Sliding mortgage rates are opening up new options for buyers in recent weeks.
Last week the 30-year fixed rate mortgage dropped nationally to an average of 3.41 percent, just over the historic low of 3.31 percent set in late 2012.
Rates declining means that larger mortgages are more affordable to a wider group of consumers. A lot of rates have been driven in recent weeks by the economic uncertainty following the "Brexit" vote in the U.K.
Read more at the Chicago Tribune here.
In our opinion, there's no contest; the New Eastside has to be Chicago's best place to live.
But the good folks at Niche have put together a list of Chicagoland's 10 best places to live and, in their top choice is perennial suburban favorite, Naperville, the village out west that is consistently the top-selling suburb in the metro area.
Behind Naperville are Bannockburn and Grayslake.
Check out the whole list at Chicago Agent Magazine here.
The New Eastside’s newest tower Wanda Vista is having brisk sales, though it hasn’t yet broken ground.
The developer behind the 95-story project has confirmed to various media sources that the tower has moved a quarter of its 406 condominiums, roughly $200 million in sales.
While the exact breakdown of which units are selling isn’t yet confirmed, the building is drawing its share of interest both locally and from foreign investors.
Read more at the Chicago Tribune here and at Curbed Chicago here.
This summer will see the housing market having its best performance in a decade, according to Realtor.com chief economist Jonathan Smoke.
In a piece for CNBC, Smoke wrote that the real estate market is at its "strongest...since the housing boom." Smoke pointed to May sales data that showed a 6 percent year-over-year increase, numbers that were substantiated by Case-Shiller. Coupled with unemployment rates declining and a a slow pace of housing construction, existing home prices are likely to continue their strong positive trajectory.
Plus, recent economic uncertainty in Europe has driven interest rates lower, allowing more buyers to access credit.
"As for now," Smoke wrote, "we have a nearly perfect scenario that sets us up for the best summer for residential real estate in a decade."
A new ranking puts seven of Chicagoland's suburbs in the nation's top 20 school districts.
The rankings, from Niche, say that Glencoe, Kenilworth, Wilmette and Winnetka tied for seventh place on the list. Northfield placed 11th, Lincolnshire placed 13th and Northbrook placed 20th.
For the ranking, Niche weighed test scores and graduation rates. They even considered student and parent reviews.
Read more and see the full list at Chicago Agent Magazine