National News

CoreLogic: Home Prices Up 12.4 Percent in July

The nation’s home prices continued to improve in July, with the latest Home Price Index from CoreLogic posting fantastic year-over-year numbers. Home prices continued their double-digit performance in the CoreLogic Home Price Index, rising 12.4 percent year-over-year in July. That

The Top 9 Reasons That Consumers Moved in 2012

Quite a few Americans moved about in 2012, but what were the reasons behind their move? Last year, a hefty number of Americans moved to new residences – 35.5 million Americans, in fact, a 4 percent increase from 2011

McMansions: The Sequel

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

How Quickly Do Listings Go Under Contract in Chicagoland?

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

Housing Stakeholders React Positively Toward New Mortgage Rules

Regulators have proposed new mortgage rules that will give more Americans access to mortgage credit, generating a positive reaction from housing stakeholders. The proposal would align the qualified residential mortgage rule (QRM) with the qualified mortgage rule (QM), finalized

Broker Andy Ogorzaly Receives CAR Scholarship

Andy Ogorzaly, a broker associate at Chicago-based Exit Strategy Realty, recently received a CAR Designation Scholarship courtesy of the Chicago Association of Realtors (CAR), according to a press release. Ogorzaly was selected for the scholarship, which gives recipients $500

5 Possible Outcomes of Higher Mortgage Rates

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

NAR: Higher Mortgage Rates Push Down Pending Home Sales

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

Fannie Mae Reveals STAR Program Results for First Half of 2013

Today, Fannie Mae announced the results of their Servicer Total Achievement and Rewards (STAR) Program for the first half of the year. STAR was created to establish servicing standards and recognize Fannie Mae servicers on their overall performance, customer

New Home Sales Down 13.4% in July – Cold Water on the Recovery?

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.

Chicago Home Prices Up 7.3% in June Case-Shiller

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,

The Nation’s Busiest Residential New Construction Markets

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

The Best-Selling Buildings in Chicago

What are the best-selling buildings in Chicago? And how many of those buildings also produce the highest sales volume in Chicago? Click on our infographic below to find

Rising Home Values Impact Affordability in Second Quarter

Nationwide housing affordability slipped several notches as recovering markets witnessed significant firming of home prices in the second quarter, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI). In all, 69.3 percent of new and

Home Prices See Strongest Gain in Over Seven Years

According to the National Association of Realtors’ second quarter report, median home prices continued improving, with annual price gains showing their strongest reading in more than seven years. Compared to the second quarter of last year, 87 percent of

Housing Starts a Mixed Bag

Data released by the U.S. Census Bureau in conjunction with the Department of Housing and Urban Development indicated that privately-owned housing starts were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 896,000 in July, 6 percent above the upwardly revised

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