SPRINGFIELD, IL According to the Illinois Association of REALTORS® (IAR) third quarter 2011 report, Illinois home sales (which include single-family homes and condominiums) totaled 29,644 in the third quarter, up 19.9 percent from 24,719 home sales in the same period a year ago. The third quarter statewide median home sale price was $145,500, down 4.9 percent from $153,000 in the third quarter of 2010. The median is a typical market price where half the homes sold for more, half sold for less.

EUGENE, OR - November 9, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Kathleen Malone, real estate professional with @Properties, has teamed with IDX, Inc. to create an easy-to-use real estate search page for all potential Chicago, Illinois buyers. The versatile tools and search features Malone now displays on her website make the online property search monumentally easier for home seekers and real estate professionals alike. Midwest Real Estate Date MLS (MRED) are synced to her search page, giving her website a competitive advantage in the market.

Chicago, IL - November 9, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The RE/MAX metro Chicago real estate network took home three top honors during the sixth annual Chicago Agent Magazine Agents' Choice Awards. The event was held Nov. 1 at the Snaidero Kitchen and Design Showroom at the Merchandise Mart in downtown Chicago. RE/MAX took home the coveted Best Brokerage Web Site award in addition to two others.

WASHINGTON - November 7, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Representatives Mike Quigley (D-IL), John Carney (D-DE), Jim Renacci (R-OH), Pat Meehan (R-PA), and Daniel Webster (R-FL) introduced the “Creating Homeownership Opportunities Act,” bipartisan legislation that would create a pre-tax savings program – similar to a Health Savings Account – for the purpose of saving toward a down payment on a first home.

WASHINGTON, DC - November 3, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Yesterday, U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05) met with U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner to discuss the housing and foreclosure crisis in the City of Chicago and surrounding area. The meeting followed Quigley’s Foreclosure Assistance Fair this past weekend in Chicago, where more than 200 constituents sought assistance from mortgage lenders, government agencies, and housing counselors.

SPRINGFIELD, IL - October 20, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- According to the Illinois Association of REALTORS® (IAR) latest report, statewide home sales (including single family and condominiums) in September 2011 totaled 9,182 homes sold, up 13.5 percent from 8,088 home sales in September 2010. The statewide median price in September was $136,850, down 5.6 percent from $145,000 in September 2010. The median is a typical market price where half the homes sold for more, half sold for less.

ELGIN, Ill. - October 20, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Home sales in the seven-county metropolitan Chicago real estate market continued their third-quarter surge in September. RE/MAX reports that home sales for the month were 12.6 percent higher than in the same period of 2010, while sales for the full third quarter of 2011 were up 19.3 percent from the same period last year, based on an analysis of sales reported by Midwest Real Estate Data, LLC (MRED).

Chicago, IL - October 17, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Cindy and Tony Banks are optimistic about the metro Chicago real estate market. It’s why the husband-and-wife team recently purchased RE/MAX Cornerstone, a busy brokerage located at 480 E. Roosevelt Road in West Chicago, Ill.

CHICAGO,IL - October 13, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05) announced that he will be hosting two service fairs for the community later this month. The Senior Fair and Foreclosure Assistance Fair are both free to the public and will provide essential services to constituents seeking assistance with medical, insurance, or housing issues.

EUGENE, OR - October 7, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Chicago, Illinois Realtor Ilir Mehmeti has chosen to upgrade the search capabilities of his professional website with the IDX, Inc. dynamic IDX Broker software. Now, finding homes around Chicago is possible, with a simple search on the website Mehmeti supports. Midwest Real Estate Data MLS (MRED) listings are even seamlessly integrated onto the search page Mehmeti hosts, thanks to the innovative technology of his custom IDX solution.

ELGIN, IL - October 7, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The RE/MAX Northern Illinois real estate network has completed its fourth annual METRA Community Study that compares home sales in communities served by METRA commuter trains with the home sales across all suburbs in the seven-county metropolitan Chicago real estate market.

WASHINGTON, DC - October 6, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Representatives Mike Quigley (IL-05) introduced The Mortgage Credit Availability Act of 2011 (H.R. 3084), which authorizes the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to temporarily increase the conforming loan limits for mortgages that originated in high-cost areas.

Upper Marlboro, MD - September 29, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- A new report on green certification costs for home building and remodeling in the Chicago market says that the National Green Building Standard (NGBS) is a more flexible, affordable alternative for certifying single-family homes, townhouses, and condos than other national or regional green building certifications. The study compared the NGBS with the Chicago Green Homes (CGH) program and LEED-H, the rating system for single-family homes developed by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Chicago, IL - September 28, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Kathy Dames, a 27-year Illinois real estate veteran, will open her own RE/MAX office in Shorewood, Ill., when RE/MAX Ultimate Professionals debuts in November at 576 Brookforest Ave. in the Brookforest Plaza shopping center.

ROCK ISLAND, IL - September 22, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- A new housing development opened today in Rock Island that will provide affordable and quality apartments for persons with special needs so they can live in a community setting.