All across Chicagoland, the news was good for home sales, with both the city and suburban markets putting up smashing numbers. Home sales in the nine-county Chicago Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area (PMSA) rose 36.1 percent year-over-year in July, according to

Housing affordability has slipped a bit so far in 2013, but does Chicagoland’s housing stock remain affordable relative to other major cities? Housing affordability slipped a bit from the first quarter to the second quarter in 2013, according to

2013 has been a very good year for Chicagoland homebuilders, but so far this year, what builders have stood ahead of the pack? As we reported a couple of weeks ago, 2013 has, thus far, been a very encouraging

Residential construction posted great numbers in July, with housing starts, building permits and housing completions all in positive territory. July was a sterling month for residential construction, with all measured tracked by the Census Bureau posting positive numbers for

The rapid rise in home prices has been one of 2013’s major economic stories, but there’s mounting evidence that those increases will slow down – and soon. If there’s been a poster child for the housing recovery, it’s been

Builder confidence continued its upward trend in August, rising to its highest mark since 2005. August has proven another sterling month for homebuilders, with the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, the leading measure of builder

All of Chicagoland saw foreclosure filings plummet in 2013’s first half, though some areas improved more than others. Chicagoland’s mortgage markets put up some encouraging numbers in 2013’s first half, with foreclosure filings for the six-county region falling more

Housing inventory in Chicago was down by double-digit amounts in July; how do those declines compare with the rest of the nation? Housing inventory in July may have been down 26.2 percent year-over-year in Chicago and 16.2 percent nationally,

You just took on a new client, and are assisting them in the homebuying process; what parts of the process will they most need you for? We recently reported on consumers’ initial expectations for real estate agents, and the

The second quarter proved a boisterously good period for the nation’s mortgage markets, but did all that good cheer extend to our local marketplace? Last week, we reported on the latest National Delinquency Survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association,

Between the Internet, referrals and advertisements, consumers have many options for finding agents; what options, though, ultimately win them over? We are living in an age of overwhelming choice, and real estate is no exception. From the Internet, to

One of the more common housing memes, as of late, has been the end of suburbia: that because of the housing boom, and all the rampant suburban speculation that drove it, prospective homebuyers are opting for smaller units in

Agents provide many services to their clients, but of those services, which ones are the most valuable to clients? Real estate agents are an invaluable source of information for their clients, and they offer numerous services during the buying

The second quarter was a spectacular one for Freddie and Freddie, but are such successes problematic for the government’s reform efforts? Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had mighty good second quarters – not only did the GSEs post respective

The nation’s mortgage markets continued to improve in 2013’s second quarter, with the MBA’s report being one of its most positive. The mortgage markets improved in several notable ways in the second quarter, according to the latest National Delinquency

Is Chicago among the busiest housing markets in the U.S.? A new report from Redfin shows how the Windy City stacks up to the competition. What are the busiest housing markets in the U.S.? That question was at the