The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced yesterday $28 million in grants – $1.4 million of that due to Chicago organizations – to fight and investigate housing discrimination and promote equal housing opportunities. Funded through the Fair Housing

CoreLogic released its latest Home Price Index (HPI), showing a slight decline in August by 0.4 percent that represents the first decline in four months. A tracker of home prices and contemporary to Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller, the HPI

Lately, there hasn’t been much love for government loan mod programs. News has been swirling the past month that revisions are pending to the government’s underperforming loan modification programs, and sharp critiques have abound on the programs’ performance records.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released the September edition of the White House’s “Housing Scorecard” yesterday, highlighting the positive trends in housing prices and refinancing options and other notable government initiatives. Raphael Bostic, a HUD

Mabel Guzman has been named the new broker associate for

On Aug. 18, 2011, Freddie Mac released the results of its latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), reporting that 30-year fixed rate mortgages had reached a new low at 4.15 percent, surpassing the previous low of 4.17 percent from

In an effort to promote safety, force accountability and take a hefty bite out of crime, Chicago City Council members are considering an ordinance that would force owners of vacant properties within 1,000 yards of public schools to post

Freddie Mac Senior Vice President Paul Mullings confronted negative perceptions on refinancing in a recent blog post, stating that refinancing by Freddie and other government agencies has saved homeowners not millions, but billions of dollars. “One thing I observed

The Illinois Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) Chapter is looking for nominations for its Black Diamond Awards, to be presented on November 18th at the Black Diamond Awards dinner, held at Spaggia Italian

Despite daily doses of apocalyptic news and forecasts, two prominent surveys on housing cut through the fog and show that even in a down market, housing remains a mainstay of the American Dream. The two surveys, one by Fannie

After an off week, mortgage applications bounced back to life the third week of September, increasing 9.3 percent on the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly study of the application market. Mike Fratantoni, the MBA’s vice president of research and

Prudential Rubloff principal partners Michael Pierson and Chris Eigel have just announced the launch of the firm’s newest innovation: the Prudential Rubloff Community Video Network (CVN). Through new networks, consumers now have the ability to get a glimpse at

Construction spending rose 1.4 percent in August, a strong recovery after a disappointing 1.4 percent decline in July. According to data from the U.S. Commerce Department, building in August reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $799.1 billion, a

Serious delinquencies for single family homes, which are loans that are either in foreclosure or three month’s late on payments, declined for both Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae in August. For Fannie, the delinquency rate dropped to 4.03 percent,

New data from Standard & Poor’s last week showed that Chicago home values increased for the third consecutive month in July, rising 1.9 percent from June. Part of Standard & Poor’s hugely influential Case-Shiller Home Price Index, Chicago was

Record-low mortgage rates and the most affordable housing market in 20 years are jump-starting investments in the mortgage markets, though financing remains tricky. Last week, the 30-year FRM fell to 4.01 percent, the lowest rate in the history of