According to a recent story by Crain’s, about three out of every four respondents to the survey said that Emanuel has been either very positive for Chicago businesses or has been positive but “could do more.”

Crain’s reported that only 9 percent of respondents to its survey said that the new mayor has been bad for business during his first year in office.

This is good news for homeowners in Chicago. We want businesses to view the city as a friendly, progressive place. We want them to think of Chicago as a city that welcomes new businesses to its borders. The more businesses that call Chicago home, after all, the more attractive the city becomes. And the more attractive Chicago is, the greater the number of people who want to live here.

That greater demand, of course, can only prove positive for the Chicago housing market.

The majority of respondents say they support Emanuel’s efforts to reduce crime, balance the city’s budget, promote jobs, reform Chicago’s public schools and promote ethics reform.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that all is well in Chicago. Emanuel, after all, has only been in office for a year. The city still faces challenges when it comes to falling home values, pension issues, crime, traffic congestion and, of course, unemployment.

Other respondents said that it might not matter what Emaneul does if the state legislature in Springfield doesn’t, as one respondent told Crain’s, “get their act together.”

Still, the survey is an encouraging one for Chicago residents. Let’s just hope that businesses continue to view our new mayor as favorably as his time in office runs on.

Forbes Magazine thinks that most of us Chicago residents fall into the latter category, waking up on the wrong side of the bed most days.

The magazine, which loves its lists, earlier this year ranked Chicago residents as the sixth most miserable in the country.

The reason for our grumpiness? According to Forbes, it’s the often brutal winters, the high property taxes and its terrible traffic. Forbes editors might have added that Chicagoans are struggling with a housing market in which home values continue to fall, but that hardly makes our city unique today.

Let’s look at the complaints listed by Forbes. Yes, our winters are usually harsh. But not last winter. In fact, last winter felt positively tropical. So we can scratch that one off the list, at least this season. The property taxes and the traffic, though, I’ll give Forbes. Traffic is especially a concern. Unless you’re taking the CTA or Metra, getting around town can be a true chore on busy weekdays.

But I think Forbes is still being too harsh on our city. Yes, Chicago can prove frustrating. But it can also be a fascinating place. We have great restaurants and live theater. We have tremendous green spaces and busy shopping districts. The night life is unrivaled here, and we have an abundance of professional sports teams from which to choose. We have as diverse an array of neighborhoods as any city across the globe.

In fact, it’s Chicago’s attractiveness that I think will eventually prove the savior our local housing market. People still want to live in Chicago. It is undoubtedly the top city in the Midwest. That bodes well for the future of the city’s housing market.

So, yes, Chicago isn’t perfect, as Forbes points out. But where would you rather live?

According to a story by the Reuters news agency, average monthly apartment rents across the country saw their biggest increase in four years.

This sheds new light on the age-old rent vs. buy question.

Some have said that it makes more financial sense to rent as housing values continue to fall across the country. But does that still hold if apartment rents continue to rise? As rents climb, it no longer seems quite as affordable to rent.

According to the Reuters story, asking rents across the country have risen to $1,070 a month on average. That’s an increase of 0.5percent from the last quarter of 2011. Effective rents, which take away perks offered by landlords such as free months of rent, jumped 0.9 percent during the first quarter of this year to $1,018 a month. That’s the largest increase in effective rents since the first quarter of 2008.

There’s a simple reason why rents are rising so quickly: supply and demand.

The Reuters story reported that apartment vacancy rates in the first quarter of this year fell to their lowest levels in more than a decade, to a stunningly low 4.9 percent. As demand for apartment living increases – thanks in part to housing foreclosures – the supply of available units has been shrinking. That allows landlords to increase the amount of rent they charge each month.

Will this formula change any time soon? It doesn’t look like it. Foreclosures continue to rise, and people who’ve lost their homes need to live somewhere. Many of them are entering the rental market, further reducing the amount of available rental units.

So if you’ve long thought that renting was a cheaper option than is taking on a mortgage loan, the latest numbers suggest that you may have to change that line of thinking.

And that includes residents of Chicago and its suburbs.

Trulia recently released its new rent-vs.-buy study, and the results were intriguing: In 98 out of 100 major markets across the country — including Chicago — it was cheaper for consumers to own a home than it was for them to rent.

The reasons for this? Rents are increasing across the country. They’re certainly rising quickly in Chicago and its suburbs. And at the same time, housing prices continue to fall, in Chicago and across the country.

