Many want to own a house, but the finances are only feasible for an increasingly select few It is a truth universally acknowledged that the vast majority of renters in America aspire to homeownership. Indeed, according to a recent

Mortgage markets have improved, but the inequities are still pronounced Black mortgage applicants in the Chicagoland area are denied at more than twice the rate of all applicants, according to new research from Zillow. In 2014, 26.9 percent of

First-time homebuyers continue to lose market share in today’s housing market First-time homebuyer share has dropped to its lowest level in 27 years, with just 32 percent of all existing-home sales going to first-time buyers in 2015. That was one

Chicagoland’s housing market may have improved, but most homeowners are not personally reaping the benefits. Home sales and prices may be showing strong improvement throughout Chicagoland, but that progress has not translated to greater returns for the area’s homeowners.

What counties in Chicagoland are seeing the most new construction activity? Earlier this week, we reported that new construction in Chicagoland is at its highest level since 2008, with more than 6,000 housing starts in the 12-month period ending

Builder confidence in the market for newly constructed single-family homes is at its highest level since 2005 with the NAHB’s Housing Market Index (HMI) rising three points in October to a level of 64. David Crowe, the NAHB’s chief

Were the usual suspects on top in Chicagoland’s suburban markets? Sales of single-family detached homes in Chicago’s suburbs were up 7.8 percent year-to-date in September, according to the Mainstreet Organization of Realtors (MORe). That overall stat, though, masks considerable variability through

As 2015 draws to a close, how has residential construction activity in Chicagoland compared with the previous year? Residential construction spending in Chicagoland totaled $354 million in September, according to new Dodge Data & Analytics numbers. Although that is 2

New home sales were down last month, but what about 2015 overall? Autumn has been a lackluster season thus far for new home sales, which rose 2.0 percent month-to-month but fell 11.5 percent year-over-year in September, ending the month at a seasonally adjusted

What Chicago neighborhoods saw the most real estate activity in September? Earlier this week, we reported that home sales in the city of Chicago were up 5.3 percent in September, though median price in the city was flat. Some Chicago

The economy on a whole may be doing better, but most Americans are not directly experiencing those gains The unemployment rate is currently 5.1 percent, down substantially from where it was five years ago. Since bottoming in March 2009, the

Yet another study finds that a majority of Americans are on financially insecure footing Sixty-two percent of Americans have inadequate savings. That alarming statistic was the main finding of a Google Consumer Survey that GoBankingRates, a national website that

Where in the Chicagoland area is the competition for housing the fiercest? The other week, we reported that Naperville, Aurora and Joliet were once again the top-selling suburbs in the Chicagoland area. That news was hardly surprising, given that

The rental market in Chicago has been red-hot for some time now, but is it finally tapering off? And what would that mean for homeownership? The average rent in Chicago’s housing market is $1,145, and the area’s rental growth is

Nationwide, wage growth has lagged behind home prices; is that still true here in Chicago? Back in April, we reported some unsettling news – per analysis by RealtyTrac, wage growth in the Chicagoland area in 2013 and 2014 lagged far behind

What Chicagoland neighborhoods saw the most home sales in August? Home sales in the city of Chicago may have been up 6.3 percent in August, according to statistics from the Illinois Association of Realtors, but as with every month, those sales were spread out