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SPRINGFIELD, IL - June 2, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Look for the bright blue balloons and open house signs dotting local neighborhoods this weekend as REALTORS® in Illinois and around the country host the nation’s largest open house event, June 4 and 5.

SPRINGFIELD, IL - May 19, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- April marks the third consecutive month of home sales gains in Illinois as low mortgage interest rates and lower-priced inventories add up to affordability conditions not seen in decades. According to the Illinois Association of REALTORS® latest report, statewide home sales (including single family and condominiums) in April 2011 totaled 8,526 homes sold, up 8.5 percent from 7,856 sales in March 2011; sales were down 21.8 percent from the tax credit-bolstered sales gains of 10,897 homes sold in April 2010

Chicago, IL - May 18, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- A number of RE/MAX firms in the Northern Illinois real estate market, each of which is independently owned and operated, were recently spotlighted in one of the nation’s most prestigious surveys of real estate company productivity -- Real Trends 500. The 2011 Real Trends 500, an annual report from Real Trends magazine, ranks the 500 most successful residential firms by closed transaction sides and closed sales volume. Rankings are determined by applications received. This year, 501 firms qualified based on transaction volume due to a tie for the final spot.

SPRINGFIELD, IL - May 17, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The REALTOR® Nationwide Open House Weekend is just around the corner on June 4-5, but if you’re an Illinois homeowner with a home to sell this spring, there’s still time to jump on the bandwagon and get your home “open house ready” for this high exposure weekend.

Washington, DC - May 16, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congressman Don Manzullo (R-Egan) has unveiled legislation to require Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to continue paying annual dividends back to the US Treasury to ensure the “ringleaders” of the housing crisis keep paying off their debt to American taxpayers.

SPRINGFIELD, IL - May 10, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Illinois home sales in the first quarter of 2011 reflect the variety of housing opportunities available at attractive prices across the state with close to 70 percent of homes sold priced below $200,000. According to the Illinois Association of REALTORS® (IAR) first quarter 2011 report, Illinois home sales (which include single-family homes and condominiums) totaled 18,940 in the first quarter, down 11.2 percent from 21,320 home sales in the same period a year ago while up significantly by 24.0 percent from the same period in 2009 when just 17,194 homes were sold. The first quarter statewide median home sale price was $131,175, down 8.9 percent from $144,000 in the first quarter of 2010. The median is a typical market price where half the homes sold for more, half sold for less.

WASHINGTON, DC - May 3, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05), along with Reps. Tim Walz (MN-1) and Gary Peters (MI-9), introduced legislation to eliminate taxpayer subsidies for yachts. The Ending Taxpayer Subsidies for Yachts Act will amend a tax provision that allows boat owners to write off their mortgage interest payments if they classify their boats as second homes.

April 28, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- John L. Neal, Jr., 51, pled guilty on April 27, 2011, in United States District Court in East St. Louis, Ill.-, to an Indictment charging four counts of bank robbery, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today.

Chicago, IL - April 28, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- First quarter home sales and median home prices in the seven-county metropolitan Chicago real estate market both registered declines of 11 percent when compared to the same period in 2010, but those figures don’t tell the whole story, according to an analysis by the RE/MAX Northern Illinois real estate estate network.

CHICAGO, IL - April 27, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Illinois Department of Insurance is once again reminding homeowners and renters to prepare in advance for the possibility of floods by reviewing policy coverage and making informed decisions about whether flood insurance is needed. “This spring season has brought heavy rains and flooding, with more of both certain to come,” said Michael T. McRaith, Director of the Illinois Department of Insurance. “Flood insurance coverage is not included in standard homeowner or renter policies and do not take effect for 30 days, so our Department encourages consumers to determine the limits and benefits of an insurance policy well before damage may occur.”

CHICAGO, IL - April 26, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Forty units of permanent supportive housing for formerly homeless young parents will be built in Chicago as a result of the financial investment of the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA). IHDA Executive Director Mary R. Kenney today joined Mayor Richard M. Daley and other local officials to celebrate the groundbreaking of the Transformation Project apartments at 5353 W. Chicago Ave. in the Austin neighborhood.

SPRINGFIELD, IL - April 20, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Home sales in Illinois rose for the second consecutive month in March showing some momentum heading into the spring market, while sales remain lower than last year’s heightened totals from the tax credit.

CHICAGO, IL - April 19, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- State officials marked National Fair Housing Month today by launching a week-long, free screening of American Casino, a film on the mortgage loan scheme that caused economic disaster for millions of Americans. Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR) Director Rocco Claps was joined by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, Division of Banking Director Manuel Flores to discuss the state’s efforts to protect individuals from discrimination in housing, mortgage fraud and predatory lending practices. Governor Pat Quinn proclaimed April as Fair Housing Month in Illinois to create greater awareness of state laws that prohibit discrimination in housing.

CHICAGO, IL - April 15, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Members of the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) Board today appointed Mary R. Kenney as executive director of the state’s housing finance agency. Kenney succeeds Gloria L. Materre, who last month became executive director of the Illinois Liquor Control Commission (ILCC).

SPRINGFIELD, IL - April 13, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- An earthquake can’t be prevented, but the damage it could cause to homes and buildings can be minimized. As part of the state’s observance of Earthquake Preparedness Month, the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) today offered several tips for making structures more earthquake resistant.