News / Features

Down Payments are Rising in Illinois – What Does that Mean for the Market?

Home prices have been on a tear for the past couple years, and new homebuyers trying to enter the market have noticed it becoming pricier to not just buy a house, but even put a down payment on a

imortgage Welcomes Two New Senior Executives

A top national nonbank lender and vision of loanDepot, imortgage, announced the appointment of two senior executives, Mary Bane and Jim Weir. Mary Bane joins the company as vice president. Prior to this role, she served six years at

Can You Believe It? TRID’s Impact on Markets is “Minor”

In December, existing-home sales re-found their footing, making up for the misstep in November. What did we learn? TRID was the cause of November’s slip, but it’s not a problem anymore. “Closing time metrics are showing minor effects of TRID,”

Are FICO Alternatives Becoming the Preferred Standard?

After years of heavy reliance on FICO scores, some lenders are now saying FICO’s view is too narrow, focusing too much on past behavior and not enough on consumers’ present circumstances. Alternative scoring systems have become a viable option,

Chicago’s Top 5 Most Expensive Residential Buildings

Curbed Chicago recently made a list of the top 10 most expensive residential buildings in Chicago based off of at least two publicly listed sales that were made in 2015. Which buildings made the cut for the top five spots?

7 Important Trends in Chicagoland Housing

The major Realtor associations have all released their final set of statistics for 2015, and as usual, have provided considerable insights into how the year’s housing market ultimately shaped up. After looking through those various reports, we’ve isolated the

Are Red or Blue States More Affordable for Consumers?

With the presidential primary just around the corner, ApartmentList.com recently analyzed Census data to see whether Republican- or Democratic-leaning states were more affordable for renters. While the study found that rents tend to be lower in inland states that

Which National Homebuilder was Recognized as America’s Most Trusted?

According to Lifestory Research’s 2016 Home Builder Study, Taylor Morrison ranks highest in trust among national homebuilders. The study followed more than 100 builder brands in the top housing markets across the United States, and Lifestory Research accumulated 39,079

Does the Falling Stock Market Actually Help Homebuyers?

With how the chips have fallen, homebuyers may benefit from the falling stock market After the Federal Reserve raised interest rates in December, there was immediate concern over whether the increase would raise the costs of housing and harm

NAHB Predicts Strong Construction Activity in 2016

According to the National Association of Home Builders, an estimated 1.26 million housing starts are expected this year, 13.4 percent more from the last year. Single-family production is estimated to reach 849,000 units. That is an 18 percent increase

Good News for Luxury Agents – the Millionaire Population is Growing, and Fast

New research finds that millionaire ranks grew strongly in 2015 There were nearly 211,000 millionaire households in the Chicagoland area through the middle of 2015, up 4.6 percent from the same period in 2014. Millionaire households now account for 6 percent

4 Important Details about New Construction in 2016

What will the new construction marketplace look like in 2016? The Census Bureau released its latest report on new construction this morning, and as usual, the agency’s analysis had far-reaching implications on where the new construction markets are heading in

What You’re Missing at the NAHB International Builders’ Show

If you’re a serious builder, chances are that right now (this very moment), you’re either at the NAHB’s International Builders’ Show or want to be. If you’re among the unlucky few who weren’t able to make the trip to

When Your Clients Should Expect the Next Interest Rate Hike

The next interest rate increase from the Federal Reserve will come at its March 15-16 policy meeting, according to The Wall Street Journal. Approximately 66 percent of the economists surveyed in the Journal pointed to the March meeting as the likeliest for

Suzanne Zinn Mueller, Move Inc.’s New Industry Relations Chief, has Big Plans for Realtor.com

Move Inc., the operator of realtor.com, has hired Suzanne Zinn Mueller as senior vice president of industry relations. Mueller, having spent a decade with Coldwell Banker Bain in Seattle as a marketing executive, joined Move Inc. in December. Mueller said in an

Builder Confidence Points to Strong Home Sales in 2016

Builder’s are confident, and that bodes well for housing in the New Year Builders are starting out 2016 on confident footing, and that spells promising things for the year’s housing market. That was the central finding in the National Association

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