That's a question confronting sellers and buyers in the current fast-paced market in Chicago.
Across the country, selling time has been declining steadily as the housing market recovers and while Chicago's median is at 54 days, in some hot neighborhoods "flash sales", where houses go under contract as soon as they are listed, have also been on the rise.
The Chicago Tribune reported this week that the city is selling more slowly than the national median time on the market of 26 days, but noted that nationwide, we may have hit record speed.
That situation is unlikely to change soon barring a new surge of inventory.
To read more, head over to the Chicago Tribune here.