For sellers — the process

Downtown Condo Market Time by Neighborhood and Unit Size: Q3 2026

Downtown Chicago 2BR condos took a median 28 days to sell over the 12 months ending September 30, 2026, down from 37.5 days the year before. Some segments moved much faster than that baseline: River North 2BR midrise condos went under contract in a median 16 days, and South Loop 1BR midrise condos in 21. Neighborhood, building type and bedroom count together set a far tighter expectation than the downtown figure alone.

What Changed Since Q2

This is a refresh of an earlier post, How Long Does It Take to Sell a 2-Bedroom Condo in Downtown Chicago Right Now?, which covered downtown 2BR condo market time only. That post used an earlier trailing 12-month window. Every figure here covers the 12 months ending September 30, 2026, compared with the 12 months before that, so the two posts measure different periods and shouldn't be read side by side as one quarter's change.

This update replaces the 2BR figure and adds three cuts the earlier post didn't have: neighborhood, building type (midrise or highrise) and unit size. Those cuts matter more to an individual seller than the downtown median does, because the spread between segments is wide.

The Downtown Baseline

Downtown Chicago 2BR condos had a median market time of 28 days over the 12 months ending September 30, 2026, compared with 37.5 days over the prior 12 months — 9.5 days faster. The Q3 2026 Research page carries the broader downtown market activity figures behind this baseline.

A median is the middle sale, not the experience of every listing. Over the past year, about half of downtown 2BR condo sales went under contract faster than 28 days and about half took longer, and the segments below show how far specific cuts sat from that middle.

Some Segments Moved Much Faster

South Loop 1BR midrise condos took a median 21 days to sell over the 12 months ending September 30, 2026, compared with 41 days the year before — 20 days faster, and roughly half the prior year's market time. The South Loop neighborhood page tracks market activity for the neighborhood as a whole.

River North 2BR midrise condos moved faster still, at a median 16 days over the past year versus 25 days the year before, a 9-day improvement. That was 12 days quicker than the downtown 2BR condo median of 28 days. River North market activity is broken out on its neighborhood page.

Both of these segments are midrise. They are benchmarks for those specific segments, not a rule about midrise buildings in general; the data shows where speed showed up, not why.

Larger Units

South Loop 3BR highrise condos took a median 33 days to sell over the 12 months ending September 30, 2026, compared with 49 days the year before — 16 days faster. That was the slowest of the segments covered here, and still well ahead of the same segment's pace the year before.

A South Loop 3BR highrise seller who anchored on the downtown 2BR condo median would underestimate the likely time to contract by about five days, based on the past year's medians. The gap is modest, but it runs in the direction that leads sellers to read a normal pace as a slow one.

The figure holds only within its own scope. A 3BR highrise in another neighborhood, or a 3BR midrise in the South Loop, is a different segment with its own median.

Estimating Your Own Timeline

A useful estimate stacks three filters: neighborhood, building type and bedroom count. Start from the narrowest segment that matches the unit, then check it against the downtown baseline to see whether that segment ran ahead of or behind the broader downtown condo market over the past year.

Market time here runs from the first listing date to the accepted contract, counted through any cancellation and relist. It does not include the time spent preparing a unit before it lists, and it does not include the closing period after the contract is signed.

A segment median also doesn't account for a specific unit's condition, exposure or pricing against recent comparable sales, so individual listings land on both sides of it. Treat the segment figure as the starting expectation, then adjust for the unit.

From Accepted Offer to Closing

Market time stops at contract. The closing period comes after it: attorney review, inspection, the buyer's financing and the condo association's document requests all fall in that window, so the day a seller hands over keys comes later than the market-time figure alone suggests.

Plan the move, the next purchase and any overlap around the full sequence: listing preparation, market time, then closing. The market-time figure covers only the middle step.

These figures reflect closed sales through September 30, 2026 (Q3 2026); the next quarterly update replaces them.

Roz Dupiton is a top real estate advisor and downtown Chicago condo specialist.