The Justice Department’s original complaint against the National Association of Realtors, filed Nov. 19, 2020, alleges that the association enforced rules and policies that illegally hampered competition in residential real estate services.

International buyers purchased 107,000 residential properties from April 2020 through March 2021, marking a 31% decline from the 154,000 residences bought the previous year.

“Here in the Chicago suburbs, we’re seeing developers start to address the shortage of inventory that we’ve been feeling for months.” — MORe Board of Directors President Linda Dressler

“We’re seeing similar pressures across the country, which is why the National Association of Realtors wants to create incentives for homebuilders to help meet the growing housing demand.” — MORe CEO John Gormley

“May’s strong increase in transactions — following April’s decline, as well as a sudden erosion in home affordability — was indeed a surprise. The housing market is attracting buyers due to the decline in mortgage rates, which fell below 3%, and from an uptick in listings.” — NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun

The nationwide eviction moratorium put into place by the Centers for Disease Control last year last year will end sooner than expected, following a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Increasing costs and declining availability of key building materials dampened builder sentiment, as higher costs have pushed some new homes beyond the budget of prospective buyers.

Detached single-family homes listed in the Chicago area are selling faster than ever, spending an unprecedented average of 53 days on the market in April, according to a report from the Mainstreet Organization of Realtors (MORe).

Special questions added to the National Association of Home Builders’ monthly builder survey found 90% or more of respondents had experienced shortages of plywood, oriented strand board, framing lumber and appliances, with most other materials also hard to come by.

The COVID pandemic has caused a shakeup in where, and how, many people work. That has helped propel a thriving housing market.