MRED found that the most popular loans used last year were conventional loans, at 43.8 percent, and that cash sales were next highest, at 37.3 percent. The total number of properties closed in Chicagoland in 2012 was 7,445, and of those, traditional resales made up 55.4 percent of those listings, short sales made up 15.5 percent and foreclosures and REOs made up 28.9 percent.

Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) is the real estate data aggregator and distributor providing the Chicagoland multiple listing service (MLS) to nearly 8,000 real estate offices and 40,000 real estate professionals, including brokers, agents and appraisers. MRED has expanded well into the “collar” counties surrounding Chicagoland, and its property information encompasses northern Illinois, southern Wisconsin and northwest Indiana.