Manufacturing corporations' seasonally adjusted after-tax profits averaged 6.8 cents per dollar of sales for the third quarter of 2009, up 2.7 (+/- 0.1) cents from the after-tax profits average of 4.2 cents for the second quarter of 2009.

3rd Qtr 2009: +2.7 cents
2nd Qtr 2009: +1.3 cents

This Afternoon - Light showers likely. Temperatures nearly steady in the mid 40s. Northeast winds 10 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph at times. Chance of precipitation 60 percent.

Real Estate/Rentals; Shopping; Sports; TV; Weather; White Pages; Wonderwall; Yellow Pages ... Four Chicago dancers have earned a free trip to South Africa. The South African Tourism ...

Flood Advisory for Cook County in effect until 9:31 PM CDT on March 14, 2010

Dense Fog Advisory for Cook County in effect until 4:00 AM CST on March 13, 2010

The number of Chicago-area homeowners who have received permanent mortgage loan modifications under the federal Home Affordable Modification Program increased by 50 percent in February, but the pace at which temporary modifications are being granted appears to be slowing.

Building Profile Series 400 West Ontario River North River North is one of the most desirable neighborhoods to live in and Thursday, February 25, 2010 Chicago real estate listing and closing statistics for February 14-20, 2010 with 2009 and 2008 comparisons.

More than 170,000 troubled homeowners are breathing a lasting sigh of relief now that they've received permanent modifications under the Obama administration's foreclosure prevention program.

March 12, 2010. Families who appreciate the finer things in life should visit McMahon Custom Builders spectacular new custom home in the Stone Creek community of Frankfort. Car...

(Crain’s) — Below is a list of winners of the Chicago Food Depository Awards over its history. The Chicago-Sun Times began the awards in 1984. The Chicago Commercial Real Estate Awards Dinner, benefiting the Greater Chicago Food Depository, began in 1989. Crain’s became a leading sponsor in ...

Operating revenue at the Westin Michigan Avenue fell $16.1 million in 2009, compared with 2008, according to the annual report of LaSalle Hotel Properties Inc., which owns the 752-room hotel at 909 N. Michigan Ave.

(Crain’s) — The new office tower at 300 N. LaSalle won Development of the Year and architecture firm Gensler took home two honors Thursday evening in the 22nd Annual Chicago Commercial Real Estate Awards. The awards dinner, which took place at the Hilton Chicago, raised $870,000 for the ...

March Newsletter
Hot off the press! - Our February newsletter

U.S. retail and food service sales for February reached $355.5 billion, an increase of 0.3 percent (�0.5%)* from the previous month.

February 2010: +0.3 % change
January 2009: +0.1 % change

(Crain’s) — News that the city will rebid a big contract to rebuild the Wacker Drive and Congress Parkway interchange after the politically powerful Walsh Construction Co. sued to be declared the winner was the most-viewed story in the past week at ChicagoRealEstateDaily.com. The top five as ...

March 12, 2010. Market fundamentals definitely indicate that now is a great time to buy a home, prices are down, interest rates are at historically low levels, substantial tax ...

Real Estate/Rentals; Shopping; Sports; TV; Weather; White Pages; Wonderwall; Yellow Pages ... Right now Chicago has the highest big-city rate, 10.25 percent. But in a move forced by ...

Real Estate/Rentals; Shopping; Sports; TV; Weather; White Pages; Wonderwall; Yellow Pages ... Right now Chicago has the highest big-city rate, 10.25 percent. But in a move forced by ...

BOSTON - Dozens of local officials from 12 of the regions hit hardest by the housing crisis are meeting at Harvard University March 14 -16 to develop new strategies for stabilizing neighborhoods that experience large numbers of foreclosures.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, IL-The Angelo Gordon Net Lease Fund purchased the 527,661-square-foot Claire’s Stores building for $18 million. The retailer will lease for 20 years.

CHICAGO-The clothing store has signed a 4,000-square-foot lease at the train station retail center. Also featured are more retail and multifamily deals.

Living with an undersize, outdated kitchen? If so, a sledgehammer may feel like the only solution. But these days you're probably not up for spending the $50,000 or more -- maybe much more -- it would cost to demolish the space and build a new state-of-the-art room from scratch.

... From the stainless steel appliances to the Frank Lloyd Wright-esque touches, this place is a true gem in Chicago real estate." The Allan Miller House was recently featured on Chicago Magazine's "Deal Estate" webcast. The episode offers an up-close ...

Two men with stakes in Lehigh Valley companies rise on Forbes' annual list. SHELDON ADELSON

... From the stainless steel appliances to the Frank Lloyd Wright-esque touches, this place is a true gem in Chicago real estate." The Allan Miller House was recently featured on Chicago Magazine's "Deal Estate" webcast. The episode offers an up-close ...

"Home Beautiful on a Budget," a workshop and tea focusing on updating your home without breaking the bank, is set for 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday at the Orland Park Civic Center, 14750 S. Ravinia Ave.

New homes designed for high performance, comfortable living

This is not your parents' home.

Southwest Side neighborhood draws residents with affordable homes, convenient location

Like many long-time residents in her working-class neighborhood, Cinthia Miranda takes comfort in the stability and sense of community McKinley Park offers. With its convenient location, cultural diversity and affordable housing, it's no wonder the Southwest Side neighborhood has attracted newcomers and kept the locals firmly in place.

Southwest Side neighborhood draws residents with affordable homes, convenient location

Can divorce trigger due-on-sale clause?

Q My wife and I are in the process of getting a divorce. I am prepared to give her the family home so that our children will not be disrupted any more than they already are. I know that our mortgage lender will not relieve me of our joint obligation to make the monthly payments, but hopefully that will not be a financial problem for us. We have been advised that a lender can use the "due on sale" clause in the mortgage documents and block this transaction. Can this happen?

Right now, there's a direct correlation between how many rain barrels a homeowner has and how savvy they are about their home's energy efficiency, says Greg Domel, owner/operator of Midwest Energy Audits in Chicago.

A Chicago real estate investment company has taken over ownership of two large Dallas office projects.

Negotiations continued between developer Larry Silverstein and the Port Authority who are trying to resolve an impasse over the redevelopment of the World Trade Center site before a critical deadline Friday.

(Crain’s) — A Downstate native with two small college-town projects under his belt scored an unlikely coup by winning the right to lead a $240-million mixed-use development near the University of Chicago. City and university officials bypassed well-known local developers to select David ...

