Housing affordability is a major problem, and new research has added an additional wrinkle to the crisis. Housing affordability (especially in the new home market) may be worsening nationwide, but it has nothing on the affordability squeeze facing renters

What was the deal with our local new construction marketplace last month? February proved a lackluster month for residential new construction in the Chicagoland area, according to new numbers from Dodge Data & Analytics. For the month, residential construction

We all know that the economy has improved in recent years, but we also know (and with similar levels of confidence) that there remain considerable hurdles for many Americans in today’s economy. Take a look through our informative graphic

We all know the Internet is prominent, but there are interesting details to how homebuyers search for homes nowadays. It’s no mystery that the Internet is the defining conduit for real estate today, but NAR’s Home Buyer and Seller

Everyone should be concerned about rising levels of inequality – especially residential real estate professionals. The Brookings Institution just updated its data metrics on inequality in the U.S.’ largest metro areas, and the results are – to put it

The single-family home market for new construction has trended towards affluence, and so has the rental market. The last couple months, we’ve been reporting with regularity on how our nation’s issues with inequality have manifested themselves in new construction,

Sure, negative equity has improved overall, but what of properties on the lower-end of price spectrum? Though 25.1 percent of mortgage properties in Chicagoland remain in negative equity, that pales in comparison to the 41.5 percent of properties in

Homebuilders are feeling a little less confident this month. A key measure of builder confidence declined this month, with the Housing Market Index (HMI) dropping two points to a level of 53. Released monthly by the NAHB, the HMI tracks

Everyone has seen the various reports that the U.S. homeownership rate has fallen in recent years, but how much as it really declined? To find out, we took a deep dive into the Census Bureau’s data on the matter,

You may think you understand housing affordability, but chances are you’re relying on limited measurements. How affordable is Chicagoland’s housing market? The answer to that question is more complicated than meets the eye, and it suggests some very interesting

What are some of the defining traits of homebuyers in today’s housing market? Every spring, Christmas comes early in the form of NAR’s Generational Survey, a massively detailed look at homebuyers, sellers and the generational divides that exist between

What suburban markets in Chicagoland are seeing the greatest level of competition? Last week, we reported on the top-selling suburbs in Chicagoland, and how the Aurora, Naperville and Joliet markets were once again at the top. Those three communities, though, have

Where, in our vast urban housing landscape, did agents sell the most homes? Earlier this week, we reported on the top-selling suburbs across Chicagoland, and now we’re back (armed with additional data from Redfin) to report on the city’s

Until the economy improves, housing will never fully recover – and the stats are not encouraging. Quite a bit of our reporting, in recent weeks, has focused on inequality and income disparity, and for good reason – a housing

Where in Chicagoland have new home sales risen the most? Last week, we reported on the rate of housing starts across Chicagoland’s counties; what has the environment looked like for new home sales, during that same time? To find

The new year is always a precarious time for the new construction marketplace. Residential construction spending in the Chicagoland area was just shy of $139 million in January, a 10 percent increase from Jan. 2014, according to new numbers