Today, Fannie Mae announced the results of their Servicer Total Achievement and Rewards (STAR) Program for the first half of the year. STAR was created to establish servicing standards and recognize Fannie Mae servicers on their overall performance, customer

Chicago’s rental market has been cruising along the last few years, but have developers been a bit too exuberant in their building? Chicago’s rental market has been one of the big success stories in the post-boom housing market, but

New home sales fell by a hefty amount in July; what does such a decline suggest about the housing recovery? July was a lukewarm month for new single-family home sales, with the Census Bureau reporting declines in sales numbers.

A Lakeview condo association filed a lawsuit against the Chicago Department of Transportation and 46th Ward Alderman James Cappleman in an effort to get a Divvy docking station removed from the front of a three-unit building at 3565 North

June was a stellar month for Chicago home prices, with the Windy City putting up some of the strongest home prices gains in the nation. Home prices in the Chicago metropolitan area were up 7.3 percent year-over-year in June,

Famous architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, designed over 100 homes located in the Chicagoland area, and they’re well-known for their historical significance and character. However, even though the homes are admired throughout the area, sellers who have rehabbed those homes

Residential construction put up some great numbers in July, but are those gains consistent with our local real estate market? July was a very strong month for residential new construction. Not only were building permits up 2.7 percent from

What are the best-selling buildings in Chicago? And how many of those buildings also produce the highest sales volume in Chicago? Click on our infographic below to find

After considerable anticipation, the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal has announced that it is withdrawing its proposal that all existing and new single-family and multifamily residences built in the Land of Lincoln be required to include fire

Nationwide housing affordability slipped several notches as recovering markets witnessed significant firming of home prices in the second quarter, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI). In all, 69.3 percent of new and

According to the National Association of Realtors’ second quarter report, median home prices continued improving, with annual price gains showing their strongest reading in more than seven years. Compared to the second quarter of last year, 87 percent of

With existing-home inventory low and Chicago’s real estate market becoming increasingly competitive, the time has never been better to include new construction homes in your clients’ home search. Whether it’s in a new construction development or a tear-down in

Data released by the U.S. Census Bureau in conjunction with the Department of Housing and Urban Development indicated that privately-owned housing starts were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 896,000 in July, 6 percent above the upwardly revised

Q. Are there many special loans available for new construction, or at least specific products? A. For new construction, the ultimate differences in mortgage products are extended rate locks. The normal lock period for a purchase can range from

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reported the Housing Market Index (HMI) increased 3 points in August to 59. Any number above 50 indicates that more builders view sales conditions as good than poor. The NAHB posted the

We keep hearing that mortgage lending standards are unfairly tight, but does the data support that meme? One of the more prevailing memes in the housing recovery has been the relative tightness of lending standards on residential mortgages, and