A poll of more than 100 real estate economists and experts finds half of the respondents think a recession will begin in 2020. Learn about their reasons for such assertions and predictions for the housing market overall in the next few years.

As housing costs have continued to grow faster than the average buyer’s income, more are tapping into resources that can lower the substantial up-front costs of purchasing a home. But that could bring some major changes and a degree of uncertainty to the housing market.

While sales of existing homes continue to underwhelm, housing market analysts are feeling more optimistic about new construction. The Census Bureau reported new-home sales in June came 7 percent above the revised sales pace for May, and 4.5 percent above the estimate for June 2018. The report did come with caveats, however.

Opportunities for Illinois homebuyers have increased as home sales trended lower in June and median prices stayed relatively flat, according to data from Illinois Realtors. However, one factor that doesn’t favor buyers is the fact that inventory remained low.

The national existing-home market nearly gave up the ground won in May with a less-than-stellar showing for June sales, according to the National Association of Realtors. Sales of existing homes in June came in 1.7 percent below the previous month’s total, reaching a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 5.27 million.

Weakening home sales, a sluggish new construction market and slowing growth in permitting for home improvement projects have all impacted the pace of remodeling, particularly projects undertaken with the goal of putting properties on the market for a quick sale.

Once again it’s time to check in on the people and offices with the most activity in Chicagoland real estate. Get a quick glance of the people and offices who made waves in Q2 or dig deep into the full lists of the top 20 agents, offices and highest single-family closings in each of the six counties we cover.

High land and labor costs have tempered optimism that might otherwise accompany low mortgage rates and an economy that’s been strong overall. But there are also some encouraging signs on the horizon.

RE/MAX’s June 2019 Housing Report for Chicagoland shows overall indicators of slower sales and moderately increasing prices. But the view depends a great deal on which county you’re selling in.

A new study finds that, since 1960, median home prices have climbed by 121 percent, and household incomes rose less than one fourth as fast. But digging into the data in Chicagoland, a more nuanced picture emerges.

Money woes have become a bigger obstacle for those looking to break into homeownership than they were two years ago. Also, somewhat surprising data about the proportion of first-time buyers shopping for homes in rural areas.

Find out the latest numbers for mortgage application activity, interest rates and what to look for in the near future, as markets expect the Fed to lower interest rates later this month.

Just when many housing markets were seeing some relief in their scant inventory of for-sale housing, there are now fresh signs afoot that supply levels may return to a trend of tightening.

New data from Quicken Loans shows homeowners are becoming more realistic about the values of their homes, though exactly how rational they are varies quite a bit from city to city. Find out how Chicago compares to the rest of the country.

Low unemployment, rising home prices and responsible underwriting are all identified as sources for these positive numbers. Still, there’s one major factor external to the economy that can have a major impact on the rate of foreclosures in a given area.

The number of mortgage applications submitted during the week ending June 21 grew 1.3 percent, and rates on the standard 30-year fixed-rate mortgage continued their downward slide.