New single-family home sales in December fell by 2.2 percent from November and 7.3 percent from December 2010, capping off what analysts are labeling a new record low in new home sales – though 2012 may be a new

The National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) released its latest Confidence Index yesterday, showing a distinct rise in year-over-year confidence in December among the more than 3,000 agents surveyed. A measure of the strength of the current housing market and expectations about

Residential brokerage @properties has acquired The Tricia Fox Group, a 19-agent group headed by veteran Gold Coast broker Tricia Fox, part of a post-acquisition shakeup that has become a recurring story in the real estate

One of the big takeaways from President Obama’s 2012 State of the Union Address was a new government-led refinancing plan that would allow homeowners with current, non-GSE mortgages to refinance at today’s historically-low interest rates. Funding the refinancings with a new

Dream Town Realty welcomed five area Realtors to the company in December of last year. The new recruits include David Romanoff, Matt Barnes, Nancy Lundquist, Mark Lemus and Andy Weber, who will all serve as residential

  The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has announced the 2012 finalist for the Best of 50+ Housing Awards. The awards honor excellence in the building, design and marketing of housing for the baby boomer generation and beyond.

The automated valuation model (AVM) is a fast, convenient way for mortgage lenders to value a property, one that utilizes mathematical models and databases of information. Though quick and easy, Gina Pogol of HSH documents several of AVM’s shortcomings

The Federal Housing Finance Administration and its Acting Director, Edward DeMarco, have been receiving some considerable heat from analysts and members of Congress for their refusal to consider principal write downs for homeowners with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

The Appraisal Institute (AI) ruffled many feathers last week by taking a “Don’t Shoot the Messenger” stance in regards to recent controversies in home valuations, but recent reports suggest that the institute may be amending its stance on how its

Housing was largely absent from President Obama’s 2012 State of the Union Address, but he did mention a potentially game-changing proposal – a mass refinancing plan for homeowners that are current on their mortgages that, according to the President, could save

Curbed reported that Skyscraper Page forum has posted a rendering of the latest proposal for a new university housing project for the Loop. The new rental building is aimed at students, faculty and staff in the downtown area, and

After reaching a 19-month high in November, the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) Pending Home Sales Index declined by 3.5 percent in December, though it did retain the year-over-year gains that defined much of housing data in 2011. A

Quite a bit has been written about the reactionary lending policies that private mortgage originators began following after the market collapse in 2008, and the common narrative has been that such credit restrictions negatively impact housing. We cover lending

Membership in the National Association of Realtors (NAR) declined for the third straight month in December, closing out a 2011 that marks the fifth straight year of annual declines for the influential association. According to the latest data from

The President’s State of the Union speech is set for tonight, and among the many economic, political and social issues he is sure to address, many are speculating if one of the more lingering debates in housing will finally

Housing inventories finished 2011 down by 22.3 percent, with 1.89 million homes on the market at the end of December, the lowest inventory in the last four years. Though low inventories would appear to be a good sign for