Yuval Degani's (dreamtown) Blog

A new index from the real estate website Trulia found that renting is more expensive than buying a home in 78% of the nation’s 50 biggest cities. The survey looked at median rent for a two-bedroom unit as compared to median list price for the same size property in the same area. In 39 out of 50 l...

Chicago is primed for a summertime housing market boost, according to Dr. Geoffrey J.D. Hewings, Regional Economics Applications Laboratory director at the University of Illinois. April marked the third straight month of home sales gains in Illinois and Hewings believes residential real estate wi...

In efforts to reduce the inventory of unsold foreclosure homes, Freddie Mac has introduced a new incentive that helps buyers cover closing costs when they purchase a HomeSteps property. Through the program, a homebuyer who puts in an offer on a HomeSteps home by July 31 and closes on or before Se...

There was a time not too long ago when sprawling McMansions and excessive square footage were the trend in American home building. However, most people are looking to save money these days, especially on their living situations. So homeowners have turned their sights toward smaller accommodations...

A record-breaking 35% of home sales were cash deals in March, according to data from the National Association of Realtors. This number is up from 33% in February. That means for the second month in a row, a third of buyers paid for their properties upfront, no mortgage necessary. A year ago, only...

Statistics about how the Chicago housing market fared in March were released from the Illinois Association of Realtors last week – and the news looks promising. Overall, there were 1,450 home sales in the city of Chicago, which is up 37.3% from February. The price for single-family homes and cond...

Depending on who you talk to, there’s debate about whether West Bucktown exists. It may not be an official Chicago community, but residents of this small West Side borough have a sense of distinction that has prompted their own neighborhood association—and a fairly active one at that. If you ask ...

Chicago-based real estate company Dream Town Realty is the first in the country to offer a Groupon for buying or selling a home. The social coupon website Groupon featured the deal on its Home & Garden page this week. The deal, which offers $1000 cash at closing for $25, was unveiled Friday, Apri...

It’s spring cleaning time again and you may be wondering what to do with all the stuff you no longer need but that’s still in perfectly good condition. Why not donate it to a good cause? There are several Chicago charities that accept gently-used household items and resell them at bargain prices ...

Chicago is a fully developed city that was designed with great foresight to preserve its beautiful lakefront setting. Daniel Burnham is among the masterminds who laid the foundation for this incredible city with plenty of green parkland and public waterfront. So you might wonder where there’s roo...