It could also be that many sales transactions which normally would have been completed in October were pushed back into November, Kreider adds.

He also notes that the November median home sales price was $215,000, 9% more than a year earlier, while the average number of days those homes spent on the market before going under contract fell to 88 days last month from 92 during the prior November. That is the lowest market time for November since 2005.

Meanwhile, the inventory of homes for sale continued to run at about 10% below 2015 levels, a situation that has persisted throughout the second half of this year, according to Kreider.

The home sales data used for the RE/MAX analysis is collected by MRED, the regional multiple listing service. It covers detached and attached homes in the Illinois counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will.

It remains to be seen if buyers will keep showing up. But based on word-of-mouth, Kreider says sales may have fallen back to what has become the norm. However, it's hard to tell since it's the holiday season, a slow time for homes sales.

But in addition to last week's rate boost, the Fed also said that it plans several more hikes in the coming year. And Kreider says the thought of that could “bring more buyers to the table.”

CHICAGO—Home sales activity in the seven-county metropolitan Chicago area increased sharply in November, with sales for the month reaching the highest level since 2005, RE/MAX reports. Homebuyers bought 8,019 homes last month, an increase of 18% over the November 2015 total and the most for November since 9,740 homes were sold in November 2005.

It was a remarkable change from the previous month. In October, sales had fallen 5% compared to the same month last year.

“It's difficult to explain why home sales were down in October but were so buoyant in November,” Jack Kreider, executive vice president and regional director of RE/MAX Northern Illinois, tells GlobeSt.com, but he does have a theory. By November, “a boost in interest rates was imminent, and people may have thought that they had better get in before that happens. I was downright shocked by the number of home sales, but really happy.”

The widely-held prediction that the Federal Reserve members would raise rates was accurate. On Dec 14, Fed officials announced that the committee had voted unanimously to raise the target interest rate by 0.25 percentage points.

It could also be that many sales transactions which normally would have been completed in October were pushed back into November, Kreider adds.

He also notes that the November median home sales price was $215,000, 9% more than a year earlier, while the average number of days those homes spent on the market before going under contract fell to 88 days last month from 92 during the prior November. That is the lowest market time for November since 2005.

Meanwhile, the inventory of homes for sale continued to run at about 10% below 2015 levels, a situation that has persisted throughout the second half of this year, according to Kreider.

The home sales data used for the RE/MAX analysis is collected by MRED, the regional multiple listing service. It covers detached and attached homes in the Illinois counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will.

It remains to be seen if buyers will keep showing up. But based on word-of-mouth, Kreider says sales may have fallen back to what has become the norm. However, it's hard to tell since it's the holiday season, a slow time for homes sales.

But in addition to last week's rate boost, the Fed also said that it plans several more hikes in the coming year. And Kreider says the thought of that could “bring more buyers to the table.”