For properties built and sold within the same year, 2012 has seen the first decrease in the average days on market since 2008, with an average of 108 days. Though 2012 isn’t quite over yet, the year has proven

By Justin T. Hilley Across the nation, new owner household formation increased 125,000 in Q2 2012 to 74.8 million from the same period a year earlier, according to the Census Bureau. Within that figure, white and black owner households

By Peter Ricci The Chicago Association of Realtors (CAR) is suing Andrea Geller, a CAR member and agent for Coldwell Banker, for defamation for public statements she made in relation to Chicago Agent magazine’s story on the impeachment of former

By Jon Prior A Mitt Romney administration plan for a future housing finance system likely shuns any form of a government guarantee based on the Paul Ryan, R-Wis., pick as candidate for vice president. Ryan, as head of the

By Ian McKendry September is Realtor Safety Month because sometimes agents need to be reminded that there are dangers associated with a job that often requires meeting and being alone with complete strangers. It is important that agents take

By Peter Ricci For months, real estate professionals and trade groups alike have bemoaned the lack of housing-related policies on the presidential campaign trail, and it seems Mitt Romney has taken consideration of those criticisms to heart in devoting

Asking prices on real estate website Trulia rose 2.3 percent year-over-year in the latest Trulia Price Monitor, according to a news release from the website. That increase marks the seventh straight month of asking price increases on Trulia, and

By Peter Ricci The National Association of Realtors is reporting that the median listing time of properties for sale in July was 69 days, a 29.6 percent decline from the 98 days in July 2011. The data represented a

By Natalie Terchek Ricker-Murphy Development LLC, developer of Lincoln Park 2550, announced today that Tere Proctor has been named president of Arc Residential, a newly formed sales organization, and the exclusive broker for Lincoln Park 2550. “This is an

By Peter Ricci The g-fee increase for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans was undoubtedly the most controversial element of the payroll tax cut brawl in Congress last year – in case your memory is foggy, the added revenue

By Peter Ricci Any real estate agent will tell you how valuable the Internet is to any real estate business, but the Web’s value does come with one catch – if all agents are using it, how do you

By Peter Ricci The CoreLogic Home Price Index (HPI) increased by 3.8 percent in July from a year ago, the highest year-over-year increase for the index in nearly six years, according to the California-based data company. Not since August

By Peter Ricci Construction spending in July was up 9.3 percent from last year in the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce. Though construction spending did fall slightly from June by 0.9 percent to

By Stephanie Sims The National Association of Realtors recently reported that nationally, 33 percent of homes sold were sold within one month – that’s it. In addition, MRED said that in Chicago’s market, 50 percent of homes closed in

By Ian McKendry One company is trying to fight fraud and offer peace of mind with software and data that helps monitor risk and vets closing agents. Secure Settlements, Inc. announced its launch in August and says their risk

By Peter Ricci It’s one of the cardinal rules in real estate: do not allow your clients to appear in MLS photos! Though we love rebels as much as the next democratically-active spirit, sometimes rules have a very good