(Crain’s) — Capri Capital Partners LLC has taken control of two office complexes in Dallas after the Chicago-based investment firm alleged that the owner, BentleyForbes LLC, defaulted on mezzanine loans. BentleyForbes transferred the two properties, Preston Commons and Sterling Plaza, to ...

Continental Towers could go back to lender Prime Group Realty Trust said Wednesday that is discussing handing back the Continental Towers office complex to the lender in a deed in lieu of foreclosure. The subsidiary of New York-based real estate investment firm Lightstone Group on March 2 ...

The national foreclosure rate fell 2% in February from a month earlier, according to an industry report released Thursday, the latest sign that the pace of foreclosures is slowing.

(Reuters) — The chief executive of Simon Property Group Inc. on Thursday said a plan by management of General Growth Properties Inc. to emerge from bankruptcy lacks certainty despite new financial backing. Simon, the largest U.S. mall owner, last month offered to buy General Growth, the ...

(AP) — Foreclosure activity rose almost 22% last month in Illinois compared with the same month in 2009, much more than the nationwide increase, according to new data. More than 17,300 properties in Illinois got a foreclosure-related notice in February, according to Realty Trac Inc., an Irvine, ...

Kennedy Funding, a New Jersey lender to cash-strapped real-estate developers, has plenty of experience going after debtors who fall behind on their payments. But now it's Kennedy's turn to get squeezed.

WASHINGTON - U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today announced HUD will speed federal disaster assistance to counties in California and provide support to homeowners and low-income renters forced from their homes following severe storms, flooding, debris and mud flows during January and February.

WASHINGTON - Four federal agencies are launching a new website today to highlight the increased role the U.S. is playing in addressing 21st century urbanization, housing and sustainability issues facing the nations of the world. The White House Office of Urban Affairs, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture launched the interagency website featuring World Urban Forum (WUF) roundtable discussions, web chats, presentations, and workshops at www.hud.gov/wuf.

CHICAGO-The new Hotel Palomar, opening March 24, will be Kimpton’s first foray north of the Chicago River. The 36-story building also has 124 corporate housing units.

Real Estate/Rentals; Shopping; Sports; TV; Weather; White Pages; Wonderwall; Yellow Pages ... A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Treasury first told NBC Chicago that the bank ...

Actor Vince Vaughn has reduced the rental asking price of his three-bedroom River North town house from $7,800 a month to $6,900.

Real Estate/Rentals; Shopping; Sports; TV; Weather; White Pages; Wonderwall; Yellow Pages ... In the summer of 2009 a longstanding tradition for many Chicago families came to a halt.

Real Estate/Rentals; Shopping; Sports; TV; Weather; White Pages; Wonderwall; Yellow Pages ... Its not the first time Chicago schools have been in trouble for grade inflation.

... it." Cuneo was a Yale graduate who grew up on Chicago's Gold Coast. His father had made a fortune in Chicago real estate, and Cuneo went into the printing business. Cuneo studied stock raising and bred prize-winning Hackney horses on his new estate, ...

Board Meeting Webcast
Click here at 10:30 AM and at 4 PM on Mar 10, 2010 to view the Committee and Board Meetings

Wonder if the political folks at the White House want to discuss this Chicago Business story with him ... interview last week, he took some responsibility for a disastrous expansion of real estate lending when he was senior lender at Broadway in the ...

Use our median price heat map to scan Chicago and suburban property values and to evaluate price changes over time.

The Helmsley Carlton House is being sold to a partnership between private-equity firm Angelo, Gordon & Co. and Extell Development for about $170 million.

A handful of investors dug to the bottom of the discount bin and snapped up General Growth's convertible bonds at three cents on the dollar. They now trade at 103 cents.

With European property markets beginning to recover from the market downturn and global recession, there are signs that the REIT revolution could be at hand.

(Crain’s) — A foreclosure suit seeking nearly $20 million has hit Arlington Town Square, a publicly subsidized mixed-use project that sparked a revival of the northwest suburb’s downtown. The project’s nearly 137,300-square-foot commercial space is owned by a group of 30 individual ...

(Crain’s) — American Apparel Inc., a trendy retailer known for its basic T-shirts and provocative advertising, has signed a lease for a downtown store on State Street. The two-level store is to open late this summer in the historic Mentor Building at 39 S. State, replacing a Children’s ...

(Crain’s) — Despite the dormant market for mega-deals, developer Hines Interest L.P. is putting up for sale a new skyscraper anchored by Kirkland & Ellis LLP that could fetch a blockbuster price of $620 million. Hines has hired real estate firm Holliday Fenoglio Fowler L.P. to market 300 N. ...

The Cuyahoga Convention Center that was coming to City View in Garfield Heights won't open after all, the mayor says.

CHICAGO-Tailor Lofts will have 477 beds in 135 fully-furnished units, with an individual lease system for students.

A glimpse of the opulent country lifestyles led by former business tycoons like Samuel Insull and John Cuneo Sr. is still available at the Cuneo Museum and Gardens in Vernon Hills.Insull, an English-born utilities magnate who founded Commonwealth Edison and was once Thomas Edison's private secretary, bought a 168-acre farm south of Libertyville in 1907. Over the next few years, he bought most of ...

Wonder if the political folks at the White House want to discuss this Crain's Chicago Business story with him ... interview last week, he took some responsibility for a disastrous expansion of real estate lending when he was senior lender at Broadway ...

Lots of people, especially those trying to battle high utility bills, believe in energy-efficient homebuilding.

Real Estate/Rentals; Shopping; Sports; TV; Weather; White Pages; Wonderwall; Yellow Pages ... hilarious," Welch’s publicist, Julie Nathanson, said Tuesday, according to the Chicago ...

Real Estate/Rentals; Shopping; Sports; TV; Weather; White Pages; Wonderwall; Yellow Pages ... As of March 9, 2010 Anchorage had 52.8 inches of snow, Cleveland 58.4 inches, Chicago 52 ...

Jury selection was under way Tuesday in the trial of a Chicago real estate developer, accused of bribing an alderman.

Jury selection got under way today in the federal case against a Chicago real estate developer.

CHICAGO - With the public still furious over bank bailouts, Democrats desperate to keep ... saying he hasn't worked there in four years and that it was victim of the same real estate ...

Jury selection is getting under way at the trial of a millionaire Chicago real estate developer accused of bribing an alderman to push through a zoning change.

Jury selection is getting under way at the trial of a millionaire Chicago real estate developer accused of bribing an alderman to push through a zoning change.

CHICAGO-The capital infusion completes the $8-billion reorganization plan proposed by GGP and Brookfield Asset Management. No response yet from possible competitors.

