With spring just around the corner, Chicagoland’s lending community is in an interesting position: Fannie Mae’s Q4 2015 Mortgage Lender Sentiment Survey revealed that lenders expect to continue easing up on credit standards, while a recent Mortgage Bankers Association

In our last issue, our panel of experts predicted that we’d continue to see slow and steady growth in both the national and local real estate markets. No wild swings or dire warnings – just slow and steady growth.

This year was a rewarding one for Chicagoland real estate professionals, though not without its challenges. We’ve seen steady home price growth and a slew of new construction projects slated to bring thousands of new residential units to the downtown area.

There’s an art to divining a homebuyer’s true desires. Even the most elite of real estate agents can’t read minds, which can often feel like a serious disadvantage in an emotional, high-stakes transaction like a home purchase. Consider this

There are plenty of misconceptions about real estate as a career, many of which could present obstacles to potential new agents looking to get into the game or seasoned brokers seeking fresh talent for their teams. For example, the

When we first started talking about “the state of international buyers in Chicago” at Chicago Agent, our questions were all over the map. Who’s investing in local real estate from across the pond? What’s happening in their home country

2015 marks the 10-year anniversary of Chicago Agent magazine’s Agents’ Choice Awards. This year, the feature drew 48,000 votes, an impressive number to cap off a decade of celebrating the best and the brightest in Chicagoland real estate. Agents,

As we head into the last quarter of 2015, it’s time for another Lending Update for agents, lenders, and everyone in between. In our cover story, we asked four lending experts to supply answers to the most frequently asked

The other day while I was coming to work I received a somewhat frantic text from my wife. Our computer’s wireless keyboard was not working properly, and she needed help fixing it ASAP. Keep in mind that my wife

My wife and I are considering moving to the suburbs, but even thinking about the prospect of relocation makes my brain shut down. Why? It’s not because I wouldn’t be interested in looking for and finding a fresh new

Growth is good. And with growth comes new construction. But as growth increases, some of the opportunities for building new properties diminish because there is less space on which to build. In that situation, you need a new kind

I have no idea how much my condo would sell for. I bought it in 2001, and over the past 14 years have put about $60,000 into it, gutting the kitchen and adding central air. I have also refinanced twice

Being called a team player is one of the best compliments someone can get. It basically means that you have your teammates’ backs, that you are dialed into the group’s overall goals and mission, and that you are willing

Making a sale is one thing. Saving a sale is an entirely different proposition.  In this week’s cover package, we examine the tricky dynamic of how agents can take a sale that’s about to go south and steer it

Real estate is one of the most exciting and dynamic topics for a journalist to be covering. Good and bad, up and down, flip and flop, the news never seems to stop, and there is no shortage of crucial

Every year, it’s interesting to see how our New Construction Status Update grows. After the recession, there were not a lot of new construction projects anywhere in Chicagoland, and we could fit the entire status update on a few