The Pending Home Sales Index, a leading measure of future home sales activity from NAR, increased in March, contributing further to the new housing recovery. The index, which is based on contract signings, increased from 97.4 in February to

The new home sales data from earlier today confirms what we’ve been reporting for several weeks now – that a housing recovery is indeed in the works. There remains considerable debate, though, on the nature and extent of that recovery,

The 2010 First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit was one of the Obama administration’s first big policies for housing, but its impact has been debated since its expiration. And now Dean Baker, a noted economist and researcher, has published a detailed

The latest data on new home sales from the Census Bureau shows that though the market for new housing remains depressed, it is clearly moving toward greener pastures. For March 2012, new single-family home sales were at a seasonally

New analysis of HARP 2.0 is suggesting bold improvements for bank margins and other lending measurements in the second quarter of 2011. Conducted by the firm Keefe, Bruyete & Woods (KBW) and covered by HousingWire, the analysis looked at

Buyers have been on the hunt for once-in-a-lifetime deals in recent months, but an ad hoc index from The Washington Post suggests that strategy may no longer fly. Dubbing its approach the “low-ball index,” the Post looked at the number

February prices in the Chicago real estate market fell 2.5 percent from January and 6.9 percent from February 2011, according to the latest Case-Shiller. Nationally, the two major price indices of the Case-Shiller, the 10- and 20-City Composites, showed

Numerous reality television shows spotlighting renovation nightmares have popped up in recent years, and some are questioning their impact on potential homebuyers. Displaying the ugly side of buying a beautiful home, several of the shows were highlighted in a recent article

U.S. News just released its Best Business Jobs list, and real estate agents, boosted by new BLS stats, ranked quite highly in the list. According to U.S. News, over the next few years, businesses in the U.S. are on track to

Housing inventory declined yet again in March, and real estate analysts are debating its implications for the wider housing market. Based on the latest numbers from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), inventory declined from 2.40 million in February

With active listings as of April 2, 68 percent of agents do not provide virtual video tours of their listings. The remaining 25 percent use one of the major companies for virtual tours, while 7 percent of agents use

We recently asked whether or not Facebook is a waste of time for Realtors, based on new research from the Pew Research and American Life Project regarding Facebook user behavior. It was determined that no, Facebook was not a

Multifamily real estate was one of the big surprises of 2011, and analysts are expecting big things of the sector in 2012. Fannie, the largest single participant in multifamily mortgage debt, is anticipating a 30 percent jump in multifamily

The city of Chicago has lessened certain elements of its vacant property ordinance for mortgage servicers, particularly with interior maintenance. Chicago Buildings Commissioner Michael Merchant, in a HousingWire article,  said that the city eased some of its standards for the maintenance

Despite slower economic activity, Fannie Mae’s Economic & Strategic Research Group still forecasted positive developments in its latest projections. The economy grew at an annualized rate of 3.0 percent in 2011’s fourth quarter, and Fannie anticipates it will grow by

Realtors are an increasingly confident bunch, according to new results from NAR’s expansive Realtors Confidence Index Report. Co-authored by Jed Smith, the association’s managing director of quantitative research, and George Ratiu, the manager of quantitative and commercial research the report looked at