The National Association of Real Estate Brokers has joined the RE/MAX Strategic Alliances program to help grow homeownership among minority groups.

The news that Zillow is purchasing ShowingTime for $500 million sent shockwaves through the residential real estate industry in February. See what Chicagoland readers had to say.

The median sales price in the first month of 2021 was up 11.8% from January 2020 to $285,000, nearly matching the record high of $290,000 set last August.

In Chicago, 31.9% of Redfin offers faced bidding wars in January compared to 26.3% in December 2020.

After declining for years, the size of new single-family homes has begun to level off as consumers spend more time at home, a National Association of Home Builders analysis found.

NAR put together its “Snapshot of Race and Home Buying in America” report to study the hurdles that persistently block minorities from owning homes.

The study largely dispels a long-held belief that nearby homes lose value once low-income housing is built in an area.

More than 60% of certifications across the top states, including Illinois, were offices, health care, higher education and K-12 projects, the report noted.

The website, which notes that housing costs take up about one third of average spending for households, configured data by assessing the median home value and mortgage payment to show the minimum level of income necessary.

The firm is Detroit’s top residential broker for downtown and the city’s top brokerage for adaptive-reuse and new-construction developments.

“In the final months of 2020, single-family rents posted the highest increases in over four years,” said Molly Boesel, principal economist at CoreLogic. “However, single-family rent price reaction to the pandemic and resulting recession differed greatly across metros.”

The top reason why long-time searchers have not purchased a home is because 40% say they were outbid.

The report added that vacation homes and affordable homes in small towns near major urban centers were in strong demand as a result of the pandemic.

Welcome to our Top Producers/Real Data issue, which highlights those who made waves in the 2020 Chicagoland market.

The ad is part of their national brand campaign, Believe You Will, which encourages the power of positive thinking and believing you can accomplish your goals.

Fence-sitters thinking of buying a home beware, says a new study from Zillow, which notes that waiting could mean a much higher mortgage payment down the road.