Jury selection is getting under way at the trial of a millionaire Chicago real estate developer accused of bribing an alderman to push through a zoning change.

Associated Press - March 9, 2010 11:14 AM ET CHICAGO (AP) - Jury selection is getting under way at the trial of a millionaire Chicago real estate developer accused of bribing an alderman to...

Alas, Chicago did not have enough money to contribute to its own pension fund, which has been stung by real estate deals that fizzled when the city lost out in the bidding for the 2016 Olympics. A spokeswoman for the Texas teachers’ fund said plan ...

Alas, Chicago did not have enough money to contribute to its own pension fund, which has been stung by real estate deals that fizzled when the city lost out in the bidding for the 2016 Olympics. A spokeswoman for the Texas teachers’ fund said plan ...

CHICAGO-The finance services firm cut its space by 50,000 square feet to 400,000 square feet in the new 10-year lease.

TINLEY PARK, IL-As lender and owner work things out in court, Podolsky Northstar will lease or sell the 20%-occupied properties. More receiverships are coming, Podolsky says.

Alas, Chicago did not have enough money to contribute to its own pension fund, which has been stung by real estate deals that fizzled when the city lost out in the bidding for the 2016 Olympics. A spokeswoman for the Texas teachers’ fund said plan ...

Alas, Chicago did not have enough money to contribute to its own pension fund, which has been stung by real estate deals that fizzled when the city lost out in the bidding for the 2016 Olympics. A spokeswoman for the Texas teachers’ fund said plan ...

Real Estate/Rentals; Shopping; Sports; TV; Weather; White Pages; Wonderwall; Yellow Pages ... EveryBlock is a new way to track news in your Chicago neighborhood, down to your city ...

Associated Press - March 8, 2010 5:44 PM ET CHICAGO (AP) - A Chicago real estate developer's bribery trial is set to get under way following a daylong delay while defense attorneys fought to...

CHICAGO (AP) -- A Chicago real estate developer's bribery trial is set to get under way following a daylong delay while defense attorneys fought to get key testimony ruled out.

Erin and Robert Smith had no problem handling the $2,000 monthly payment on their home ... until they lost their jobs.

Great bargains abound, but you have to shop carefully.

... political issue today about questions regarding his involvement in his family’s struggling bank, which he said he expects will likely fail in the coming months,� the Chicago Tribune ... have focused so much on real estate. ‘

March 8, 2010. For years, new construction townhomes simply were out of reach for Chicago’s first-time home buyers. Now, following Belgravia Group’s new round of price reducti...

Real Estate/Rentals; Shopping; Sports; TV; Weather; White Pages; Wonderwall; Yellow Pages ... EveryBlock is a new way to track news in your Chicago neighborhood, down to your city ...

CHICAGO (AP) -- A federal judge on Monday said the evidence suggests millionaire Chicago real estate developer Calvin Boender produced a fake invoice in an attempt to refute charges that he bribed an alderman to push through a big-money zoning change.

A federal judge on Monday said the evidence suggests millionaire Chicago real estate developer Calvin Boender produced a fake invoice in an attempt to refute charges that he bribed an alderman to push through a big-money zoning change.

... About Dream Town Realty Dream Town is largely recognized as the leader in online Chicago real estate. Its top-ranked website receives tens of thousands of unique visitors weekly. The company has developed proprietary technology and applications to ...

Patrick Landrosh insists he's not a gambler, but he has doubled down on residential real estate against some mighty long odds. Mr. Landrosh, an accountant-turned-homebuilder, broke ground last September on a $1.8-million home in Lincoln Square without lining up a buyer first, just months before ...

CHICAGO-The retailer is the first to sign a lease since a receiver took over from owner Joseph Freed & Associates. The developer is fighting to regain control of the new mall on the site.

CHARLESTON — Beryl Satter will come back to Illinois on Wednesday to talk about a subject that can break her heart, but inspire her as well.

CHARLESTON — Beryl Satter will come back to Illinois on Wednesday to talk about a subject that can break her heart, but inspire her as well.

March 7, 2010. The Glens of Connemara captures buyers' attention with a mix of modern luxuries and Lemont charm. From little league parades to its Tuesday farmers market, Lemo...

But those plans are on hold thanks to a sufferingcommercial real estate market and an absence of available credit from lenders ... At Costello Sandwich and Sides in Chicago, which uses 10 to 15 cases of tomatoes a week and is now paying $25 a case ...

New procedures have created problems for lenders, buyers

Q My husband and I just signed documents to refinance our home. The entire process was long and frustrating. The appraisal was done a month ago, but the lender never notified us that the appraisal value was lower than what we needed to refinance. We found this out almost one month afterward and only after we called to ask how things were going. The communication with the lender was extremely poor, but that wasn't the biggest problem.

A look at when the landlord is responsible or tenant must pay for work

Q: We have lived in our apartment, a ground-level unit in a new complex, for several years. Now, my husband, who has multiple sclerosis, needs to use a wheelchair. Several of the doorways are too narrow to let the chair go through; I have to help him up, support him, then fold and reopen the chair on the other side.

A $35 million addition is being planned at Smith Crossing, a retirement community in south suburban Orland Park. The 200,000-square-foot addition will have 106 new apartments, plus a new common area with a theater, arts studio, multipurpose room and two formal gardens. The existing fitness center will also be expanded.

Former Chicago Blackhawk to take loss on 16th-floor unit in Lancaster building

Former Chicago Blackhawks left wing Martin Havlat, who left the team and signed a six-year, $30 million contract last summer with the Minnesota Wild, has reduced the asking price of his 16th-floor condo unit in the Lancaster building to $725,000, and clearly anticipates taking a loss on it.

Use our guide to bring home a sofa that's your living room's Mr. Right

Buying a new sofa—one of the largest and most-used pieces of furniture in your home, scene of much reading, TV-watching, snoozing and everything else-ing—is not a task to take on lightly.

Q. I am on a new board of a 28-unit condominium association in Chicago. The building has seen a variety of damage to units. We are trying to update our rules and regulations to spell out the board's responsibilities in these situations.

Real Estate/Rentals; Shopping; Sports; TV; Weather; White Pages; Wonderwall; Yellow Pages ... EveryBlock is a new way to track news in your Chicago neighborhood, down to your city ...

Real Estate/Rentals; Shopping; Sports; TV; Weather; White Pages; Wonderwall; Yellow Pages ... Academy for Young Men in Englewood got a surprise visit from Mayor Daley and Chicago ...

