The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of May was 330,000, representing a supply of 5.1 months at the current sales rate, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development reported.

The shortage of housing in America is more “dire” than previously expected, and the NAR’s new report puts pressure on lawmakers to provide additional public funding and policy incentives to fix this massive underbuilding gap.

Agents at @properties who earned more than a quarter-million dollars in commissions for the first time with the company were awarded a high-end attaboy by the brokerage for their work in 2020.

Market competition has eased up recently, but seven in 10 buyers still face bidding wars, according to a new report from Redfin.

The program allows these temporary renters to recoup 50% of the rent they pay (up to 2.5% of the sales price) during construction as a credit toward their condo at closing.

Inventory levels rebounded last month, finally showing signs of recovery following a year of historical declines. 

The typical increase in home sales as summer approaches failed to materialize nationwide last month, with average sales dropping 0.2% from April to May, but month-over-month sales in Chicago bucked the trend, climbing 4.3%, according to the RE/MAX May National Housing Report.

Single-family housing starts were up 4.2% from April and 49.8% from May 2020, at 1,098,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Illinois is the 18th-best state to live in the country, according to WalletHub’s 2021 Best States to Live In list. 

Although pending sales are up 29% from last year, they are starting to slow down, dropping 9.7% from their peak four weeks ago.

Increasing costs and declining availability of key building materials dampened builder sentiment, as higher costs have pushed some new homes beyond the budget of prospective buyers.

CoreLogic says the boost in equity will help stave off foreclosures, but the share of homes underwater in the metro Chicago area was at 6.1% at the end of the first quarter of 2021, outpacing the national rate of 2.6%.

Experts at Builder Magazine recently came out with their Local Leaders list for 2020, which ranks the country’s 50 largest new-home markets based on closings by the end of the year.

With high costs slowing construction and potentially lowering homeownership for many, easing zoning rules may be the most effective way to increase the supply of new housing.

Some cities fared better than others with the global pandemic and Chicago is one of them, according to The Economist’s 2021 Livability Index’s ranking of the most livable cities in the world.

Rising property values had homeowners cashing out of their existing residences to buy bigger homes in less-expensive areas last year.