By Peter Ricci It’s one of the titanic arguments in the world of real estate – rent or buy? Indeed, few arguments in our beloved business inspire such fervent support, and few have been fueled more successfully by the

By Peter Ricci According to analysis of government documents, the three big government housing institutes – Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) – have decreased their REO housing inventory by more than

By Stephanie Sims With so many agent ratings systems out there, which rating system will show up in Google searches so potential clients can find your stellar ratings? Here are quick snapshots of a few of the top online

By Peter Ricci The seasonally adjusted delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four unit residential properties declined by 10 percent year-over-year in 2012’s second quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) latest National Delinquency Survey. Though the delinquency rate

By Peter Ricci Real estate website Trulia is reporting that, boosted by fewer housing vacancies and relatively impressive job growth, asking prices have risen in its Trulia Price Monitor for the sixth straight month. A leading indicator on home

By Peter Ricci Mortgage giant Fannie Mae released the findings of its second-quarter financial report earlier today, highlighting its net income, loan volumes and, naturally, its continuing health in the recovering mortgage markets. Overall, the GSE reported a net

By Peter Ricci The National Association of Realtors completed the long-anticipated merger of its virtual Realtors Federal Credit Union (FCU) with the Northwest Federal Credit Union on August 1, effectively opening to its members a new range of financial

By Peter Ricci National home prices increased 2.5 percent year-over-year in CoreLogic’s Home Price Index (HPI) for June, marking the fourth consecutive month of yearly gains for the index. In addition, the index, which is used by the Federal

Twitter is one of the simplest forms of social media, an incredibly accessible tool that allows one to effortlessly contact thousands of real, local people for a variety of purposes. But don’t let it fool you! Twitter may be

When it comes to the  housing market and the real estate industry, few things could be more clear – the two are among the most important contributors to economic growth. Indeed, the amount of economic activity involved in a

Russ Bergeron, the CEO of Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED), the Chicagoland multiple listing service, was a panelist at Inman News’ Real Estate Connect Conference in San Francisco. This industry leading conference, which took place from August 1 to August

By Peter Ricci The housing vacancy rate is among the most important measures of the real estate recovery. After all, excess supply was one of the big side effects of the housing boom, as the preponderance of vacant homes

By Peter Ricci In case you haven’t noticed, it’s hot outside – quite hot, in fact! All throughout the Midwest, temperatures have been raging (they hit 107 in Evansville, Indiana in June), and they’ve made the home searching process

The $25 billion mortgage settlement received quite a bit of press when the documents were signed back in February, and for good reason. Encompassing several states attorneys general and the largest financial institutions in the country, the settlement was

By Peter Ricci In a new strategy to generate buzz among consumers and Realtors, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) has launched a wide-ranging email campaign on homeownership. According to a description of the campaign on NAR’s website, the

By Peter Ricci In an effort to better mobilize Realtors for the coming elections in November, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) has formed the Realtor Party, a group that aims to forgo party politics in the name of