Many people wouldn’t dare start a company in the midst of a recession, but the aggressive decision to do so by Robert J. Buford, founder of Planned Realty Group, has paid off. Now, three decades after launching PRG, his

The Hispanic population in the U.S. has grown by leaps and bounds, as has its importance on local housing markets; where are Hispanics most concentrated? Hispanics represent a growing part of the U.S. population, and are inarguably the hottest

Construction spending increased again in July, with residential construction leading the way. Construction spending in July continued its strong 2013 comeback, with overall construction activity rising 0.6 percent from June and 5.2 percent from July 2012 to a seasonally

Koenig & Strey Real Living Real Estate had a busy week before the holiday, adding a new team member to three different offices before Labor Day Weekend. According to a recent press release, Shay Hata, a Lakeview resident, joined

The nation’s home prices continued to improve in July, with the latest Home Price Index from CoreLogic posting fantastic year-over-year numbers. Home prices continued their double-digit performance in the CoreLogic Home Price Index, rising 12.4 percent year-over-year in July. That

Curt Bailey, president of Related Midwest, announced the addition of Jacques Sandberg as vice president to the company. In his new role, Sandberg will head the affordable housing business for Related Midwest, including new development and acquisitions. “Jacques brings

Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage recently announced the addition of Eric Smith to its Hyde Park office. Smith, who earned his bachelor’s degree in finance from Howard University, spent a semester studying at Hautes Etudes Commercial in Paris while finishing

Quite a few Americans moved about in 2012, but what were the reasons behind their move? Last year, a hefty number of Americans moved to new residences – 35.5 million Americans, in fact, a 4 percent increase from 2011

Chicagoland’s new construction markets have improved quite dramatically in the last year, but where, specifically, have new home sales been the strongest? So far in 2013, Chicagoland’s new construction housing market has been putting up some smashing numbers. Not

Many analysts were proclaiming the demise of the McMansion, but the super-sized housing option seems to have returned from the dead. The narrative went a little something like this: McMansions, or over-sized suburban homes, were an outgrowth of the

The housing market, according to the latest numbers from Redfin, seems to be slowing down; is that the case here in Chicago? For the third straight month, the percentage of listings that went under contract within two weeks decreased

Regulators have proposed new mortgage rules that will give more Americans access to mortgage credit, generating a positive reaction from housing stakeholders. The proposal would align the qualified residential mortgage rule (QRM) with the qualified mortgage rule (QM), finalized

Since there is such a high demand for rentals, it is no surprise that an abundance of  downtown apartments will be completed in 2013 and 2014. Crain’s Chicago Business provided a map of developments that are planned, under construction or already

Andy Ogorzaly, a broker associate at Chicago-based Exit Strategy Realty, recently received a CAR Designation Scholarship courtesy of the Chicago Association of Realtors (CAR), according to a press release. Ogorzaly was selected for the scholarship, which gives recipients $500

Building a new skyscraper is not possible in Chicago’s current economy, but is it possible to see one in the future? Even though Chicago is well-known for its beautiful skyline, a new skyscraper would not last in this economy.

Mortgage rates have risen rather dramatically since May; what impact could those increases have, though, on the housing market? At the beginning of May the average mortgage rate for a 30-year FRM was just 3.35 percent. Since then, as