David Simon, the shrewd and blunt deal-maker—an acquisitive former Wall Street wunderkind who transformed Simon Property Group Inc. into the nation's largest mall owner—is trying to land his biggest deal yet.

Economists have long been predicting commercial real estate could be the next day of reckoning for the financial markets, with a wave of defaults looming as billions of dollars in troubled loans come due in the coming months.

March 5, 2010. Rock Creek Homes announces the completion of 2 lavishly decorated ranch models at Henning Estates. Located in a country-like setting, west of Huntley, Rock Cree...

InFocus Design aims to turn a home from drab to fab

Growing up, Susan Powell wanted to be an archeologist. "Now, in a sense, I am," says the Crete-based home stager. "I see the strata of people's lives."

Real Estate/Rentals; Shopping; Sports; TV; Weather; White Pages; Wonderwall; Yellow Pages ... EveryBlock is a new way to track news in your Chicago neighborhood, down to your city ...

Public Notice
A Chicago Park District Public Meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 11, 2010

March 5, 2010. Mayfair Crossing, Chicago's Northwest side, is CA Development, Inc.'s latest successful development of single-family homes in the Old Irving Park neighborhood. ...

WASHINGTON - U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan issued a statement today following the United States Senate's adoption of an amendment extending the Gulf Coast Opportunity Zone (GO Zone) Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) placed in service date by two years, to December 31, 2012. Donovan and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner sent a letter to U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu earlier this week, expressing the Administration's support of the amendment she sponsored and was adopted today.

CHICAGO-The company is using the fourth floor at the Sullivan Center for its new e-commerce division.

BLOOMINGTON, MN-The three tenants are taking 145,000 square feet at Normandale Lake Office Park.

Dream Town Realty joins several Chicago real estate companies for a neighborhood-wide open house tour in Margate Park.

Verseman Development has five homesites ready to be claimed at Harvest Glen, a custom home development in Cary.

New construction offers buyers variety of ways to save

During the building boom new homebuyers were drawn to more remote communities in an effort to get the biggest house their money could buy, but today builders are seeing a shift in interest with buyers more focused on value.

Carbon monoxide is called the silent killer because if there is a CO leak while you're asleep, you may never wake up. There are no crackling flames to hear, no burning materials to smell, and no smoke that might rouse you in a fit of coughing.

Attorneys urge associations to take proactive approach in collecting assessments

Collecting assessments for your community association takes more than passing out coupon booklets and waiting for checks to roll in. That's the passive approach. Sometimes you've got to be downright aggressive about getting your money. If you aren't, you risk losing it forever.

Even as one of the oldest names in local manufacturing prepares to leave town, in the form of Honeywell Hobbs Corp., Thomas Debrey says there remains a place for old-fashioned production jobs in Springfield.  

March 4, 2010. CA Development has introduced its new series of "Smart Choice" single-family homes designed with superior-energy efficiency and lifestyle flexibility for the ne...

ILLINOIS : State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias acknowledged Wednesday that his family bank, Broadway Bank, will probably fail,� the Chicago Sun-Times reports ... he probably should not have focused so much on real estate. ‘I take my share of ...

Real Estate/Rentals; Shopping; Sports; TV; Weather; White Pages; Wonderwall; Yellow Pages ... EveryBlock is a new way to track news in your Chicago neighborhood, down to your city ...

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today announced that it is charging two Poughkeepsie, New York-area landlords with violating the Fair Housing Act for allegedly refusing to allow a Vietnam-era veteran suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder to have a therapeutic service dog in his apartment. In addition, HUD's charge contends that the landlords, Gerald and Patrick Paribelli, who manage and own the Apartment Buildings of South Street Builders, Inc., in Highland, NY, retaliated against the veteran by threatening to evict him because he filed a housing discrimination complaint.

AURORA, IL-The audio-visual mounting firm is leasing 307,813 square feet in White Oak Business Park, with a plan to expand to 500,000 square feet.

With the next open Illinois Gaming Board meeting not scheduled until Mar. 30, members of the panel are getting a head start on discussing financing issues involving the planned new Des Plaines casino with a closed door meeting this Monday, Mar. 1.

With elderly parents, grown children moving into their homes, baby boomers wonder how to accommodate everyone

They're known as the "sandwich generation" — adults of a certain age who find that they must simultaneously care for their own growing children as well as their aged parents.

Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh is saying adios to the Big Apple and selling his Fifth Avenue penthouse, asking almost $14 million.

CHICAGO-The New York City-based REIT could join with Brookfield to help bring locally-based General Growth out of bankruptcy, according to the New York Post.

March 3, 2010. Sales and construction are now underway on the first 25 homes in Phase I, of The Reserve of St. Charles; 'John Hall Homes’ new community of 133 custom single-fa...

Volunteers Needed!
To support Special Olympics Chicago, help us package products from the True Value Hardware show.

List of Contractors (updated)
List of vendors receiving $10,000 or more in any 12 month period over the past four years

CHICAGO-The REIT, which reports it found another buyer for 180 N. LaSalle at $72M, admits two subsidiaries are defaulting on loans for the Continental Towers complex.

If you've been holding off on a real estate purchase, glimmers of a turnaround in the housing market may have you wondering if it's finally time to make your move.

Bunny Events thru 4/3
Celebrate the season at one of these hopping events.

10th Annual Polar Plunge 3/7
Jump in the Lake for Special Olympics!

... really solidified his venture, Blum says, was the help of a childhood friend and neighbor, prominent Chicago real estate developer Michael Alter, who now runs the Alter Group firm that his father Bill Alter started a half century ago. 'I consider ...

SKOKIE, IL-White Oak Realty Partners LLC, formed by two former Fifield executives, is part of a JV looking to acquire the 660,000-square-foot Central Park of Lisle.

Real Estate/Rentals; Shopping; Sports; TV; Weather; White Pages; Wonderwall; Yellow Pages ... The lead plaintiffs in the Chicago suit decided to fight the city's gun ban for ...

Real Estate/Rentals; Shopping; Sports; TV; Weather; White Pages; Wonderwall; Yellow Pages ... Chicago gun ban goes before Supreme Court

Total construction activity for January 2010 ($884.1 billion) was 0.6 percent below the revised December 2009 ($889.6 billion). Please see our web site for further details: http://www.census.gov/constructionspending

January 2010: -0.6 % change
December 2009: -1.2 % change

Broadway Bank in Chicago, owned by Giannoulias’s family, must attract at least $75 million in capital by late April to meet terms of a consent order with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. prompted by losses on commercial real-estate loans.

