News / Features
New legislation introduced in the Senate yesterday would place Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on a 10-year timeline, liquidating the two GSEs and turning its components over to the private sector. According to a HousingWire report, the Mortgage Finance
The Schweppe mansion in Lake Forest is on the market for $12 million after a foreclosure lawsuit, according to a recent Crain’s article by Mary E. Morrison. The 27-room English-style mansion has been listed by an affiliate of First
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has zeroed in on the secondary mortgage market, calling for reforms to what it sees as a major contributor to a sustained housing recovery. In testimony before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government-Sponsored
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury released the White House’s latest Housing Scorecard, a cumulative report that assesses a wide number of factors in the housing market. Like most
Typically, income and credit scores are main factors in determining mortgage rates, but a new study from the Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics suggests that gender plays a substantial role. Brought to light by an AOL Real Estate
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage has just announced the addition of industry veteran Dana Pierson-Emering to their team. Emering will work out of the brokerage’s Deerfield
We all saw the headlines; CoreLogic’s Home Price Index (HPI) fell 1.3 percent from September to October and 3.9 percent from last year, while LPS reported a 1.2 percent drop from August and the Case-Shiller, the granddaddy of them
Larry Steinway announced his acceptance of a senior vice president position with Chicago Bancorp today. Steinway has been working in the mortgage industry for over 20
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) added 20 more cities to its Improving Markets Index (IMI), further evidence that though housing remains tough in some markets, it is not only improving, but showing positive signs of growth in
A home showing in Sauk Village, a small community 30 miles south of Chicago with just 10,000 residents, went horribly awry as two bodies were found in the home by the property’s owner and a prospective buyer.The victims, ages
Why do consumers make the choices they do? Why buy one jacket, but pass on another? Why invest in one bond, but not the latest Silicon Valley IPO? In the end, what governs reckless financial behavior, even at the
There were many outcomes of the housing boom and bust cycle, but one of the more implicit has been lowering consumer credit scores, a detail that has posed problems for prospective homebuyers seeking a mortgage for their transactions. According
Two home price indices from CoreLogic and Lender Processing Services (LPS) both showed small declines in home prices for October, indications that the summer buying boom has concluded and home values are entering their seasonal lull. CoreLogic’s Home Price Index (HPI),
The recipients of the 2011 Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s Sustainable Communities Grants were recently announced by HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. Oak Park and the West Cook County Housing Collaborative received the Sustainable Communities Challenge grant, which
A developer has proposed a 17-story rental and retail complex in Lakeview, but some locals aren’t thrilled about bringing a project of that size into the neighborhood, according to a recent Chicago Sun-Times article by David
It’s tough for small community banks – though they had little to no impact on the financial crisis and steered clear of many of the exotic options that have troubled housing since 2007, many are facing an increasingly difficult