Sales of new U.S. single-family homes rose in March, indicating the housing market recovery remains on track. The Commerce Department said on Tuesday sales increased 1.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 417,000 units. Last month’s rise followed a 7.6 percent drop in February. Economists polled by Reuters [...] Read more »

Gary Lucido, Chicago, IL–The Chicago real estate market continued to demonstrate it’s incredible strength in April with home sales up 32.5% over the previous April. That’s on top of last April’s 19.4% increase and it’s the 22nd month in a row of year over year home sale increases, confirming yet [...] Read more »

Seventy-two percent of homeowners plan to decorate or redecorate in the next two years, according to the 2012 Houzz and Home Survey; and 86 percent said that improving the look and feel of the space was their most important goal. You can find plenty of décor inspiration on sites such [...] Read more »

Mortgage rates dropped again this week, with the 15-year fixed-rate loan hitting a record low, according to a report from mortgage financier Freddie Mac. The 15-year fixed rate fell to 2.56% from 2.61%. A year ago, it stood at 3.07. The most popular mortgage, the 30-year fixed rate, came in [...] Read more »

The government insurer, which may or may not be in need of a bailout, plans to generate $10 billion by locking middle class borrowers into high fees for decades. FORTUNE — This is what you call kicking ‘em when they’re down. Consumers who don’t have a lot of cash to [...] Read more »