Many analysts were proclaiming the demise of the McMansion, but the super-sized housing option seems to have returned from the dead. The narrative went a little something like this: McMansions, or over-sized suburban homes, were an outgrowth of the

The housing market, according to the latest numbers from Redfin, seems to be slowing down; is that the case here in Chicago? For the third straight month, the percentage of listings that went under contract within two weeks decreased

Why have home sellers sold their residences in 2013? We look at some interesting data and find the most prominent reasons. Housing inventory has been on a major upswing so far in 2013, with inventory rising nearly 22 percent

Mortgage rates have risen rather dramatically since May; what impact could those increases have, though, on the housing market? At the beginning of May the average mortgage rate for a 30-year FRM was just 3.35 percent. Since then, as

Higher mortgage rates negatively impacted pending home sales, according to new data from the National Association of Realtors. The Pending Home Sales Index, the leading measure of contract signings in the residential housing market, declined 1.3 percent from June

There are many factors that consumers consider when searching for homes, and a new Trulia survey shows the impact that kids have on homebuying decisions. Homebuyers have many factors to consider when searching for a home. From the area’s

Chicago’s rental market has been cruising along the last few years, but have developers been a bit too exuberant in their building? Chicago’s rental market has been one of the big success stories in the post-boom housing market, but

New home sales fell by a hefty amount in July; what does such a decline suggest about the housing recovery? July was a lukewarm month for new single-family home sales, with the Census Bureau reporting declines in sales numbers.

June was a stellar month for Chicago home prices, with the Windy City putting up some of the strongest home prices gains in the nation. Home prices in the Chicago metropolitan area were up 7.3 percent year-over-year in June,

Residential construction put up some great numbers in July, but are those gains consistent with our local real estate market? July was a very strong month for residential new construction. Not only were building permits up 2.7 percent from

Home sellers have been tiptoeing back into the housing market throughout 2013, and we’ve collected the most important traits of those sellers. We’ve been covering the National Association of Realtors’ Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends report pretty extensively

We keep hearing that mortgage lending standards are unfairly tight, but does the data support that meme? One of the more prevailing memes in the housing recovery has been the relative tightness of lending standards on residential mortgages, and

Chicagoland’s housing market had a wonderful July, but what specific markets shined the brightest? July was a great month for the greater Chicagoland housing market, but more specifically, what were the busiest housing markets in the city and suburban

Not only were existing-home sales up by monthly and yearly measures in July, but housing inventory continued to stabilize as well. July was a rock solid month for existing-home sales, according to the latest data from the National Association

The downpayment remains the staple of most home financing; how are buyers, nowadays, funding their downpayments? Only 9 percent of homebuyers so far in 2013 have funded less than 50 percent of their home purchases with financing – which means

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