Hi, my name is Tiffany, and l am a smartphone addict. I never go anywhere without my phone. Why would I? I can do just about everything I need to with my iPhone

By Peter Ricci The fiscal cliff, and its implications for the U.S. economy, may be receiving all the attention from the media, but the National Association of Realtors (NAR) is doing its darnedest to ensure that another, equally potent

By Peter Ricci Construction spending, on the strength of the residential construction market, rose 1.4 percent from September to October and 9.6 percent from October 2011, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Census Bureau. It was another

By Peter Ricci News flash – Twitter is one widely-used program. With an estimated 400 million monthly users, the site is among the most popular forms of social media available today, and it makes all the sense in the

By Kerri Ann Panchuk U.S. home prices rose 3.6 percent in the third quarter when compared to year ago levels, according to the Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller Home Price Indices. Prices studied from the national composite index also rose

While data shows the housing market is incrementally improving, interestingly, the number of new offices that opened in the Chicagoland area declined from 2011 to

For its second annual GR Palooza, Guaranteed Rate set up a step-and-repeat and filled the Park West with a great crowd of agents and lenders, who danced and sang along with the band Sister Hazel, who performed in the

By Peter Ricci Falling housing prices during the housing downturn were, for prospective homebuyers and investors, a pretty smashing development. Housing affordability soared, and for those in the position to purchase a residence, deals could be had at nearly

By Natalie Terchek The National Association of Realtors (NAR) received a gold Best in Biz award for its forward-looking business practices. The independent business awards program honors companies and executives for their business successes. It is judged by industry

By Peter Ricci For the last two weeks, we’ve taken a detailed look at the homebuyers side of the National Association of Realtors’ 2012 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, analyzing demographics, the home search process, what kinds of

By Peter Ricci With few exceptions, home prices have been on the rise through most of 2012, and in noticeable ways – the most recent Case-Shiller Home Prices Indices, which Standard & Poor’s released on Tuesday, reported that home

By Peter Ricci The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking measure of real estate activity from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) that tracks contract signings, rose 13.2 percent year-over-year in October, hitting its highest mark since March 2007

By Peter Ricci First-time homebuyers have always played an integral role in the housing market, but the latest HousingPulse Survey from Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance has found that they may be missing out on the housing recovery. After surveying 2,500

By Peter Ricci Now that the real estate markets have begun a slow, steady recovery, it’s become commonplace for analysts to debate what factors are holding back housing from the rollicking, surging recovery we all dream about. From negative

By Peter Ricci New single-family home sales increased 17.2 percent year-over-year in October, according to the latest joint report from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Although sales were down 0.3 percent from September to October,

By Peter Ricci Referrals, it’s safe to say, are the lifeblood of a real estate agent’s career. Though networking and prospecting are invaluable for generating leads, it is through stellar service, and the referrals that such service generates, that