We’ve been seeing reports that housing inventory is beginning to stabilize; is that true here in Chicago, though? Up, or down? That’s always the question when it comes to housing inventory, and with new realtor.com data in tow, we’re

There had been rumblings early on that there was more to the housing recovery than met the eye, and new data from NAR confirms those suspicions. Throughout 2013, there have been many positive developments in the housing market, and

Though it was delayed by the government shutdown, the Census Bureau’s numbers on construction spending were positive all the same. Well, it finally made it! Though delayed by three weeks because of the government shutdown, the Census Bureau’s latest

We all wonder if size truly matters, but in the case of newly built single-family homes, the answer is clear. What percentage of newly built homes have an entry foyer? What if the home is less than 2,000 square

Existing-home sales declined a bit from August to September, though housing inventory continued to show promising signs. After hitting their highest level in nearly four years, existing-home sales came back down to earth in September, declining 1.9 percent to

Housing activity remained very strong throughout Chicagoland in September, with both the city and suburbs posting strong numbers. Homes sales in the nine-county Chicago Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area rose 25.6 percent year-over-year in September, rising to an impressive total of

When it comes to home improvement professionals, which ones are the most popular with Chicago homeowners? Earlier this week, we reported on home improvement projects in Chicago, and which ones have proven the most prominent with homeowners in our

When we think luxury, we generally think “BIG,” but a new survey shows that bigger it not always better with luxury homebuyers. You hear the words “luxury home,” and many things come to mind – high-end finishings, exclusive neighborhoods

Builder confidence had been on a tear recently, but new data from the NAHB suggests a cooling off period. Builder confidence for the newly built, single-family home market stumbled a bit in October, with the National Association of Home

There are many ways that homeowners can improve their residences, but what projects are the most popular? Home improvement projects are among the key tenets of homeownership. You purchase a home, renovate certain aspects of it, and then, several

The components of new homes in 2013 are pretty consistent, but how is space distributed across those various components? It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to deduce the components of a typical newly built single-family home. From the family

What are Vampire REOs and Zombie Foreclosures? And what problems do they pose for the housing market? Last week, we reported on the latest National Foreclosure Report from CoreLogic, and the news was uniformly good: foreclosure inventory was down a

The U.S. prides itself for its strong middle class, but how many options does that middle class have for housing in the nation’s largest cities? Homeownership has long been a cornerstone of the modern American Dream, the ultimate symbol

Housing affordability has been on the decline this year, but by how much? And what will affordability look like when rates increase? It’s been an interesting year in the world of housing affordability. Record low mortgage rates and competitively

Foreclosures are a persistent problem in Chicago’s housing market, but not in all the city’s neighborhoods. Every month, CoreLogic and RealtyTrac release new data on foreclosures in the nation’s housing market, and every month, Chicago is near the top

The nation’s foreclosure markets have been showing considerable improvement in 2013, but did that trend continue in August? The good news continued for the nation’s foreclosure markets, according to CoreLogic’s latest National Foreclosure Report, with foreclosure inventory, completed foreclosures