National News

Chicagoland home prices continue strong growth in new Case-Shiller

A month after boasting the strongest home price growth in the nation, the Chicagoland housing market continued its strong pace in the most recent Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, which covered home prices through June. Per S&P’s computations, home prices

Home start gains projected into 2018

There aren’t enough homes, and that’s a problem in multiple markets. But it might not be for too much longer. “As most real estate professionals know, housing costs are still climbing,” National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun wrote

Are McMansions finally going the way of the dinosaurs?

McMansions – the mass-produced, over-the-top, poorly appreciating eyesores that became the poster children of the housing bubble – seemed to be on the way out. Average and median home size had fallen considerably during the market downturn, as builders

Trump on housing: ‘A home builder taught me everything I know’

Donald Trump spoke to the National Association of Home Builders this month, and it turned out to be one of the most important speeches of his campaign: it was about housing. He reminisced about what it was like growing

4 things to know about multigenerational households

Multigenerational households – those that include two or more adult generations, or grandparent and grandchildren – are at an all-time high in the U.S., according to a new Pew Research Center analysis. Based on census data through 2014, Pew

AARP releases new tool to help Chicago agents serve older clients

What do seniors look for in a neighborhood? It’s a smart question for real estate agents to ask, considering the rapid growth of the country’s 65-and-older population. In 2014, 46.2 million people in the U.S. were at least 65

Fair housing to help guide Clinton-Kaine housing policy

Tim Kaine believes he and Hillary Clinton can change the housing industry. “A house is more than just a place to sleep,” the Virginia senator and Democratic vice presidential nominee wrote in his “How to make housing fair in

To sell or remodel: Homeowners choose…

In June, the nation’s housing inventory fell. It’s now at a 4.6-months supply. It’s a trend defining several metropolitan markets throughout the country. A report from John Burns Real Estate Consulting recently explained, at least in part, what may

Clients interested in smart locks? Help them prevent hacks

Nearly half of Americans either have or hope to invest soon in smart home technology, a Coldwell Banker survey found. They probably don’t know that the smart home feature the survey found “most appealing” to homebuyers can be hacked.

Four ideas to jump-start labor in construction

Everyone knows the construction industry is facing a labor shortage. Some speculate a worsening of that shortage is imminent. But at least one person – Betsy Scott, director of the think tank Housing Innovation Alliance – believes there is a solution

Clinton’s fair-housing champion could start national conversation

The presidential election is mere months away, and so far the conversation on the campaign trail seems to be limited to wages, terrorism, crime and bickering. But what about housing? Hillary Clinton’s vice presidential pick, Virginia Senator Tim Kaine, has

How Google’s high-speed wi-fi service could benefit Chicago real estate

In a recent filing with the FCC, Google stated it was interested in testing a new high-speed wifi product – a spin-off of its much-ballyhooed Internet service “Fiber” – here in Chicago. And that could be a boon for Chicago real estate.

What’s the final word on student debt and housing? It’s complicated.

The statistics are hardly encouraging: student debt has more than tripled in the last 10 years; its serious delinquency rate is higher than any other form of debt, including mortgages and credit cards; it now totals $1.37 trillion, and

Four fears keeping Millennials from buying a home, and how to manage them

There are four major fears keeping Millennials from buying a home, according to a recent survey from NerdWallet: the fear of committing to a partner; the fear of inevitable home repairs; the fear of not having money for other expenses; and the fear of the

Yelp and realtor.com provide new neighborhood-learning tool

Realtor.com and Yelp have partnered to give consumers easier access to neighborhood trend data – and agents could benefit. “Deciding on a potential neighborhood is often the first step in the home buying process,” says Ryan O’Hara, chief executive officer

JD Power says consumers like this brokerage more than any other

JD Power today named its annual home buyer/seller satisfaction award recipients, and in all four real estate consumer categories – first-time buyers, first-time sellers, repeat buyers, repeat sellers – Century 21 was the top pick; though, the brokerage tied once with

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