The new construction markets are in a very interesting place, a fact reinforced by the latest Census Bureau numbers. Housing starts in September were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.017 million, a 6.3 percent increase from August’s revised

Three years later, the government is finally set to reveal its new requirements for mortgages, and much has changed in the interim. The government is set to finalize the final piece of its post-bubble mortgage regulations on Oct. 22,

When conditions are right, owning in our area is much more affordable than renting. Homeownership in the Chicagoland area remains 43 percent more affordable than renting through 2014’s third quarter, according to a new analysis by Trulia; that’s slightly

Women have always played an important role in real estate, and new numbers show their prominence has only grown. The number of women-owned firms in real estate has grown by 41.4 percent in the last 12 years according to

The nation’s distressed housing market has improved quite a bit in the last year, and that progress is also clear here in Illinois. Distressed home sales in the U.S. have fallen from 17 percent of all existing-home sales to just

There are many important factors influencing housing today, but recent analysis suggests two will have an outsized effect on the industry. The future is good for housing. That was the conclusion of a recent analysis by Goldman Sachs, which

Despite a drop in interest in August, Redfin research shows an uptick in the presence of prospective buyers. In August, Redfin reported a market-wide drop in homes for sale and new listings that hampered the searches of perspective buyers.

We often hear about how the nation’s mortgage markets need reform, but the solution could come from the most unexpected source. One of the most common refrains in the post-bubble housing market has involved lending standards, and that if

Though the elusive shadow inventory has dwindled, forthcoming changes to mortgage debt relief could lead to a swell in foreclosures over the next year. Trudging through the sludge of economic debris left over from the cataclysmic crisis that sent the U.S.

All research points to Hispanic consumers having an outsized effect on the U.S. housing market in the coming years. Hispanics are the fast-growing group of homebuyers in America, and they will hold significant sway over where our housing market

Asking prices once again showed positive movement in September, according to new stats from Trulia. A strong condo market propelled Chicagoland’s housing market to another month of positive asking-price increases in September, according to the latest Price Monitor by

Research from Zillow finds millennial values toward homeownership may be more traditional than older generations. It’s no secret that as more millennials reach homebuying age they’re opting to remain renters in lieu of entering the market. However, despite what many

Americans everywhere are tightening their belts, but still our houses are getting bigger. Why? Considering the realities of today’s housing market – that the empty nester population is growing and environmental sustainability is more and more dictating the direction

In the last 11 years, student debt in the U.S. has skyrocketed from $241 billion to $1.1 trillion, making it the second-highest form of debt in the country; only mortgage debt has a greater volume. Analysts have debated just

A few weeks ago, the Federal Reserve released a bevy of mortgage data from 2013, and it came with a screaming good headline – the number of mortgages made to purchase homes in 2013 was 2.68 million, a six-year high

Our city’s rental markets have performed quite well in recent years, and 2014 seems to be no exception. The average rent in Chicagoland in 2014’s third quarter was $1,110, a 1 percent increase from the second quarter and a