The Home Front

President Donald Trump (above) By Don DeBat Will Chicago home buyers and families seeking to refinance ever see mortgage rates in the 5%-range again? Only a gypsy fortune teller’s crystal ball will tell. However, the honeymoon apparently is over between new Federal Reserve Board (FED) chairman Kevin Warsh and President Donald Trump. On Sept. 4th President Trump urged the central bank and chairman Warsh, to “get smart” and cut rates. So, with President Trump as the biggest cri

(above) U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell delivers remarks at a news conference following a Federal Open Market Committee meeting at the Federal Reserve on December 10, 2025, in Washington, D.C. Photo by Sha Hanting/China News Service/VCG via AP. With the Fed’s recent rate cut to 3.5-3.75 percent, prospective home buyers in Chicago face a challenging housing market, as inflation and political turmoil inflate costs. Expect mortgage rates to remain above 6 percent into 2

Chicago homeowners are getting soaked by rising property taxes. By Don DeBat Chicago and Cook County’s brainy real estate tax experts are pointing fingers of blame while trying to explain the perfect storm. When tens of thousands of Chicago homeowners realized that their median property tax bills catapulted 16.7 percent in a single year, reality hit them between the eyes. Experts say the tax wave tsunami was caused by the financial death dance between fat-cat downtown commerc