Every home and every seller situation is different. This is exactly the kind of decision worth a real conversation with your agent before you proceed.

Beyond the inspection, consider providing the ages of major systems (HVAC, roof, water heater), a 12-month utility cost history, and documentation of any recent repairs. This is not about over-sharing. It is about removing the discount that buyers are mentally applying for risk and uncertainty.

Photos win hearts. Data wins brains. A winning listing needs both.

Price It Right or Pay the Price

Everything above, understanding the buyer, presenting beautifully, being transparent, leads here. Pricing. Overpriced listings do not just sit longer. They sell for less than if they had been priced correctly from the start.

The Overpricing Trap

39% of all listings nationwide had price reductions in 2025. The typical home sold for nearly 4% under its asking price during peak season — the steepest discount in six years.¹²

When a listing sits, days on market climb and buyers start to assume something is wrong, even when the only issue was the price. That stigma is real and hard to undo. Buyers begin to wonder what they are missing.

I watched this happen firsthand with a listing I carried for six months. We priced too high out of the gate. We got offers, but they fell apart every time because of deferred maintenance issues, things like heating systems, windows, flooring, and decking that buyers simply would not accept at that price point. We made two price reductions. The listing developed a stigma. It eventually expired, moved to another agent, and sold below our last list price with me. Two compounding problems, overpricing and deferred maintenance, turned what should have been a clean sale into a painful and expensive lesson for the seller.

The First Two Weeks Are Everything

A listing's visibility and buyer interest peak immediately after launch. Pricing high to see what happens is dangerous. Every week of inactivity makes the next correction less effective.

Pricing competitively from the start can attract multiple offers and often results in a higher final sale price.¹³ The goal is not to leave money on the table by underpricing. The goal is to price with precision, right at the point where serious buyers recognize value and act fast.

I will give you a real example of what this looks like when it is done right. I had a listing in the Orchard Brook subdivision of Downers Grove that checked every box. We made minor repairs, including a broken door. We did extensive painting and deep cleaning throughout the home. We brought in a professional stager. We shot a full cinematic video. We ran three open houses, a neighborhood preview, a broker open, and a public open. We created detailed feature sheets. And then we priced the home at $899,000 when the market data suggested it could have listed at $935,000. That strategic price point dropped the home into a lower search bracket and put it in front of a wider pool of serious buyers. The result: multiple offers, a contract in five days, and a final sale price of $955,000, the highest sale ever recorded in that subdivision. The sellers did not leave money on the table. They made more by pricing smart.

One Bold Move Beats Death by a Thousand Cuts

Multiple small reductions signal desperation and train buyers to wait for the next drop. A single strategic correction, aggressive enough to restart the clock, is almost always more effective.

Homes with repeated small reductions sell for significantly less as a percentage of original list than those with one well-timed adjustment.¹³ The market reads hesitation as weakness.

Pricing correctly from day one is not conservative. It is strategic. And it is one of the most valuable things a good agent brings to the table.

The New Definition of a Winning Listing

The 2026 winner is not the cheapest or the biggest. It is the most ready.

Prepared with the buyer's mindset in mind. Presented with scroll-stopping professional media. Supported by transparency that builds confidence. Priced with precision from day one.

That is the new bar. Meet it, and your listing competes. Miss it, and you are watching it sit.

If you are thinking about selling your home in Downers Grove, Woodridge, Westmont, Lemont, or anywhere in DuPage County's western suburbs, or if you have a listing that is not performing the way you expected, let's talk. I'm Shanon Tully, lead broker of The Tully Team at Platinum Partners Realtors and a Downers Grove listing agent who has navigated this market through every kind of condition. The difference between a home that moves and one that sits often comes down to strategy, not the property itself.

Sources

1. HousingWire – "The U.S. Housing Market in 2025: A Year of Normalization" https://www.housingwire.com/articles/the-u-s-housing-market-in-2025/
2. Redfin – "Homebuyers Are Scoring the Biggest Discounts in 13 Years" https://www.redfin.com/news/homebuyer-discounts-below-list-price-2025/
3. Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate – 2026 Design Trends Report (via HousingWire) https://www.housingwire.com/articles/better-homes-and-gardens-real-estate-details-2026-homebuyer-trends/
4. Redfin – "Why 15% of Home Sales Are Falling Apart" https://www.redfin.com/news/price-drops-record-rate-august-2025/
5. HomeLight – "What Buyers Want in a Home: Top Must-Haves in 2026" https://www.homelight.com/blog/what-buyers-want-in-a-home/
6. Zillow 2026 Home Trends Report (via New American Funding) https://www.newamericanfunding.com/learning-center/homeowners/what-will-be-hot-in-2026-the-7-bold-and-the-surprisingly-practical-home-trends/
7. PhotoUp – "Hot Real Estate Photography Statistics You Need to Know in 2025" https://www.photoup.net/learn/real-estate-photography-statistics
8. RubyHome – "Real Estate Photography Statistics" https://www.rubyhome.com/blog/real-estate-photography-stats/
9. Matterport – "With 3D Tours, Properties Sell Up to 31% Faster and at a Higher Price" https://matterport.com/blog/3d-tours-properties-sell-31-faster-and-higher-price
10. Matterport – "New Study Shows Property Buyers and Sellers Overwhelmingly Prefer Listings with 3D Tours" https://matterport.com/news/new-study-shows-property-buyers-and-sellers-overwhelmingly-prefer-listings-3d-tours
11. NAR Magazine – "Agents Turn to Pre-Listing Inspections to Prevent Canceled Contracts" https://www.nar.realtor/magazine/real-estate-news/sales-marketing/agents-turn-to-pre-listing-inspections-to-prevent-canceled-contracts
12. Redfin – "Home Sellers Are Cutting Prices at a Record Rate to Lure Skittish Buyers" https://www.redfin.com/news/price-drops-record-rate-august-2025/
13. NAR Magazine – "Listing Price Reduction? How to Navigate It With Buyers, Sellers" https://www.nar.realtor/magazine/real-estate-news/sales-marketing/listing-price-reduction-how-to-navigate-it-with-buyers-sellers