Westmont Is Down 5.9%. Last Month It Was Up. Here's What Actually Happened.
Seventeen of the eighteen DuPage communities I track posted higher median sale prices this September than last. The one that didn’t was Westmont, down 5.9%.
If you own in Westmont, don’t panic. If you own anywhere else, the reason why is the most useful thing in this report.
Let me show you the numbers first.
A note on methodology
These are median sale prices using a 6-month rolling average, detached single-family homes, September 2026 compared to September 2025. Median is the middle sale — half sold for more, half for less — which reflects a typical home better than an average does. The rolling window smooths out the month-to-month noise that comes from which particular houses happened to close.
September 2026 — DuPage Median Sale Prices
Hinsdale — $1,775,000 (+22.4%)
Darien — $563,650 (+17.4%)
Clarendon Hills — $976,000 (+14.8%)
Oak Brook — $1,317,500 (+14.6%)
Woodridge — $490,000 (+13.7%)
Lisle — $699,999 (+13.4%)
Warrenville — $418,500 (+11.6%)
West Chicago — $449,000 (+9.9%)
Wheaton — $625,000 (+9.8%)
Elmhurst — $722,500 (+9.4%)
Carol Stream — $443,000 (+7.4%)
Glen Ellyn — $668,500 (+7.0%)
Naperville — $739,000 (+5.6%)
Villa Park — $403,000 (+5.4%)
Lombard — $435,000 (+4.8%)
Addison — $441,850 (+4.7%)
Downers Grove — $583,000 (+3.2%)
Westmont — $475,000 (−5.9%)
Source: InfoSparks / MRED, detached single-family, 6-month rolling median.
Two new additions this month: Lisle and Woodridge. Both earned their spots immediately, posting double-digit gains.
So What Happened in Westmont?
Last month Westmont was up 4.9%. This month it’s down 5.9%. That’s an eleven-point swing in thirty days, and nothing about the town changed.
What changed is the comparison point.
Westmont’s median spiked hard in September 2025 — up to $505,000 — and then fell right back. It was a one-month jump, not a plateau. So this year’s number is being measured against an unusually high bar.
The actual trajectory tells a different story. Westmont’s median bottomed around $435,000 this past spring and has climbed steadily since, sitting at $475,000 now. That’s a market recovering, not declining. The minus sign is an artifact of what it’s being compared to.
If you own in Westmont, your home almost certainly didn’t lose value this year. The chart just happens to be measuring from a peak.
And West Chicago Proves the Same Point in Reverse
Last month I reported West Chicago at −5.0% — the only negative in the county. This month it’s +9.9%.
Same town. Same thirty days. A fifteen-point swing.
I flagged it at the time as something to watch rather than something to act on, and that turned out to be the right call. These comparisons are only as stable as the month they’re measured against.
Here’s the practical version: one month of year-over-year data is a snapshot, not a trend. Two months pointing the same direction starts to mean something. One month on its own tells you more about last year than this one.
Where the Real Strength Is
Set the volatility aside and there’s a genuinely strong story in this data.
Darien (+17.4%) is the standout to me. Second consecutive strong month after +14.1% in August, and the chart shows a clean step up with no spikes. At $563,650 it sits in a sweet spot — real neighborhoods, good access, and still meaningfully cheaper than Downers Grove or Hinsdale. Buyers have clearly noticed.
Lisle (+13.4%) and Woodridge (+13.7%) both came in strong in their first month in this report. The I-355 corridor is doing well.
Warrenville (+11.6%) posted double digits for the second month running. Not a headline town, but at $418,500 it’s one of the most accessible price points in the county and buyers priced out of Wheaton and Glen Ellyn keep finding it.
Wheaton (+9.8%) and Elmhurst (+9.4%) continue to deliver steady, high-volume gains. These are the two most reliable numbers in the whole table — enough transactions behind them that you can trust the trend.
The Luxury Markets, With the Usual Caveat
Hinsdale (+22.4%), Clarendon Hills (+14.8%), and Oak Brook (+14.6%) are the three smallest, highest-priced markets I track. In towns where only a handful of homes close in a given period, the median measures which houses sold as much as what they’re worth.
Clarendon Hills is the clearest example. Its rolling median has swung from roughly $610,000 to $976,000 inside eighteen months. That’s not a market moving. That’s a small sample bouncing.
Hinsdale is the exception worth noting. It’s now held above 20% for two consecutive months, and the chart shows a steady climb from about $1.40 million to $1.78 million rather than a spike. Two months in the same direction with a consistent shape is a different thing than one big number. I’d still want a third month before calling it, but this one is looking real.
Oak Brook I’d treat with more caution — its median dropped to roughly $1.0 million this spring before running back up to $1.32 million. Strong market, noisy data.
What I’d Actually Do With This
If you’re a homeowner watching your equity, the honest read is that DuPage had a strong September. Most of the county is up somewhere between 5% and 14%, and that’s a healthy market across every price tier, not just one.
If you’re in Westmont, ignore the minus sign and look at the trend. Your market has been climbing since spring.
If you’re thinking about selling, none of these numbers are your number. A town median blends every house in that town — the updated four-bedroom on the good block and the dated two-bedroom near the highway are both in there. They are not going to sell for related prices.
The figure that matters is what’s sold within about a half mile of your front door in the last six months, adjusted for how your home actually compares. That’s a short conversation and I’m glad to have it.
Want to know what your specific home is worth right now — not your town, your home? Send me a message and I’ll pull the real comps for your street and price range. No pressure, no obligation.
— Nick Chiaramonte
📩 nick@sellwithnickc.com
📸 @realtornickc
🌐 realtornickc.com
