By Carlo Calma As part of its plan of continuing international expansion, Keller Williams Realty, Inc. has announced that they will be opening up two new franchises in Indonesia and South Africa during its annual Mega Camp event Sept.

By Peter Ricci Well, so much for our Trulia IPO skepticism – the real estate website became the latest tech darling yesterday when it’s stock hit the New York Stock Exchange, rising 41 percent and closing at $24 a

By Peter Ricci Multitasking is more than a catchy phrase uttered at business symposiums and on trade magazine websites; rather, it’s a survival mechanism, a key to successfully managing the endless array of tasks we all must completely on

By Peter Ricci National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index rose for the fifth consecutive month in September, rising three points and reaching its highest level since June of 2006. A measure of builder confidence in the

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,

Single-family home sales in Houston posted their greatest one-month volume since 2007, in August, increasing 20 percent from August 2011 and sending housing inventory to its lowest level in more than 10 years. According to the Houston Association of

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 yet. Operating under the sexy name of “quantitative easing” and involving the monthly purchase

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

If it doesn’t catch your eye, nothing will. A black & white photograph showing the unassuming facade of Girl & The Goat, the popular West Loop restaurant, yet standing in front of it are two highly conspicuous

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 A new Trulia study of the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan markets has come to a staggering conclusion – owning is cheaper than renting in every major metro market in the U.S. by 45 percent, or, $771

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 Carlo Calma Citizens of Houston may want to make more space for new neighbors as the city has been listed among America’s most popular cities to move to, according to United Van

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