NAHB Chairman Barry Rutenberg has become the latest proponent for housing finance reform, arguing in an op-ed for a comprehensive overhaul of the current system. “Our goal is to overhaul the housing finance system to ensure that housing credit

A new study out by Standard & Poor’s is estimating it will take 46 months to clear out the nation’s supply of shadow inventory, one month less than predictions from 2011. Liquidation rates for the residential mortgage markets appeared

Builder confidence is one of the main areas of focus for real estate, and it will be particularly interesting how builders in Illinois react to a series of environmentally-conscious regulations currently working their way through the state

Median home values, improving sales and stronger inventories were all features of the 2012 first quarter report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Median existing single-family home prices rose year-over-year in 74 out of the 146 metro areas tracked

MACK Companies, the largest owner of single-family investment properties in the Midwest, has hired Fermin Saucedo to join the company as director of sales. James McClelland, president and CEO of Tinley Park-based MACK Companies, made the

The five biggest residential brokerages in the Chicagoland area all retained their top-five stature in 2011, but only one increased its sales volume from 2010. @properties was the lone brokerage to grow last year, increasing its sales volume by

A new chart of analysis has reinvigorated the homeownership vs renting debate, with another nod of economic approval heading for the homeowners’ corner. Assembled by analyst Ben Walsh for Felix Salmon of Reuters, the chart uses the most recent data from

The wave of foreclosures that many analysts had anticipated has, thus far, failed to materialize (knock on wood), and its absence is making some reconsider the housing market. As the Wall Street Journal explained in a recent story, the biggest

Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED), the Chicagoland multiple listing service, announced that it has partnered with the DocuSign eSignature solution into its connectMLS platform. DocuSign, the global platform for eSignature, provides a solution that helps agents and brokers complete

According to the Summer 2012 Merrill Edge Report, many Americans in the mass affluent category are willing to make short-term sacrifices in order to get their finances in better shape. The report, released in April by Bank of America,

In a seller’s market more often defined by low-ball offers and year-long listings, some bidding activity across the Chicagoland area is getting some sellers and agents’ attention. As reported by the Chicago Sun-Times, some listings in various neighborhoods have

Now that new standards for Illinois brokers and managing brokers have been implemented, both the Chicago Association of Realtors (CAR) and the Illinois Association of Realtors (IAR) are planning new programs for their members that capitalize on the new

By: Chelsea Lameira Living in luxury isn’t always the life. Take former Boston Celtics and Miami Heat player and Chicago native Antoine Walker, who played professionally until retiring in 2008. At the height of his wealth, Walker was said

Of the 72,731 listings on the market in all nine Chicagoland counties in 2011, 388 of those listings, or 0.53 percent, were co-ops. Of Cook County’s 39,358 listings, the co-op percentage was higher, with 352, or 0.89 percent. In

The federal conforming loan limit was one of the most highly contentious issues in the tail end of 2011, but based on recent statistics, all that controversy seems to have been for naught. Originally passed in late 2008 to

Chicago real estate brokerage firm @properties has announced that company co-founders Michael Golden and Thaddeus Wong were named finalists in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2012 program in the