The Domos Report Vol. 10
THE DOMOS REPORT
The Domos Report | TENTH Edition | 06/2026
JUST LISTED
1201 S Prairie Ave #1703 — $995,000
In thirty-some years, I've never seen a market this tight for buyers.
Why? Inventory is at historic lows, sellers are frozen in place by mortgage rates they'll never see again, and Chicago—chronically, almost defiantly—refuses to build enough housing. The result: multiple offers, every time, on everything.
A good property hits the market, and buyers descend like it's a fire sale. I listed a condo in Lincoln Park last month; sixty people came through on day one, forty more on day two. By the time offers were in, it had sold well above asking, on terms close to perfect for my sellers. That's the market.
So what's a buyer to do? Hire a good agent. Then:
Get prequalified and bring the paperwork to prove it.
Cash is king, if you've got it. (And a cash offer doesn't rule out financing)
If a relative offers to back you, take the help. Pride is expensive.
Set your ceiling with your agent before you write the contract, then hold to it. The buyers swept up in the frenzy are the ones who wake up with remorse.
An escalation clause raises your offer automatically to beat the competition, up to a cap you set. Useful, but tricky—walk through the mechanics with your agent first.
Inspect the home thoroughly. Then write the contract "as is" anyway. You keep the right to walk if something's seriously wrong; you give up the right to ask for repairs.
Match the seller's wish list where you can. Give them the closing date they want. Let them keep the chandelier they forgot to exclude.
The best offer isn't always the highest one. It's the one that closes.
Be pleasant at showings. I can spot trouble in minutes—the buyer who criticizes the home, who acts like he already owns it. Agents notice. And in this market, we get to pick the easy buyers over the difficult ones.
Hire a lawyer who closes deals, not one who picks fights. A pit bull has his uses, but a seller with options will walk the second the other side's lawyer starts growling.
The agent matters more than people think. I once had a seller field several nearly identical bids—buyers have gotten savvier—and the deciding question wasn't price. It was: what agent is going to get this closed? I knew the answer immediately. That deal sailed through.
No love letters. My company, @properties, bans them outright, and a growing number of cities and states agree. Heartfelt, maybe—but courts keep finding they invite discrimination.
The Bottom Line
The most successful buyers brace for both outcomes—the win and the loss—and stay nimble enough to pounce when the right property finally appears. The good news: Chicago has its rhythms, and summer and fall tend to be kinder seasons to buy, with fewer buyers crowding every sale. Better days, in other words, may be coming.
Featured Properties
What Her Clients Are Saying:
“Suzanne and Amanda were a dream to work with as we bought our home in Chicago, moving from out of state. This team goes far above anything we experienced buying and selling previously in terms of work ethic, kindness, savvy, market knowledge, and even connecting us to a range of excellent resources to renovate our house. I trust them completely and highly recommend working with.”
-I.B. in Rogers Park