SCR News Feed

The lights are up on Michigan Avenue, the Christkindlmarket is open in Daley Plaza, and Sears Tower (no, we won’t call it Willis) is lit up with red and green – the holiday season is in full force here in Chicago! As important as it is to stay in touch with clients all year long,… Continue Reading Holiday Outreach and Marketing

If you’re like us, you use your smart phone more as a task manager than as a phone. We’re always looking for good calendar apps; here are The Verge’s favorites for Android. Use an iPhone? The Verge has you covered too. Is a new tablet on your holiday wish list? Wondering what to do with… Continue Reading Best Smart Phone Calendars, Repurposing Old Tablets, Online Holiday Scams, and CRT’s Smart Home Survey

Existing home sales rose 2.0 percent in October from one month prior while new home sales decreased 1.9 percent.  These headline figures are seasonally adjusted figures and are reported in the news.  However, for everyday practitioners, simple raw counts of home sales are often more meaningful than the seasonally adjusted figures.  The raw count determines… Continue Reading Raw Count of Home Sales (October 2016)

REALTOR® Magazine is promoting a sponsor webinar on the future of property management. Below is text provided by the sponsor, AppFolio, about the event. “This is it: the end of 2016 is almost here. As we look at the future of property management, it’s clear that you need an accurate picture of your business’s financials… Continue Reading Sponsor Webinar: The Future of Property Management

The 2016 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers survey is the second year we have collected data on the difficulty of saving for a down payment to buy a home and whether student loans were an impediment. In years past, the down payment had been cited as one of the most problematic steps in the… Continue Reading Student Loan Debt Hampering Home Buying: A Regional Perspective

In the monthly REALTORS® Confidence Index Survey, the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) asks members “What are your expectations for the housing market over the next six months compared to the current state of the market in the neighborhood(s) or area(s) where you make most of your sales: For single-family homes? For townhomes? For condominiums?” NAR compiles… Continue Reading REALTORS® Are Generally Optimistic Over the Next Six Months

In 2016, first-time home buyers made up 35 percent of all home buyers, an increase over last year’s near all-time low of 32 percent where it had remained for the previous three years, according to The National Association of REALTORS® 2016 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers report released in October 2016. From 2011 to… Continue Reading Buyers Aged 35-44 & 45-54 Years Capture Greater Share of First-Time Home Buyers

Why do some people think organizing their home is for a must-do only in the spring? With the holiday season approaching, people across the country are preparing their homes for visiting family, holiday parties and cold weather hibernation. All of this makes fall the perfect time to declutter and organize one’s home. The first step… Continue Reading Story Idea: Declutter Your Home