March 1, 2010 -- Home sales in the metropolitan Chicago real estate market rebounded strongly in the second half of 2009 when home sales rose 23 percent.

CHICAGO-Urban Receivership Services will contract with courts to funnel management and leasing work. The Village Mall in Danville, IL is the first appointment.

Home sales in the metropolitan Chicago real estate market rebounded strongly in the second half of 2009 when home sales rose 23 percent. Amid those improving market conditions, RE/MAX sold more listed homes than any other brokerage organization. RE/MAX has held the number one position, based on closed sales volume, in the metro Chicago real estate market for the last 21 years. (PRWeb Mar 1, 2010 ...

Home sales in the metropolitan Chicago real estate market rebounded strongly in the second half of 2009 when home sales rose 23 percent. Amid those improving market conditions, RE/MAX sold more listed homes than any other brokerage organization. RE/MAX has held the number one position, based on closed sales volume, in the metro Chicago real estate market for the last 21 years.

Real Estate/Rentals; Shopping; Sports; TV; Weather; White Pages; Wonderwall; Yellow Pages ... people attended the heavily guarded Saviours' Day event at the United Center in Chicago.

Real Estate/Rentals; Shopping; Sports; TV; Weather; White Pages; Wonderwall; Yellow Pages ... new computer-generated voice that mimics his original speech, according to the Chicago ...

Dream Town Realty is proud to welcome Chicago real estate agent Tina Serafini to its team of buyer representatives and sales consultants.

Battered by the housing crisis, mortgage finance company Fannie Mae said Friday that it needs another $15.3 billion in bailout money from the federal government.

Chicago gun ban goes before Supreme Court ... weakness in the world economy and national economy," said Bill Weaver, real estate professor ...

Feb. 26, 2010. Willow Place, a community of 58 townhomes in northwest-suburban Wheeling by Chicago-based Lexington Homes, has entered the final sell-out phase. The remaining 1...

Feb. 26, 2010. Three new models have opened at Lexington Park, a community of 120 townhomes in northwest-suburban Des Plaines. Developed by Chicago-based Lexington Homes (www....

Sales of existing homes unexpectedly fell in January, according to an industry report published Friday.

Real Estate/Rentals; Shopping; Sports; TV; Weather; White Pages; Wonderwall; Yellow Pages ... Knight, one of the highest grossing films ever, was shot almost completely in Chicago in ...

Broadway Bank in Chicago, owned by Giannoulias’s family, must attract at least $75 million in capital by late April to meet terms of a consent order with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. prompted by losses on commercial real-estate loans.

Feb. 26, 2010. Though it may be a cold, blustery winter in Chicago, Shelburne Crossing is sizzling hot. The community of sophisticated brownstone-style townhomes is one of the...

CHICAGO-Gary Rosenberg claims to have found financing for the 22-story Catalyst tower, and wants to go ahead with construction of 220 units in a market that saw only double that sell in 2009.

Other deals include the $3 million sale of the Handleman Building and a marketing representative named for the new 119,000-square-foot Rosemont Corporate Center.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, in partnership with the Loan Modification Scam Prevention Network, today announced the launch of PreventLoanScams.org.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, in partnership with the Loan Modification Scam Prevention Network, today announced the launch of PreventLoanScams.org.

February 26, 2010 -- Thaddeus Wong, co-founder of Chicago real estate brokerage firm @properties, was recently named to the Inman News list of the "100 Most Influential Real Estate Leaders: 2009." Alameda, Calif.-based Inman News compiles the annual list of individuals who "embody leadership, innovation, ingenuity, power and persistence." The list ...

The Mortgage Bankers Association proposed a forbearance program Wednesday aimed at helping the unemployed pay their mortgages for up to nine months.

Real Estate/Rentals; Shopping; Sports; TV; Weather; White Pages; Wonderwall; Yellow Pages ... Chicago gun ban goes before Supreme Court

Despite signs that the real estate market might be lurching forward, prices are expected to fall further this year.

Privately-owned housing starts in January 2010 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 591,000. This is 2.8 percent above the revised December 2009 estimate of 575,000.

January 2010: +2.8 % change
December 2009: -0.7 % change

Sales of new one-family houses in January 2010 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 309,000. This is 11.2% below the revised December 2009 estimate of 329,000.

January 2010: -11.2 % change
December 2009: -3.9 % change

WASHINGTON - U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan and Nevada Senator Harry Reid today announced up to $1.3 million in emergency technical assistance to help reverse the effects of foreclosure and abandonment in certain neighborhoods in the City of Las Vegas and Clark County. The unprecedented aid announced today is funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and is part of the Obama Administration's plan to help communities hardest hit by the downturn in the housing market.

WASHINGTON - U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan and Nevada Senator Harry Reid today announced up to $1.3 million in emergency technical assistance to help reverse the effects of foreclosure and abandonment in certain neighborhoods in the City of Las Vegas and Clark County. The unprecedented aid announced today is funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and is part of the Obama Administration's plan to help communities hardest hit by the downturn in the housing market.

... the Village, because RE/MAX agents were once again No. 1 in home sales in the "West Towns" area of the Chicago real estate market last year. The West Towns market includes Oak Park, River Forest, Berwyn, Broadview, Brookfield, Cicero, Forest Park, ...

CHICAGO-The six properties are all on the North Side, considered quality assets though they are up there in age. The financier says the industry is relying on agency liquidity.

CHICAGO-Scorecards may soon be needed as the battle to take advantage of General Growth’s bankruptcy position heats up. Simon still claims to give the best deal.

... with 318-units, 343 parking spots and 16,000 square feet of retail space. February 2010: A giant of the Chicago real estate world has taken control of an empty parcel on a prominent West Loop business corridor, the plans for

Real Estate/Rentals; Shopping; Sports; TV; Weather; White Pages; Wonderwall; Yellow Pages ... Chicago gun ban goes before Supreme Court

CHICAGO- Brookfield Asset Management has pledged to invest $2.6 billion in an attempt to bring local mall REIT General Growth out of bankruptcy, though Simon has a competing plan.

Sales of new homes plunged in January to the lowest level on record, government figures showed Wednesday.

