Published October 25, 2026 in Market Update

River Forest prices rose even as fewer homes sold

By Thurston Gayle

Real estate, River Forest

Fewer sales did not mean lower prices in River Forest. That is the one fact owners and buyers should hold onto from this period.

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 48 homes sold in ZIP 60305 during the three months ending August 31, 2026. That is down 20% from the same three months in 2025. Yet the median sale price rose 7.1% over the same stretch, reaching $775,000. Price support held even as volume dropped.

For context, the Federal Housing Finance Agency reported U.S. house prices rose 2.6% year over year through July 2026. River Forest ran well ahead of that national pace.

Why prices held even with fewer closings

Supply stayed tight. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 35 homes for sale in River Forest during this period, down 2.8% from a year before. New listings were unchanged at 56. With demand still present and supply still limited, sellers kept their footing.

Nationally, Realtor.com reported mortgage rates surged above 7% for the first time since January 2025. That kind of rate environment slows buyers everywhere. River Forest was not immune: pending sales fell 8% year over year, according to the Real Estate Data Aggregator. But the homes that did close held their value.

How fast homes moved

The Real Estate Data Aggregator found that 47.8% of River Forest homes went under contract within two weeks of listing. That share rose 1.8 points from a year before. Nearly half of all listings found a buyer quickly, which tells you demand was real, not absent.

The average sale price came in at 100.1% of list price, according to the Real Estate Data Aggregator. Sellers were not giving ground on price to close deals. That figure was unchanged from a year before.

More than 1 in 3 River Forest homes sold above list price during this period, the Real Estate Data Aggregator reported. That share dipped 1.3 points from a year before, a small admission that competition cooled slightly. Still, above-list sales remained common.

What the wider picture adds

Nationally, Realtor.com reported that 20.8% of listings took a price cut in September 2026, the highest share since October 2022. River Forest did not follow that pattern. Supply here stayed low and prices moved up, not down.

Affordability is a real pressure everywhere. CNBC reported that a monthly payment on a median-priced home took roughly 33% of a median family's income in 2025, up from 26% in 2022. That context matters for buyers in any market, including River Forest.

Remember: River Forest is a separate village from Oak Park. It has its own tax bills and its own grade schools, though it shares Oak Park and River Forest High School with Oak Park. Property taxes are the biggest sticker shock for buyers coming from Chicago. Cook County reassesses both townships in 2026, so bills may change. Verify current tax figures with the county before you rely on any estimate.