As the housing market progressively recovers in 2012, more and more analysts are noting the shift in consumer demand from single-family to multifamily units. The latest (and most detailed) example is “The Shifting Nature of U.S. Housing Demand,” a

Q. The Lending Process Has Become Extremely Detailed.  As an Agent, How Can I Better Serve my Client to Make the Loan Process Smoother? A. As a VP of mortgage lending, the goal when turning in a file is to

By Peter Ricci In tune with campaign season, President Obama is stepping up his populist rhetoric to drum up support for his home refinancing plan. Originally announced in January during his State of the Union address, the plan would

Homebuilder confidence in the market for new single-family homes reached its highest level since 2007, according to the Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index. At 29, the level is five points higher than last month’s downwardly revised

By Peter Ricci After a few difficult years, the income and business of Realtors grew in 2011, according to the 2012 National Association of Realtors Member Profile. A survey of 58,823 NAR members that yielded 6,245 usable responses, the

Which Chicago suburbs and neighborhoods have the most transactions? LeapRE examined all active residential units on the market from January 2012 through May 1, 2012 to find out. Aurora has the highest number of transactions, 608, but this number

Freddie Mac yesterday released the latest results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey, and it found what by now has become common – that average fixed mortgage rates hit record lows last week. The 30-year FRM averaged just 3.79

Fannie Mae bolstered its predictions for the U.S. housing market in its report from the latest Economic & Strategic Research Group. Housing, the report stated, showed considerable promise in the first quarter of 2012, growing at a rate that “substantially”

Foreclosure filings, which encompass default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions, were the lowest in April in five years, according to the latest data from RealtyTrac. The 188,780 filings for April were a 5 percent decline from March and a

Inventory levels in the U.S. housing market are down 21 percent from last May, according to the newest statistics from Pro Teck Valuation Services. A real estate valuation firm based in Waltham, Mass., Pro Teck said many of the

Residential/CRE Investor, a newly-released app for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, is a sophisticated yet user-friendly financial model for evaluating single-family, multifamily and commercial real estate investments George Mathew, the app’s creator, said he wanted to create a program

Housing starts for privately-owned homes rose by nearly 30 percent year-over-year in April, perhaps the strongest sign yet of a recovery in residential construction. According to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing

Housing finance was the main feature of a multi-panel discussion at the Realtors Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo in Washington yesterday. Officially titled “Housing Policy in 2013: Challenges, Opportunities and Solutions,” the symposium featured a who’s who in

Today’s real estate market is challenging and competitive, but this year’s Realtor Magazine “30 Under 30” honorees haven’t let that deter them. The 2012 class is following in the strong entrepreneurial tradition of real estate, creating their own pathways

The Federal Housing Administration has taken a big role in the tight-lending environment of the post-boom housing market, but has it been costly? That’s the argument of the Fiscal Times, which, in a piece analyzing the financing methods of

Another round of foreclosures and delinquencies has once again put the FHA’s finances under scrutiny, as the agency’s boom-era loans continue to haunt its books. According to the latest data from Lender Processing Services, lenders began foreclosure proceedings on