This week's market check has a clear new headline: Freddie Mac's survey released Thursday, October 8 put the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate at 7.40%, up from 7.28% the week before and 7.03% two weeks earlier, the highest reading since 2023. A year ago the same survey sat near 6.34%, so rates are running roughly a full point above where they stood twelve months back. On the Indiana side, the September numbers are in for the first time this season, and they tell a genuinely useful story. Let me walk through what it all means for buyers and sellers.
Northwest Indiana's September numbers are in
The Greater Northwest Indiana MLS, RealMLS, published its September market data, and it is the freshest regional picture we have had in a while. Closed sales ran at 2,155, down about 10.6% from September a year ago, yet the median sales price held at $360,000 and the median days on market came in at 39, down about 7.1% year over year. That combination, fewer sales yet faster-selling homes at a firm median, is the signature of a market where well-priced homes still move and the rest wait for the right buyer.
Lake County stays tight
Redfin's August update for Lake County, Indiana, keeps the same theme. The median sale price was $296,009, up about 4% from a year ago, with a median 32 days on market. Active listings fell about 15.8% year over year, and the federal median listing price series ran near $314,900 in August. Supply is genuinely thin in Lake County, which is why the best homes still attract real traffic even at a 7.40% rate.
The national picture
The most recent national existing-home sales report is still for August: a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.98 million, down 2.0% from July and 1.2% from a year earlier, with inventory at a 4.9-month supply, the highest cushion in over a decade, and the national median price at $429,100, up 1.6% year over year. The September report from the National Association of REALTORS is due Tuesday, October 13, and it is the number to watch for how the fall market actually opened.
The town-by-town read
Indiana
Crown Point's Redfin city read holds near $315,000, down about 2.5% year over year with about 42 days on market, while a fresh ZIP-level estimate for 46307 put the median home value near $365,000, up about 1.5%, with 37 days on market: the measure and window move the story, so the ZIP-level read is the one that matters. Munster's ZIP 46321 read shows a three-month median near $380,000, up about 0.6% year over year, with homes selling in about 32 days. Schererville remains the fastest mover in the region at a three-month median near $350,000, up about 3%, with homes going in around 20 days.
Illinois
Frankfort's August read on Redfin's all-home-types series ran near $665,000, up about 1.9% year over year, while the housing-market page's city median holds near $550,000, down about 0.9%, with about 57 days on market: those two windows tell you the measure matters in Frankfort right now. Orland Park's three-month median runs near $385,000, up about 5.8% year over year, with about 44 days on market, still the most consistent demand story in the southwest suburbs. Tinley Park's median sits near $309,000, down about 1.9%, with about 45 days on market. Statewide, Illinois saw 12,103 homes sold in August, down about 4.6% from a year earlier, with Redfin's statewide median near $328,632, up about 4.3%.
What this means for sellers
At 7.40%, buyers feel the monthly payment before they feel the house, so your opening price is your most powerful tool. In Lake County, where supply is thin, a sharp price on a well-presented home still draws real traffic. In the South Suburbs, where inventory keeps building, overpricing today carries more risk than it did in the spring. The buyers who are out there are serious: pre-approved and ready to act on the right home at the right number.
What this means for buyers
Here is the honest glass-half-full version: your choices are better than they have been in years, and the September report due October 13 will tell us whether that holds. More resale inventory means more room to negotiate in most of the towns I serve, and a high rate makes every seller aware that price matters, which is good news for the buyer who comes prepared. The rate is real, and nobody can tell you with certainty where it goes next, yet waiting has its own cost: rent keeps going out, and each month you wait is a month you are not building equity. Get pre-approved, know your reliable payment and be ready to act, because the well-priced homes still do not linger.
One more thing
I am licensed in both Illinois and Indiana, so I can compare the South Suburbs and Northwest Indiana in a single conversation, property taxes included. If you want to know what today's rate means for your payment, what your home is worth, or whether this is your moment, I would love to run the numbers with you. Call me at (708) 252-1490 or schedule a call any time. You Can With Joanne!™