More bad news on the housing bust front: Nearly 25% of all mortgage borrowers were underwater, meaning they more on their loans than their homes are worth.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today announced that it is charging a San Juan, PR, housing developer with violating the Fair Housing Act by allegedly denying a homeowner with disabilities an accessible parking space close to her home, even though the woman can only walk very short distances. HUD's charge further alleges that the developer, HAL Development Corporation (HAL), offered her the use of a handicapped parking space on a first-come, first-served basis; an option that was unacceptable, given the homeowner's mobility limitations.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today awarded $26.5 million in "sweat equity" grants to produce at least 1,500 affordable homes for low-income individuals and families. Funded through HUD's Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity Program (SHOP), the funding awarded today, along with the labor contributed by these households, will significantly lower the cost of homeownership.

WASHINGTON - Ted Tozer was sworn in today as the President of the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae). Tozer will be responsible for ensuring Ginnie Mae safely guarantees the principal and interest payments on mortgage-backed securities (MBS) backed by loans insured or guaranteed by the FHA, VA, HUD's Office of Public and Indian Housing, and the USDA's Rural Development Housing and Community Facilities Programs.

WASHINGTON - Ted Tozer was sworn in today as the President of the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae). Tozer will be responsible for ensuring Ginnie Mae safely guarantees the principal and interest payments on mortgage-backed securities (MBS) backed by loans insured or guaranteed by the FHA, VA, HUD's Office of Public and Indian Housing, and the USDA's Rural Development Housing and Community Facilities Programs.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today awarded $26.5 million in "sweat equity" grants to produce at least 1,500 affordable homes for low-income individuals and families. Funded through HUD's Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity Program (SHOP), the funding awarded today, along with the labor contributed by these households, will significantly lower the cost of homeownership.

Real Estate/Rentals; Shopping; Sports; TV; Weather; White Pages; Wonderwall; Yellow Pages ... The first of 150 new full-body scanners will arrive at airports in Boston and Chicago in ...

Home prices fell just 2.5% during the last three month of 2009 compared with the fourth quarter of 2008, according to a closely watched gauge of home price movement. That was a big improvement over the past three years.

Real Estate/Rentals; Shopping; Sports; TV; Weather; White Pages; Wonderwall; Yellow Pages ... Prices dipped in key markets like Miami, New York and Chicago. In Denver, prices rose ...

Prices dipped in key markets like Miami, New York and Chicago. In Denver, prices rose for the 10th month in a row, while San Francisco saw its eighth monthly gain. Buying activity in the San Francisco area is heaviest among homes priced $600,000 and ...

Prices dipped in key markets like Miami, New York and Chicago. In Denver, prices rose for the 10th month in a row, while San Francisco saw its eighth monthly gain. Buying activity in the San Francisco area is heaviest among homes priced $600,000 and ...

Real Estate/Rentals; Shopping; Sports; TV; Weather; White Pages; Wonderwall; Yellow Pages ... Chicago gun ban goes before Supreme Court

Lowe's reported a better-than-expected profit for the fourth quarter on Monday, and the nation's second-largest home-improvement retailer indicated that 2010 would be a better year for the housing market.

Developer Matthew Phillips has pulled together an eclectic group of executives to advise his Integrated Development Group on converting the Lake Shore Athletic Club into a luxury senior-living center. Mr. Phillips says he's found such input, though unusual, welcome for senior-living centers. ...

RISMEDIA, February 22, 2010 - Sales of distressed residential properties accounted for at least 34% of all attached and detached home sales reported in the metropolitan Chicago real estate market during 2009, according to the RE/MAX Northern Illinois real estate network.

Real Estate/Rentals; Shopping; Sports; TV; Weather; White Pages; Wonderwall; Yellow Pages ... EveryBlock is a new way to track news in your Chicago neighborhood, down to your city ...

Real Estate/Rentals; Shopping; Sports; TV; Weather; White Pages; Wonderwall; Yellow Pages ... Mayor Daley couldn’t believe Chicago made the list last year, so maybe he’ll be a ...

The recent spike in the number of delinquent Federal Housing Administration-insured loans has some people worried that taxpayers will eventually have to bail the agency out.

Watch a Chicago Park District Board Meeting
Watch the February 10, 2010 Board Meeting Meeting here

The Real Deal: Round-trip airfare to Rome on Lufthansa or similar; five nights at the Villa Aurea Hotel , a renovated 18th-century estate in the town of ... for Boston, Philadelphia; $80 for Orlando; $99 for Chicago, Detroit; $100 for Atlanta ...

The Real Deal: Round-trip airfare to Rome on Lufthansa or similar; five nights at the Villa Aurea Hotel , a renovated 18th-century estate in the town of ... for Boston, Philadelphia; $80 for Orlando; $99 for Chicago, Detroit; $100 for Atlanta ...

WASHINGTON - U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today announced HUD will speed federal disaster assistance to 31 counties and nine cities in Virginia and provide support to homeowners and low-income renters forced from their homes following a severe winter storm and snowstorm.

At first the two were just avatar pals with complementary avatar vocations — he built houses in Second Life, and she sold virtual real estate. Soon the friendship became romantic ... of Chicago, met his girlfriend while they were at the University ...

At first the two were just avatar pals with complementary avatar vocations — he built houses in Second Life, and she sold virtual real estate. Soon the friendship became romantic ... of Chicago, met his girlfriend while they were at the University ...

(AP) — A Chicago neighborhood filled with historic bungalows and tree-lined streets has landed on a best-of list by This Old House magazine. The magazine lists North Mayfair on the city's Northwest Side as one of the best "old-house neighborhoods" in the U.S. and Canada. North Mayfair ...

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued today the results of its 90-day assessment of the Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO), which found that the agency has suffered from severe management, operational and staffing problems. The operational assessment was prepared by Gilmore Kean, LLC, the consultant HUD named in October 2009 to stabilize and assess HANO.

Real Estate/Rentals; Shopping; Sports; TV; Weather; White Pages; Wonderwall; Yellow Pages ... state and federal fisheries biologists began a "search-and-destroy" mission in Chicago ...

Real Estate/Rentals; Shopping; Sports; TV; Weather; White Pages; Wonderwall; Yellow Pages ... state and federal fisheries biologists began a "search-and-destroy" mission in Chicago ...

Real Estate/Rentals; Shopping; Sports; TV; Weather; White Pages; Wonderwall; Yellow Pages ... Michigan has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to order Chicago-area shipping locks closed to ...

Real Estate/Rentals; Shopping; Sports; TV; Weather; White Pages; Wonderwall; Yellow Pages ... the NFL Network to broadcast a Friday night game of the week, beginning with Chicago at ...

The real estate company says its bid totals $7 billion to creditors and about $3 ... Simon says that amounts to $9 per share for the Chicago real estate company, which filed for ...

