National News

How Does a New Home’s Size Impact its Features?

We all wonder if size truly matters, but in the case of newly built single-family homes, the answer is clear. What percentage of newly built homes have an entry foyer? What if the home is less than 2,000 square

NAR: Existing-Home Sales Dip Slightly in September

Existing-home sales declined a bit from August to September, though housing inventory continued to show promising signs. After hitting their highest level in nearly four years, existing-home sales came back down to earth in September, declining 1.9 percent to

New Home Data Coming to the MLS

Builders Digital Experience, Inc. (BDX), a joint venture between Move, Inc. and Builder Homesite, Inc., announced this month a unique partnership with nine multiple listing services – including Chicagoland’s Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) – to provide new home

NAHB: Builder Confidence Wanes Somewhat in September

Builder confidence had been on a tear recently, but new data from the NAHB suggests a cooling off period. Builder confidence for the newly built, single-family home market stumbled a bit in October, with the National Association of Home

How is Space Distributed in New Homes in 2013?

The components of new homes in 2013 are pretty consistent, but how is space distributed across those various components? It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to deduce the components of a typical newly built single-family home. From the family

So, About that Government Default – Should We Be Afraid?

We’re now two days away from a government default, an event that would spell nothing but trouble for the nation’s housing market. We’re now drawing uncomfortably close to a government default, and though we have written on a couple

Are Zombies & Vampires a Problem in Our Housing Market?

What are Vampire REOs and Zombie Foreclosures? And what problems do they pose for the housing market? Last week, we reported on the latest National Foreclosure Report from CoreLogic, and the news was uniformly good: foreclosure inventory was down a

Does the Middle Class Have a Chance in Chicago’s Housing Market?

The U.S. prides itself for its strong middle class, but how many options does that middle class have for housing in the nation’s largest cities? Homeownership has long been a cornerstone of the modern American Dream, the ultimate symbol

How Affordable Will Housing Be When Rates Hit 7 Percent?

Housing affordability has been on the decline this year, but by how much? And what will affordability look like when rates increase? It’s been an interesting year in the world of housing affordability. Record low mortgage rates and competitively

5 Interesting Details about Janet Yellen, Obama’s Pick to Head the Fed

Janet Yellen, President Obama’s choice to head the Federal Reserve, brings a unique combination of the old and the new to the position. President Obama yesterday announced Janet Yellen as his choice to head the Federal Reserve and take

CoreLogic: Foreclosure Inventory Drops 33% in August

The nation’s foreclosure markets have been showing considerable improvement in 2013, but did that trend continue in August? The good news continued for the nation’s foreclosure markets, according to CoreLogic’s latest National Foreclosure Report, with foreclosure inventory, completed foreclosures

Consumer Caution Grows in Latest National Housing Survey

Consumer sentiment on the housing market has gone nowhere but up in the last few months, but does the latest survey from Fannie Mae suggest a slowdown? Baby, we had a great run. Though consumer confidence on the housing

Did Chicago Rents Increase in the Third Quarter?

The nation’s rental markets have been quite hot in the post-boom housing market; did that trend continue into the third quarter? There have been two distinct memes in the housing market since 2008, both involving the nation’s rental market.

Trulia: Chicago Asking Prices Rocket 14.5% in September

Asking prices may have slowed nationwide in September, but here in Chicago, prices put up strong numbers on both yearly and quarterly measures. Asking prices in Chicagoland’s housing market were up a robust 14.5 percent year-over-year in September, along

Ask a Lender: Ben Cohen, Guaranteed Rate

Q: Can my client purchase a home using FHA financing with negative items on their credit score? Consumers with negative inquiries must wait up to seven years before they can purchase another home, depending on the type of property

How Does Financing Vary by Suburb/Neighborhood?

Which neighborhoods and suburbs have the most of which types of loans? Click on our infographic below to find

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