By Peter Ricci In a new strategy to generate buzz among consumers and Realtors, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) has launched a wide-ranging email campaign on homeownership. According to a description of the campaign on NAR’s website, the

By Peter Ricci In an effort to better mobilize Realtors for the coming elections in November, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) has formed the Realtor Party, a group that aims to forgo party politics in the name of

In its second major technology announcement of the week at Inman San Francisco, real estate website Trulia has announced “Trulia IQ,” a new web platform for brokerages. Operating on a data-driven model similar to its other platforms, such as

By Peter Ricci Mortgage complains reigned supreme in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) semi-annual report to Congress, comprising 43 percent of the 55,300 complaints the agency received from consumers in its first 11 months of existence. The make-up of

By Peter Ricci “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a real estate agent in possession of a good property must be in want of great photography.” – Jane Austen Alright, that may not be the exact opening line

By Peter Ricci According to new numbers just released by the Illinois Association of Realtors (IAR), Illinois’ new licensing requirements for real estate agents have resulted in a 22.3 percent decrease in overall licensees for the state. That number

By Carlo Calma Northbrook-based Integrated Development Group is planning on turning the former Lakeshore Athletic Club in Streeterville into a residential building, as reported by Crain’s Chicago Real Estate Daily. Located at 850 N. Lake Shore Drive, Integrated Development

Marci Sepulveda and Anne Hartnett, the founders and publishers of Agent Publishing, appeared on Tastytrade’s “Bootstrapping in America” program for an in-depth interview on their professional experiences, the founding of Agent Publishing, and, of course, the current state of

By Peter Ricci A new brokers program for Trulia is building on the company’s previous outreach efforts to real estate professionals. Real estate website Trulia has just announced a new “Trulia Brokers Program,” a program tailored specifically to real

By Peter Ricci A housing company specializing in converting foreclosed properties has just entered the Chicagoland market with its first purchase in Aurora, according to a new report from the Chicago Tribune. Waypoint Homes, a California firm, owns more

By Peter Ricci The shadow knows – that his inventory is severely down! According to researchers at Morgan Stanley, the shadow inventory has fallen 35 percent from its 2010 peak, yet more evidence of stabilizing inventories in housing. The

By Peter Ricci Chicago led the nation in the latest Case-Shiller Home Price Indices from Standard & Poor’s, with home prices for the city rising by 4.5 percent from April to May and showing the best monthly appreciation of all

Hot on the heels of a proposed eminent domain plan in San Bernardino County California, the city of Chicago is considering a similar plan for underwater mortgages in Cook County. Eminent domain is a little-mentioned government power that allows

By Peter Ricci In the real estate community, there is a fire burning – are green homes all that they’re cracked up to be? And more importantly, do they add anything to a home’s value? Such questions have been

By Ian McKendry In a world where social networking lets people connect from nearly anywhere, one Internet company is trying to connect the people that live right next door to each other. Nextdoor is a young private social network

By Justin T. Hilley Market concern over the strength of the economic recovery took Treasury yields to new depths, causing both 30- and 15-year fixed-rate mortgages to continue tumbling to historic lows. The Freddie Mac survey showed 30-year FRM