The real estate company says its bid totals $7 billion to creditors and about $3 ... Simon says that amounts to $9 per share for the Chicago real estate company, which filed for ...

... for the office is planned for this spring. RE/MAX has been the sales leader in the metropolitan Chicago real estate market since 1989 and also is number one across northern Illinois. In 2009, the RE/MAX Northern Illinois real estate network closed ...

Elgin, IL, February 17, 2010 -- -- January homes sales numbers for the metropolitan Chicago real estate market are likely to continue the positive trend that the market established in the second half of last year, according to a preliminary analysis of local home sales activity by RE/MAX. Reviewing early information on January sales from Midwest ...

Real Estate/Rentals; Shopping; Sports; TV; Weather; White Pages; Wonderwall; Yellow Pages ... The preliminary plans for the 35-acre site, according to the Chicago Tribune, include ...

Real Estate/Rentals; Shopping; Sports; TV; Weather; White Pages; Wonderwall; Yellow Pages ... A spokesman Chicago-based General Growth had no immediate comment. Simon, unlike many of ...

Real Estate/Rentals; Shopping; Sports; TV; Weather; White Pages; Wonderwall; Yellow Pages ... up at the James Knight Public Safety Facility at 2301 E Columbus Drive in East Chicago.

Real Estate/Rentals; Shopping; Sports; TV; Weather; White Pages; Wonderwall; Yellow Pages ... Simon says that amounts to $9 per share for the Chicago real estate company, which filed for ...

Real Estate/Rentals; Shopping; Sports; TV; Weather; White Pages; Wonderwall; Yellow Pages ... EveryBlock is a new way to track news in your Chicago neighborhood, down to your city ...

WASHINGTON - Doug Criscitello was sworn in today as the Chief Financial Officer at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Criscitello is responsible for overseeing the financial management practices that ensure the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development meets the needs of the housing community. His duties include preparing and accounting for HUD's budget, strategic and budget planning, and establishing and maintaining financial systems which process millions of transactions annually to support HUD projects.

Real Estate/Rentals; Shopping; Sports; TV; Weather; White Pages; Wonderwall; Yellow Pages ... are ringing with calls about an Earthquake in this suburb 60 miles west of Chicago, IL."

... the Obama administration, Jarrett was president and chief executive officer of The Habitat Company, a Chicago real estate firm. She also was a leader in the civic and business communities of Chicago and directed several corporate and not-for-profit ...

Real Estate/Rentals; Shopping; Sports; TV; Weather; White Pages; Wonderwall; Yellow Pages ... missing after an early morning blaze swept through an apartment building near Chicago.

Real Estate/Rentals; Shopping; Sports; TV; Weather; White Pages; Wonderwall; Yellow Pages ... Maria Pinto, the Chicago designer whose threads have wrapped the famous bods of Michelle ...

Real Estate/Rentals; Shopping; Sports; TV; Weather; White Pages; Wonderwall; Yellow Pages ... legend Magic Johnson may soon take over a legend in the publishing world -- Chicago ...

Real Estate/Rentals; Shopping; Sports; TV; Weather; White Pages; Wonderwall; Yellow Pages ... missing after an early morning blaze swept through an apartment building near Chicago.

Real estate is at the core of both a good move and a mistake. The Forsythes had bought their Arizona home, which is on a golf course, at the height of the housing boom. But they love the climate. They also love Chicago and their condo there.

Real Estate/Rentals; Shopping; Sports; TV; Weather; White Pages; Wonderwall; Yellow Pages ... Tucson and Chicago . A cancer scare was a big reason why Jack Forsythe decided it was time ...

Pillai noted during the news conference that the ashram had been visited by David Headley, an American facing charges in Chicago aiding the Mumbai ... drive from Mumbai, is a technology, educational and real estate hub popular with foreign students.

Homeownership Rate (HR)
The homeownership rate in the fourth quarter 2009 (67.2 percent) was not statistically different from the fourth quarter 2008 rate (67.5 percent). In the South, the homeownership rate was lower than a year ago, while no other region showed any significant change from corresponding fourth quarter 2008 rates.

Rental Vacancy Rate (RVR)
The rental vacancy rate in fourth quarter 2009 (10.7 percent) was higher than the the fourth quarter 2008 rate (10.1 percent).

Homeowner Vacancy Rate (HVR)
The homeowner vacancy rate in fourth quarter 2009 (2.7 percent), was not statistically different from the fourth quarter 2008 rate (2.9 percent).

4th Qtr 2009
(HR): 67.2 percent
4th Qtr 2008
(HR): 67.5 percent

The Chicago housing market is still years away from a full recovery, as foreclosures, high unemployment and a tight lending climate hinder a comeback. Chicago-area existing-home sales will begin rising again in 2011, hitting about 95,000 units in 2013, according to a forecast by Irvine, ...

Organic Gardening Series
Register for the Winter Organic Gardening Workshops at Kilbourn Park & Organic Greenhouse.

Civic Free Concert Series
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is presenting a series of free concerts in the parks.

Don't say we didn't warn you.

The Daley administration is bailing out the developer of the high-profile Cabrini-Green redevelopment on the Near North Side, sidestepping a default on a $32-million construction loan that would be a punch in the gut to the ambitious plan to remake the city's public-housing projects. The ...

(AP) — Illinois is embracing a licensing database that officials say will help ensure the competency of mortgage loan professionals. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation said it'll start to use the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System for license applications ...

Download 2009-2010 Winter Brochure
We invite you to join us in celebrating the season.

Americans with Disabilities Act
ADA Complaint Reporting Procedure for Patrons and Visitors available here.

2010-14 Capital Improvement Plan
The Chicago Park District's forecast for facility improvements over the next five years

This week's editorial cartoon by Roger Schillerstrom

In a shrunken local homebuilding market, the balance of power is shifting from independent Chicago-area builders to their stronger national rivals. Public companies including D. R. Horton Inc., Pulte Homes Inc. and Ryland Group Inc. now account for 43% of new-home sales around Chicago, up from ...

Adopted 2010 Budget
2010 Budget Recommendations and Summary are now available for download

Across the Chicago area, local government officials are hearing increasingly from employers that maintaining homes affordable to their workers isn't a maybe — it's a must. One might be surprised to learn that, since 2005, leaders in Lake Forest, which ranks among Illinois' wealthiest ...

Downtown condominium developers limped through yet another quarter, but they have at least one reason to be thankful: The great condo building boom is coming to an end. For the past three years, downtown developers have built more condos than they have sold, the result of overexuberance and an ...

