By Peter Ricci Existing-home sales continued their positive readings in August, rising 7.8 percent from July  and 9.3 percent from August 2011 as housing inventory continued to stabilize, according to the National Association of

Privately-owned housing starts rose in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 750,000, a 2.3 percent increase from July and 29.1 percent increase from August 2011, according to the newest stats from the U.S. Census Bureau. In addition,

By Peter Ricci Late last week, the Federal Reserve responded to calls for action with another round of fiscal stimulus, by far its most ambitious

By Peter Ricci The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has eased some of its more stringent condo requirements through August 2014 to better serve the current housing market. Those requirements, some of which generated quite a bit of controversy with

By Peter Ricci A Freddie Mac repurchase plan, which would involve the GSE essentially forcing lenders to buy back toxic mortgages that it once guaranteed, could net the company as much as $3.4 billion, according to new analysis from the

By Peter Ricci Federal Open Market Committee, the Federal Reserve committee responsible for overseeing interest rates and money supply in the United States, made it official today – the Fed will be pursuing a new policy of economic stimulus,

By Peter Ricci Negative equity mortgages declined in the second quarter, falling from 11.4 million properties to 10.8 million, according to the latest data from CoreLogic. Additionally, 1.8 million borrowers are only 5 percent underwater on their mortgages, and

By Peter Ricci Two Democrats in the Senate have reintroduced an ambitious bill that would extend refinancing to more than 13 million borrowers through an expansion of the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP). The bill, which is being proposed

By Peter Ricci More than a month ago, we asked why housing, despite its overwhelming importance to the U.S. economy, was not coming up on the presidential campaign trail, and now that the conventions have come and gone –

By Stephanie Sims Though home closings dropped in August, stats still show the market may be strengthening. Redfin conducted its Real-Time Demand Pulse, its monthly analysis of customers touring homes and offers being made in 18 markets across the

By Peter Ricci Baby boomer housing needs are a common topic here on Chicago Agent, and for good reason – a recent national survey by Coldwell Banker found that 87 percent of its agents reported having at least one baby

By Peter Ricci The Fannie Mae National Housing Survey for August showed a persistent level of optimism in American consumers for the housing market, despite contrary attitudes for the job market and the greater U.S. economy. Overall, respondents to

The National Association of Home Builder’s (NAHB) Multifamily Production Index increased yet again in the second quarter of 2012, rising to 54 from 51 in the first quarter. A leading measure of builder and developer sentiment on the apartment

By Peter Ricci It was just a couple weeks ago that we looked at the multifamily housing boom and how dense urban environments were not going anywhere, and now, an academic has struck upon a catchy term to better

By Peter Ricci Showing a home is a delicate balancing act, one where dozens of itty bitty components must all be in perfect working order. Of course, it can be easy to overlook a detail or two while planning

By Justin T. Hilley Across the nation, new owner household formation increased 125,000 in Q2 2012 to 74.8 million from the same period a year earlier, according to the Census Bureau. Within that figure, white and black owner households