News / Features

Ryne Sandberg Selling his Last Chicago Property

Former Cubs second baseman Ryne Sandberg is selling his luxury co-op home in Streeterville. The home is listed at $650,000, which make $260 per square foot for the 2,500-square-foot

Homeowners Receive Property Tax Break in Illinois

  House Bill 4242 was unanimously approved  by the Illinois House in Springfield to freeze property taxes easements on properties that has been effected by natural disasters. The bill was passed Friday March 30 and went into effect

Construction Spending Retains YOY 2012 Increases

Construction spending, one of the main economic indicators for future growth, rose 5.8 percent year-over-year in February, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. At a $808.9 billion annual rate, spending was actually down somewhat from January’s revised totals, falling slightly

Delinquency Rates at Fannie, Freddie Decline in February

The housing market received another dose of good news late last week with delinquency rate reports from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which both declined in February. The reports are the latest in a long line of positive developments

Investment Home Sales Surged in 2011

Sales of investment and vacation homes skyrocketed in 2011, with the combined market share jumping to its highest level since 2005, according to the 2012 Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey from the National Association of Realtors. That survey found that,

How Do Top Producers Think the Election Will Affect Housing?

At our Top Producers event this year, we asked top producers in attendance how they felt the election would affect housing. Find out what they had to

The Problems of Escalating Contract Failures

An interesting nugget of information on contract failures, was tucked away in the National Association of Realtor’s latest press release on existing-home sales. Amidst the details on sales (which were down 0.9 percent monthly but up 8.8 percent year, in case

Dimensions of a Housing Recovery

All week, we’ve been reporting on the different dimensions of the housing recovery. From housing’s relationship with the greater economic progression of 2012, to positive projections from Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, to the continually high interest from Americans

Karina Caulfield Joins Conlon

Less than two years after winning her own Sotheby’s franchise as part of a lawsuit settlement, Karina Caulfield has shut down her Lakeview residential real estate office to join forces with Conlon: A Real Estate

Legislators Move to Save Mortgage Debt Relief Act

New legislation proposed in the House of Representatives would extend the Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007, a federal provision that allows taxpayers to exclude from their income the debt reductions that resulted from mortgage restructuring or foreclosure settlements.

HARP 2.0 Program Automated but Constrained?

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac last week finally integrated HARP 2.0 into their automation systems, and though refinancings are expected to increase dramatically, they could come with some strings attached that previous refinancings did not

Housing and the Economy Dance Cheek To Cheek

It’s long been one of the ultimate truisms in real estate that a robust economy, and all the positive employment and investment numbers that accompany it, is the finest contributor to a growing housing market, and agents, investors and

Freddie Predicts Reawakening for Housing

Freddie Mac Chief Economist Frank Nothaft is predicting a reawakening, of sorts, for the housing market in his March 2012 Economic Outlook in a fashion that could read like a sequel to “Sleeping Beauty.” Analyzing economic growth, construction data and

Toll Brothers the Latest Revitalized Builder

Toll Brothers has joined the league of revitalized builders, including Lennar and Hovnanian, if comments from the luxury builder’s CEO are any indication. In an interview with CNBC, CEO Douglas Yearley said his company has been experiencing some of

OCC Foreclosures Finished 2011 With a Sigh

Foreclosures launched by Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)-registered banks and servicers fell by 16 percent in the fourth quarter and by 17.9 percent year-over-year, according to the latest data from the agency, capping off an entire

Derrick Rose Closes Deal on Condo with Help of Top Producer Matt Silver

Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose recently purchased a luxury condominium downtown at the Trump International Hotel and Tower, and he was represented by Matt Silver of Urban Real Estate. Silver believes that the purchase shows that Rose is dedicated

New Subscribe

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.