(Crain’s) — Bruce Gottschall, who helped start what has become the city’s largest housing counseling agency, is stepping down as its executive director after 35 years. Mr. Gottschall began Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago in 1975. He will retire on Dec. 15. “It feels like ...

(Crain’s) — Federal regulators have rejected Amcore Financial Inc.’s plan to raise capital, giving the troubled Rockford-based lender a month to raise the needed money or sell. Amcore has until Dec. 4 to submit a new plan to the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency under ...

In the biggest downtown real estate deal of the year, a Miami developer has agreed to buy a Streeterville apartment tower for more than $80 million, despite a bleak job market that is expected to reduce the number of renters next year. Crescent Heights Inc. has a contract to buy Cityfront Place, ...

In its nearly three years in existence, Lexington Homes LLC hasn't turned a profit, but the Chicago homebuilder can lay claim to something many of its peers cannot. At a time when well-known local builders such as Kimball Hill Inc., Kirk Inc. and Neumann Homes Inc. have gone belly up, Lexington's ...

Crain's Monday publishes its annual list of the largest contractors in Chicago. Walsh Group Ltd. topped the list for the second straight year with $1.36 billion in local revenue in 2008. Bovis Lend Lease Inc., James McHugh Construction Co., Turner Construction Co. and Pepper Construction Group ...

A majority of the units at their Lincoln Park condominium project were unsold when Beth and Forest Bahruth moved in more than 30 months ago. The couple said it felt strange to be among the only residents at the yet-to-be completed five-story building at Fullerton, Ashland and Clybourn avenues. ...

SPOTLIGHT: JAMES KINNEY Job: Vice-president of luxury home sales, Baird & Warner Inc., a Chicago-based residential brokerage with more than 20 offices in the city and suburbs. Vitals: 59 years old; bachelor's degree in English, Northwestern University, 1972; various positions including assistant ...

With the local housing market finally showing signs of improvement, the question is what, if anything, developers and real estate agents can do to win back the trust of the newly sober public.

It was typical of many developers during the tail end of the housing boom to offer an iPod, flat-screen TV or an even bigger goodie to lure buyers into new townhouses or condominiums. Today, those types of incentives are largely a thing of the past — much like the boom itself. But even in a ...

(Reuters) — Building products maker USG Corp. reported a larger quarterly loss on Wednesday and said the near-term outlook remains weak, sending its shares down more than 8 percent. The result is another sign the housing construction industry has yet to fully right itself after collapsing ...

(Crain’s) — The veteran ShoreBank executive in charge of the lender’s signature loans to apartment rehabbers — the portfolio whose success largely created the community bank’s national reputation for profiting while lending in low-income neighborhoods — has left the bank. James ...

(AP) — The former northern Wisconsin hideout of Chicago mobster Al Capone has sold for $2.6 million to the bank that foreclosed on the property. Margie Schull of the Sawyer County Sheriff's Department says Chippewa Valley Bank was the only bidder during a five-minute sheriff's sale on the ...

(AP) — The former northern Wisconsin hideout of Chicago mobster Al Capone goes on the auction block Thursday. A bank foreclosed on the 407-acre wooded site and a sheriff's sale takes place on the steps of the Sawyer County Courthouse in Hayward. Chippewa Valley Bank says the starting bid ...

Pay and Display
Learn about the new Multi-Space Parking Meters being installed over the next 8 months

(AP) — If Illinois had parents, they wouldn't be too happy with the state's economic grade card. An advocacy group, the Corporation for Enterprise Development, gave the state an overall 'C' grade in its annual assessment of financial stability in all 50 U.S. states. Illinois fared better ...

Rate changes by the Fed can affect consumers' budgets. Here's how the Fed's announcement affects mortgage shoppers and ARM holders.

Rate changes by the Fed can affect consumers' budgets. Here's how the Fed's announcement affects auto loan rates.

Rate changes by the Fed can affect consumers' budgets. Here's how the Fed's announcement affects credit card interest rates.

Rate changes by the Fed can affect consumers' budgets. Here's how the Fed's announcement affects home equity loans and lines of credit.

(Crain’s) — The Civic Federation has come out with a report that generally supports Mayor Richard M. Daley’s bid for the 2016 Olympics — with the exception of the development of the Olympic Village. In a long-awaited report issued Wednesday, the tax policy group notes that the Olympic ...

Home equity products can be used to fund a car purchase. But there are risks for the homeowner.

Researchers say debt forgiveness is the only way to fix the housing crisis. But will it?

Here are the latest interest rates and commentary on five common consumer banking products from Bankrate.com's weekly national survey of large banks and thrifts.

(AP) — Signaling a housing recovery is under way in much of the country, sales of previously occupied homes rose for the third month in a row in June. The National Assn. of Realtors said Thursday that home sales rose 3.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.89 million last month, ...

Here are the latest interest rates and commentary on five common consumer banking products from Bankrate.com's weekly national survey of large banks and thrifts.

(Crain’s) — First-time homebuyers scrambling for a down payment can now get a financial boost from the state. The Illinois Housing Development Authority program rolled out its Illinois Home Start Loan Program Wednesday. It provides qualifying homebuyers with a 30-year fixed-rate FHA loan ...

With interest rates likely to rise, locking into a fixed-rate loan may make sense right now.

(Crain’s) — The Chicago Community Trust announced it surpassed a $1-million target to provide funds for shelters and pantries that have been overwhelmed by soaring demand. In an initiative launched late last year, the community foundation raised $1.3 million for its Unity Challenge ...

Mortgage rates have held fairly steady since the middle of last week.

A note, sent yesterday, from a reader named Matthew.

I have an article up today -- "Want to refinance? Know the details" -- in which I describe the Home Affordable Refinance program as confusing.

Here are the latest interest rates and commentary on five common consumer banking products from Bankrate.com's weekly national survey of large banks and thrifts.

A reader named Cindy asks: "Are mortgage rates predicted to go down next week? What things should I be considering before going ahead?"

In response to my blog post from last week, "Theodicy and mortgages," Michael Hilmen writes about artificially high home prices.

30 Year: null%, 15 Year: null%, 5 Year: null%, 1 Year: null%

(AP) — E*Trade Financial Corp. said Wednesday it plans to raise $400 million in common stock, with Citadel Investment Group purchasing up to $100 million of the offer.

(Crain’s) — Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has sued a Chicago-based independent escrow company that went out of business in March without paying taxes on behalf of homeowner clients around the country. Ms. Madigan, working with the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional ...