By Peter Ricci Housing construction, as any observer of the real estate market knows, suffered mightily in the post-boom housing economy, as scores of vacant, newly-built properties languished in new construction ghost towns. Now, however, the situation is quite

By Peter Ricci The final presidential debate is tonight, and though the specific questions of the event remain a mystery, one thing is certain – housing policy will not be among the topics discussed. The final debate, as it

With technology, one minute an app, software or platform could be deemed “the best,” and the next minute, a company has come out with something even better that vies for that

By Charlene Jiminez, AGBeat If you’re an Apple fan, you’ve probably heard about the rumored and unconfirmed mini iPad. The regular-sized iPad is a 9.7-inch tablet. The mini, on the other hand, is slightly smaller than that, at around

By Kerri Ann Panchuk The federal government’s grip on the nation’s housing finance will remain both a hug and a stranglehold, some predictions say, for the next term. Despite strengths in the housing recovery, a sudden withdrawal of the

A customer relationship management (CRM) system is vital to building a successful real estate business that’s based on referrals and repeat transactions. Not only will a top-notch real estate CRM help you stay organized and in-control, but it will

By Natalie Terchek Can social media be used to market yourself and your business? According to HubSpot, an online marketing and web analytics company, social media has increased 356 percent in the United States since 2006. With so many

In August, MRED had 36,971 total users. In comparing this data to August of last year, the percent of agents logging in from mobile devices has increased to 47.5 percent. Last year, this percentage was 25.8

By Peter Ricci Chicagoland home sales in September rose 24.0 percent from a year ago, and median price has increased by $20,000 from January 2012, according to existing-home sales data from the Illinois Association of Realtors (IAR). Homes sales

By Peter Ricci September existing-home sales increased 11 percent year-over-year, as housing inventory continued to stabilize and median home price increased, according to the latest economic report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Though sales were down slightly

By Peter Ricci When news broke in the summertime that banks had been engaging in widespread acts of Libor manipulation – effectively rigging interest rates on $300 to $600 trillion of credit cards, mortgages, and loans – the financial regulatory

By Peter Ricci For the second time in as many weeks, the housing market has been bolstered by some analytical support, receiving high marks from the latest Fannie Mae economic report. In the GSE’s latest Economic & Strategic Research

By Peter Ricci The U.S. housing market earned some well-deserved recognition from the Federal Reserve in its October Beige Book, with the Fed singling out the industry for its strong 2012 performance. A widespread measure of economic activity in the Fed’s 12 economic

By Natalie Terchek With both the presidential election and real estate in the headlines, an interesting Estately study compares the homes of President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney – though the residences of neither candidate, the study found, can compete with

By Peter Ricci By now, a number of outlets – ours included! – have written about the benefits of Instagram for real estate agents, and it’s certainly true that as a photography app, Instagram offers agents a quick, easy

By Peter Ricci Privately-owned housing starts posted their best numbers in more than four years, rising 15.0 percent from August to September to an annual rate of 872,000, according to the latest joint report from the Census Bureau and