Mortgage applications at lowest level in two decades

Check out the story from CNBC.

Mortgage applications to buy a home fell last week to the lowest level in nearly two decades, according to a weekly survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association.
The report is a clear sign of weakness in buyer demand heading into the usually busy spring housing season.
"Purchase applications were little changed on an unadjusted basis last week, but this is the time of a year we would expect a significant pickup in purchase activity, and we are not yet seeing it," said Mike Fratantoni, the association's chief economist.

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Existing Home Sales Down

Bad news from the housing market.

Economists in a consensus survey expected existing home sales to fall in January by 3.5 percent to 4.7 million, compared to the prior month's level of 4.87 million and growth rate of 1 percent

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Apartment deal of the day – a month free in the Fulton River District

Check out the deal at Yo Chicago

Echelon at K Station is a full-amenity luxury high-rise at 353 N Desplaines in the Fulton River District.
Echelon is currently offering a limited-time winter deal: renters who commit to renting within 24 hours of the time they tour the building can choose a month’s free rent or 12 months of free parking.

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January home sales slumped, prices rose in Chicago metro

Here's the story from Yo Chicago

Compared to the results for January 2013, the median sales price of all attached and detached homes rose 18 percent last month to $165,000, while the number of homes changing hands dipped 8 percent to 5,709 units.
The average number of days those homes sold in January spent on the market before going under contract was 107, or 35 days less than a year earlier. Meanwhile, the inventory of homes listed for sale continued to tighten, falling to 28,774 at the end of January. That is down 1 percent from the prior month and 16 percent from January 2013. The RE/MAX analysis is based on home-sale data gathered by MRED LLC, the regional multiple listing service

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Lenders repossessed fewer US homes in January

Check out the full story here. 

  Lenders repossessed fewer U.S. homes in January, bringing the number of completed foreclosures down to the lowest level in more than six years.
Even so, many states posted sharp increases in the number of homes entering the foreclosure process for the first time, a trend that raises the likelihood that those states will see a surge in foreclosed homes later this year.

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What Chicago Neighborhoods Have the Highest – and Lowest – Vacancy Rates?

Check out the full details from Chicago Realtor Magazine.

It’s no mystery that when it comes to home sales, home prices and foreclosure rates, Chicago is very much a tale of two cities, but the Institute of Housing Studies at DePaul has uncovered another fascinating nuance to one of the nation’s largest housing markets – long-term vacancy rate.
In its analysis of Chicago’s 77 neighborhoods through 2013′s third quarter, the Institute looked into what percentage of residential properties have been vacant for at least 24 months. What did they uncover? See our graphic below to find out:

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Tour of Flats in Lake View

Chicago out flats in Lake View, the Chicago neighborhood which includes Wrigley Field. Find the article here. 

Gold Coast Real Estate

Check out this video from Yo Chicago