Then there are the low mortgage interest rates, still around the 4 percent mark for 30-year fixed-rate mortgage loans. This makes it less expensive for buyers to borrow money to finance the purchase of a home.

This all combines to make owning a home more affordable than renting.

I’ve long said that this is a great time to buy a home. Look at our Chicago market. According to data from the Illinois Association of REALTORS(R), median home prices here were down 6.6 percent in February from the same month one year earlier. That translates to a median price of $141,000 this February compared with a median price of $150,000 last year at this time.

And this trend shows no signs of slowing. Housing foreclosures continue to glut the Chicago market. Foreclosures tend to drag down the median sales prices of homes throughout an entire area.

The Trulia study, then, provides yet more evidence that there’s rarely been a better time to buy a home, whether you’re looking for a condominium or single-family home in the Chicago area or across the country.

According to a recent story by the Wall Street Journal, the Urban Land Institute in late March released a report that details several encouraging trends in both residential and commercial real estate.

For instance, the survey predicted that the demand for new homes will finally start to rise again. According to the Urban Land Institute, single-family housing starts should jump from 428,600 in 2011 to an estimated 800,000 in 2014.

Even more encouraging for home sellers is this prediction: The Urban Land Institute says that home prices may start to rise again in 2013. And three years after that, the institute predicts, housing prices will have risen by 3.5 percent.

However, the Urban Land Institute report is not completely positive. Researchers with the institute say that consumers should not expect a housing recovery that in any way resembles the residential housing boom, when the country saw soaring home prices. The coming recovery will be a more modest one. But, the researchers predict, it will also be a steadier one.

The recovery will also not be universal. Researchers predicted that certain markets that were particularly hit hard, places like Las Vegas and parts of South Florida, will trail behind healthier areas for many more years when it comes to housing prices.

Even with the caution thrown in, critics have complained that the Urban Land Institute report is too optimistic. The Wall Street Journal story quotes Kenneth Rosen, chairman of California’s Rosen Consulting Group, as saying that it stretches belief to imagine that new single-family home starts will nearly double by 2014.

Who’s right? I’d love to say that the folks at the Urban Land Institute are in the right. But it’s far too early to say. I’ve learned that today’s housing market is one of ups and downs. We’ll just have to wait to see if home prices actually do start to rise in 2013.

According to a recent feature story by the Reuters news wire, a growing number of U.S. residents are choosing to retire closer to their homes than they had in the past. The story cites Chicago as one city that is now attracting a greater number of retirees.

This is a change from the traditional thinking regarding retirees. It used to be that when people moved after retirement they traveled to warm-weather cities in Arizona and Florida.

Today, though, retirees are more often choosing to retire in smaller homes or condominiums near where they spent much of their lives. The Reuters story cites several reasons for this: Retirees often want to remain near their chidren and grandchildren. Others want to remain active with their local churches and community organizations. Others simply have become a part of their community and don’t want to leave it behind, even for the promise of warmer temperatures.

Economic factors are also making cities such as Chicago attractive places for retirement. Many retirees purchased their homes long enough ago that they’ll still make a substantial profit, even in today’s challenging housing market, when they sell their properties. And because housing prices in Chicago and its suburbs are down from their peaks in 2006, these retirees when downsizing can afford nice residences in prime locations.

And by staying in a city like Chicago, retirees can take advantage of the eclectic restaurants, shopping districts and entertainment that a large metro area like ours offers.

I’ve always said that Chicago is one of the best places in the country to live. This new report from Reuters provides me with just one more piece of evidence. If retirees are choosing to live here, despite the (usually) bone-chilling winters, you know that Chicago’s a special place.

But there is good news, too. And sometimes it’s too easy to overlook it.

For instance, Site Selection Magazine recently brought some good news to anyone who wants to see Illinois and Chicago shake their way out of their economic doldrums. According to the magazine, Chicago ranked second among metropolitan areas and Illinois seventh among states in the number of new and expanded corporate facilities that they saw in 2011.

This is good news. When new corporations come to the state or city, or when existing ones significantly expand their current facilities, that pumps new dollars into the local economy. And that’s one of the keys to putting people back to work.

It’s obvious how this helps the Chicago and state housing markets. When the economy is stronger and more people are working, residents are more likely to make the significant investment involved in purchasing a home. If you’re trying to sell a Chicago home, then — or even if you’re thinking of putting your home on the market in the next couple of years — you should be thrilled with Site Selection’s Chicago and Illinois rankings.

