New research finds that millionaire ranks grew strongly in 2015 There were nearly 211,000 millionaire households in the Chicagoland area through the middle of 2015, up 4.6 percent from the same period in 2014. Millionaire households now account for 6 percent

Why has homebuying among single female consumers declined in recent years? During the mid and late stages of the housing boom, one of the more commonly reported success stories was that of the single female homebuyer. As tracked by

In November, all-cash sales came back after an extended decline After a long period of steady decline, all-cash sales in Chicagoland’s housing market returned with a vengeance in Nov. 2015, rising 44 percent from where they were a year ago, according

Nearly 957,000 renters in the Chicagoland housing market struggle with the cost of housing, according to a new report from the Joint Center of Housing Studies at Harvard University. Titled “America’s Rental Housing,” the center’s report examined how low

How did the local rent markets close out the year? The Chicagoland rental market may have finally fallen back to earth in 2015, according to new analysis from Reis. For the 12-month period ending in December, Chicagoland rents rose

“Green” and energy-efficient features remain important to homebuyers, though some options are more sought-after than others. That finding came courtesy of NAR’s 2015 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, and to parse through the results, we put together the

The latest analysis from Dodge Data provided an encouraging assessment of new construction in Chicagoland According to the latest numbers from Dodge Data & Analytics, residential construction spending in the Chicagoland housing market totaled $397 million in November, and

Stagnant wages and high rents combine to push homeownership out of reach for thousands of Chicagoans Nearly 957,000 renters in the Chicagoland housing market struggle with the cost of housing, according to a new report from the Joint Center of

Where does America’s middle class stand financially? New analysis from the Pew Research Center explains The U.S. middle class, which has long defined the country’s economic prosperity, is no longer the majority of Americans. That eye-grabbing finding came courtesy of

Fannie Mae’s 3-percent down-payment policy was met with praise and skepticism in equal parts, but how has it impacted housing? It was last October when Fannie Mae announced that, in an effort to broaden credit access, it would lower its

It can be difficult to keep track of how the multitude of real estate reports and forecasts fit into the bigger picture of the housing market and U.S. economy. To help our readers put it all in context, we’ve

Despite adding jobs, November offered more of the same for America’s economy The U.S. economy added 211,000 jobs in November and the unemployment rate held steady at 5.0 percent, according to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. November’s

2015 has been a great year for new construction in Chicagoland Residential construction spending in the Chicagoland housing market totaled $735 million in October, a 36 percent increase from Oct. 2014, according to new numbers from Dodge Data & Analytics.

Why do some consumers buy new homes, while others buy existing homes? NAR’s 2015 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers provided the answer, and in our continuing coverage of NAR’s report, we’ve assembled the following graph on the topic:

New home sales are hot, but what are the larger market trends? Sales of new single-family houses rose 10.7 percent from September to October and 4.9 percent from Oct. 2014 to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 495,000, according

Why did U.S. consumers decide to buy homes in 2015? That question was one of many that NAR’s 2015 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers tackled, and the results were many and varied – especially when the consumers’ disposition