News / Features

Illinois Receives Over $2 Million from HUD Grant

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently awarded more than $2 million to the state of Illinois to help public housing agencies retain and hire service coordinators to work directly with families participating in HUD’s Housing

Mortgage Rate Limbo: 30-year FRM Hits New Low

The question lately regarding mortgages is, how low can mortgage rates go? In the case of the 30-year FRM, the answer is still pending. After falling to a historical low of 4.09 percent, the 30-year rates have fallen yet again

Despite August Decline, Pending Home Index Retains 2010 Gains

The National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) Pending Home Sales Index, which measures the number of contracts to purchase previously owned homes, declined 1.2 percent from July to August, it still remains above 2010 levels. The August index, at 88.6, was

Time to Cut Back? Not for Coldwell Banker Honig-Bell

Coldwell Banker Honig-Bell, one of the largest residential real estate firms in Illinois, has just acquired the Coldwell Banker Primus offices in Algonquin, Cary, Crystal Lake, McHenry and Lake Geneva in Wisconsin. With this acquisition, Honig-Bell expands its sights

Keeping it Real with Home Prices

Standard & Poor’s released the latest Case-Shiller Indices on Tuesday, reporting gains in metropolitan home prices for the fourth straight month. Those indices, however, rely on nominal prices, not the “real” prices that consider inflation. But thanks to Bill

Vera and Pat Purcell Moved to Coldwell Banker Lake Forest

Vera and Pat Purcell, a successful husband-and-wife real estate team, have joined the Lake Forest office of Coldwell Banker Residential

Redevelopment of Webster Place has Officially Begun

After much debate, and many proposals passed, demolition on the Lincoln Park Hospital, which closed down in 2008, has finally begun. While some still strongly oppose this plan, this may be as good as it’s going to

S&P Under Investigation for ‘Delphinus’ Credit Rating

Standard & Poor’s (S&P), the mammoth credit rating agency whose questionable ratings of risky credit derivatives are blamed for the 2008 financial crisis, is currently under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for ratings it gave to

Mortgage Lender Disappearing Act Continues

The number of active mortgage originators declined for the fourth year in a row, a sign that economic conditions may not yet be ideal for sustained economic growth. According to the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), which tracks

Beth Martin Elected Marketing Coordinator for Coldwell Banker’s North Shore Offices

Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage named Beth Martin, a member of the Lake Forest team, as the new marketing coordinator for the North Shore

A Museum of Litigation for Park West

The saga of One Museum Park West, the 53-story South Loop condominium project, continues; after facing a litany of setbacks that delayed the project for years and losing the backing of more than half the building’s buyers, developers Ronald

The Shadow Knows: Hidden Inventories Slowly Coming to Light

According to a new report from noted research firm CoreLogic, the shadow inventories for U.S. residential housing continued their downward slope in July, falling to 1.6 million units, or a five-month supply of homes. Shadow inventory properties that are

Topsy Turvy Taxes Befall Cook County

Property values are declining throughout the Cook County suburban areas, but property owners should not expect lower bills; rather, they can anticipate higher bills, as government bodies are raising taxes to shore up budget deficits. According to a detailed

Lathrop Homes Redevelopment Receives Green Light

The Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) approved plans to redevelop the Lathrop Homes site in Hamlin Park as part of the CHA Plan for

Illinois Hardest Hit Fund Combats Foreclosure

The Illinois Housing Development Authority has enacted a new mortgage assistance program, called the Illinois Hardest Hit Fund, for unemployed and underemployed Illinois and Chicago

Case-Shiller Reports 1.9 Percent Increase for Chicago Home Prices

Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has just released the findings of its latest Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, the leading measure of U.S. home prices that charts monthly price trends in the housing market. The newest report, which surveys home prices

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