I’ve long maintained that Chicago offers a lot to corporations seeking new homes. We boast a great location near the center of the country, and we’re supported by a strong transportation system of rail and roads. At the same time, employees will enjoy living in Chicago. The city offers a great mix of restaurants, shops, theaters, parks and night life. And the housing stock here is strong, with corporate employees able to find everything from luxury mansions to quaint Chicago bungalows.

So next time the news of a convicted Chicago alderman gets you down, think back to Site Selection’s sky-high ranking of Chicago. our city is still strong, even in this current economic downturn. That’s good news for home sellers across the region.

You’d think that this combination would sour Illinois residents on the benefits of owning a home. Surprisingly, though, the latest survey by the Illinois Association of REALTORS® shows that state residents still believe that owning a home is an important part of the American dream.

According to the survey of Illinois residents, 75 percent of respondents said that buying a home remains a sounder long-term financial investment than does sinking their money in the stock market.

The survey, of 600 homeowners and renters in the state, also found that 54 percent of respondents said that banks should enact stricter requirements for passing out mortgage dollars. A total of 55 percent of respondents said that the government should make assistance available to help prevent homeowners from losing their residences. Finally, 61 percent of respondents said that owning a home is a better value than renting an apartment.

The poll did find, though, that Illinois residents are realistic about the state of the housing market in Chicago and the rest of the state. A total of 34 percent of respondents said that they thought housing prices would increase a lot or a little in the next five years, while 41 percent said they thought prices would remain the same during this period. An additional 19 percent said that they thought home prices would fall a little or a lot in the next five years.

The survey results offer more evidence that owning a home remains an important goal of most local residents. After all, if the REALTORS® poll shows support for housing that is this strong in such a challenging economy, imagine how many respondents would identify housing as an important financial step if the economy was strong.

And I don’t blame them. Despite the real estate slump — and despite the fact that the value of Chicago’s condominiums and single-family homes fell again last year — Chicago remains a strong housing market.

Just ask Antheus Capital. The Chicago Tribune recently ran a story on this developer’s efforts to purchase rental properties in Chicago’s Hyde Park and Kenwood neighborhoods.

According to the story, Antheus purchased a single apartment building in this area back in 2002. Since then, the developer has purchased 89 apartment buildings in Kenwood and Hyde Park. These buildings hold 4,500 units. This means that Antheus owns just under 20 percent of the rentals in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood.

This is good news for the developer. Despite the Chicago housing market’s slowdown, Hyde Park remains a desirable city neighborhood. It’s located close to public transportation. It boasts walkable streets lined with restaurants, shops and entertainment options. And the prestigious University of Chicago anchors the neighborhood.

You could consider Hyde Park a microcosm of several top Chicago neighborhoods, places like Lincoln Park, Lincoln Square and Lakeview. These neighborhoods remain in demand by buyers and renters alike thanks to their thriving nightlife districts, eclectic mix of restaurants and local shopping options. In short, these neighborhoods are vibrant, fun places in which to live.

That also explains why I have high hopes for the long-term vitality of Chicago’s housing markets. Yes, even the top neighborhoods in the city have seen housing values fall since the residential crash. But these neighborhoods have so much going for them, it’s difficult not to picture them remaining as prime destinations for future home buyers.

Antheus Capital is wise to make such a large investment in Hyde Park. Good neighborhoods are treasures, and the neighborhoods of Chicago make our city one of the top metro areas in the country.

That’s the news from a recent story in the Chicago Tribune.

The Tribune reported on the much-followed Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index, an index that in November showed housing prices in the Chicago area falling 3.4 percent from the previous month. Chicago housing prices were also down 5.9 percent from a year earlier, the Tribune reported.

Chicago’s drop in housing prices was steeper than those suffered by each of the nation’s largest 20 housing markets save for Atlanta, Seattle, Tampa and Las Vegas, according to the Tribune story.

The Tribune quoted a source from Zillow who said that the problem in the Chicago area is a fundamental one: The supply of homes available in the region far exceeds the demand for these residences.

Until this changes, housing prices will not rise.

High unemployment — though unemployment has been falling — is another issue that negatively impacts home sales. People simply won’t invest in homes if they fear that they might lose their jobs. And when people aren’t buying, the housing supply remains high, forcing prices down.

This is frustrating for home sellers, especially those who bought during the Chicago housing boom, when prices hit their heights. These sellers can expect to sell their residences for less than what they paid for them.

My advice to sellers is simple: They need to price their homes according to what the market says their residences are worth. Buyers today don’t care what sellers paid for their homes four years ago. They only care about what similar homes are selling for today.