Crystal Lake was ranked the No. 10 small city in the U.S. in a new WalletHub study. WalletHub’s survey ranked 1,268 small cities with populations ranging from 25,000 to 100,000, and used several different metrics, including affordability, economic health, education and overall

Construction shows signs of life in Chicagoland, but lack of lots causes concern Construction is at the highest annual rate in Chicagoland since Q3 of 2008, according to a MetroStudy survey of the area’s construction markets in 2015 Q3.

There’s been a lot of political posturing as of late, with partisan pundits and presidential candidates butting heads over everything from tax strategies to affordable housing, but one issue that, surprisingly, has remained largely left out of the conversation is

Fannie Mae opts to use database for those without credit score Fannie Mae will no longer require physical pay stubs and tax data to verify a borrowers’ ability to handle a loan, according to The Wall Street Journal. Instead, Fannie

Builder confidence in the market for newly constructed single-family homes is at its highest level since 2005 with the NAHB’s Housing Market Index (HMI) rising three points in October to a level of 64. David Crowe, the NAHB’s chief

Were the usual suspects on top in Chicagoland’s suburban markets? Sales of single-family detached homes in Chicago’s suburbs were up 7.8 percent year-to-date in September, according to the Mainstreet Organization of Realtors (MORe). That overall stat, though, masks considerable variability through

As 2015 draws to a close, how has residential construction activity in Chicagoland compared with the previous year? Residential construction spending in Chicagoland totaled $354 million in September, according to new Dodge Data & Analytics numbers. Although that is 2

Though we’ve moved past the golden years of flipping that followed the housing market’s collapse in 2007, as the market returns to a stable posture – consistent price increases included – the practice of flipping is regaining some of its

Chicago was the 10th most searched for city by international buyers, according to realtor.com International. The countries that most frequently searched for Chicago were India, the Russian Federation, and Ireland. The U.S. came in as the fifth most searched country for international

The Federal Housing Finance Agency and Freddie Mac are ready to uphold their pledge from last year to extend lending to borrowers who do not qualify for traditional loans. Freddie even hinted that more low down-payment loan programs could possibly

For nearly a decade, the nation’s homeownership rate has been in decline. Since 2004, when homeownership peaked at 69 percent, the rate has fallen nearly 6 percentage points down to 63.7 percent in the first quarter of 2015, according

Housing continues to slow in 2015 Pending home sales were down 2.3 percent from August to September, according to the latest report from the National Association of Realtors. Closing out the month at 106.8, the Pending Home Sales Index

Single-family home starts are far below the long-term median – why? Builder confidence has posted repeated year-over-year gains in recent months, but the amount of single-family housing starts is not rising to match their confidence, according to a report by The Wall

The FHA’s reduction in insurance premiums may have led to a surge in demand The Federal Housing Administration’s effort to provide relief for homeowners through lower insurance premiums may have backfired, according to a MarketWatch report. The change, which went into effect

Do these economic trends pose problems for housing’s future? America’s housing market is at a crossroads. In addition to the usual real estate entities that impact its progress – Realtor associations, homebuilders, lending institutions – housing is also privy to the wider

The country’s most expensive home sits in Beverly Hills on nearly 25 acres of land. A Mediterranean-style Palazzo di Amore, the property features 12 bedrooms, an in home movie theater, a pool, sauna, tennis facilities and room for 150