By Stephanie Sims It seems that agents who work with Appraisal Management Companies (AMCs) and complete Broker Price Opinions (BPOs) are also asked to submit to and pass mandatory criminal background checks, according to our friends at Agent Genius.

By Peter Ricci Maybe it’s the patriotic Fourth of July fervor, but two new government reports on housing are quite optimistic, with both President Obama’s Housing Scorecard and Fannie Mae’s latest National Housing Survey finding quite a bit to

By Stephanie Sims There’s a lot of hype surrounding online referral generation, but sometimes, getting back to basics is key. While no one should ignore the benefits of generating referrals online, putting all your efforts in that basket is

Chief Economist for Fannie Mae Doug Duncan released a statement today that said housing market activity is on a steady incline toward improvement, “well ahead of last year’s pace.” Duncan’s statement coincides with Fannie Mae’s recent findings in their

  Chicago Lakeside Development was recently honored at The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development’s (UNCSD) Rio+20 Conference held June 20-22, as one of the world’s leading projects for sustainable building in the conference’s “Sustainia 100” list. In its

Is the 305 passing 312? New construction data from McGraw-Hill Dodge on high-rises in the U.S. contained an interesting nugget of information – from 2000 to 2011, there were more projects for buildings of 20 or more stories in

Kathy Dames, broker and owner or RE/MAX Ultimate Professionals in Shorewood, and her team have recently received recognition for the their overall 2011 performance from RE/MAX Northern Illinois, according to an issued press release. The group, who recently settled

Real estate data firm Reis, Inc. is reporting that average rent costs have reached a record increase in 74 out of 82 markets that it is tracking in the second quarter, including cities like Chicago, Miami, Seattle, San Diego

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has selected the winner bidders for its pilot initiative, putting the agency one step closer to closing out what many have anticipated as its most helpful program yet for the U.S. housing market. The program,

Patrick O’Rourke, North Shore regional vice president for Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, has announced that Realtor Lala Green has been appointed to the position of transition coordinator, social media, personal branding and online marketing for the brokerage’s North Shore

ActiveRain, the popular online real estate network, has an intriguing question for agents – what would you buy if you were on a marketing budget of $500 per month? That question is at the heart of a new competition

Geneva-based development firm ShoDeen Residential has begun sales for its newest town home community, Dodson Square, located in the city’s downtown region. Buyers have four customizable models to choose from, all featuring three bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths and a finished

Home prices in CoreLogic’s May home price index rose for the third consecutive month, posting both monthly and yearly gains. From April to May, national home prices were up 1.8 percent, CoreLogic reported, and price rose year-over-year by 2

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has announced that they will open two new “Neighborhood Market” stores in the city’s southwest neighborhood of Little Village and in the neighborhood of Back of the Yards, according to Crain’s Chicago. The announcement showcases Wal-Mart’s

Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED), the Chicagoland multiple listing service (MLS), has analyzed a series of metrics and confirmed the Illinois real estate marketplace in May was one of the best in some

Housing inventories have been on a roll lately, but not the kind many of us had expected – it just keeps going, and going, and going down! In May, the most recent month we have data for, Realtor.com’s for-sale