Applications for mortgages–both for new homes and refinancing–at big U.S. banks dipped 3.9% last week compared with the previous week. The applications were down 1.6% year-over-year.

ARMS made up only 24.5% of last week’s applications, their smallest percentage in three years. The average interest rate for ARMs slipped from 5.88% to 5.87%.

Applications for loans to buy a home rose 1.3% over the last week, but are down roughly 14.6% from last year. Applications for loans to refinance existing loans sank 9.6% in the past week, but are up about 18% from the previous year.

[tags]real estate, real estate market, mortgages, home loans, ARMs, refinance, refinancing[/tags]

The biggest drop in existing home prices ever recorded was posted in October, at the end of a three-month slump. The National Association of Realtors said Tuesday that it expects weakness in pricing to drag on into next year.

The previous record drop was a 2.1 percent decline in November 1990, the real estate group said.

Condo prices have fallen even more steeply and steadily. They fell 5.3 percent in October, the fifth straight year-over-year decline. The median condo price is now down 7.5 percent from the high reached in June 2005.

The weakness in home prices probably won’t disappear soon, according to Realtors spokesman Walter Molony. “We do expect we’ll see prices stay below year-ago levels through the end of this year, and pick up in the first quarter of 2007,” he said.

The drop in prices illustrates a sharp change in the market. Median home prices peaked at a record high $230,000 just last July. Last year, existing home sale prices were 16.8 percent above October 2004 levels–the fourth-largest year-over-year increase in prices the NAR had ever recorded.

“Certainly the astronomical price appreciation seen over the last few years is a thing of the past,” said Wachovia economist Phillip Neuhart. “Much of the decline in median prices over the last few months can be attributed to the changing mix of homes sold as cautious buyers, seeing a weakening housing market, are less likely to buy up into a more expensive home.”

The huge increases in home prices a year ago caused a new-construction monsoon, flooding the market with new homes and leading in part to the current downturn, despite historically low mortgage rates and low unemployment, two conditions that normally build further price appreciation.

Not only did developers build homes in record numbers last year, but many were bought by speculators looking for quick profits, rather than places to live. Those buyers are now looking to sell the homes.

The existing home sales report comes the day before the government reading on new home sales, which showed a 9.7 percent year-over-year drop in median new home prices in the September report.

Many major builders, including Pulte Home, Centex, D.R. Horton, Lennar, KB Home and Toll Brothers have seen sales and earnings plummet as a result of the housing slowdown, and are warning that the housing market hasn’t bottomed out . . . yet.

Still, last year’s strong price gains have left most buyers who stayed in their homes for a year or more with more valuable homes, even allowing for recent declines in prices.

[tags]Chicago Real Estate market, Chicago Condos, Chicago Home prices[/tags]

@ 7:30 p.m. at the East Bank Club, 500 N. Kingsbury, for 17 condominiums located at Huron Street Lofts in River North.  Open houses will be held on November 29th from 5-7 p.m., and December 3rd from Noon-2 p.m.  They’re 1 & 2 bedroom condo lofts that feature timber construction and original exposed brick walls.  There’s also a building sundeck. These loft condos were previously priced at $389,000, but are going to go on absolute auction, which means that there is no reserve price – these could go really cheap, but the suggested opening bid is $125,000.  Rick Levin & Associates, Inc. will be leading the auction.

[tags]Chicago condos, Chicago loft condos, Chicago real estate auction[/tags]

It’s not exactly what I’ve been hearing on TV, radio, or in the newspaper, but…

“There’s a huge condo market with a lot of opportunity, we’re still seeing the market as very strong,” says Jim McLean, Executive Vice President of Tishman Construction Co., which is planning to finish construction on the $28M Park View East soon.  The 140-unit condominium project is located in Lakeview at 828 W. Grace Street, and includes over 4,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor, which used to be a building that housed the community-favorite Marigold Bowl.  Most of the units in the building include spacious balconies, and all have red oak hardwood flooring.  Unit prices vary from around $300,000 for “typical units” to $340,000 for “premier units”, most of which have already been sold.  None of the penthouse units are available.

[tags]Chicago condos, Park View East, Lakeview[/tags]

Slated to begin construction in 2007, with completion scheduled for 2010, the pre-construction condominium Park Michigan will be the tallest building in Chicago south of Van Buren, and the 10th tallest in all of Chicago, at 80 stories. It will be located on a 8,000 sq. ft. lot at 830 S. Michigan Avenue.

This hi-rise condo will feature 376 one- to four-bedroom condo units ranging from 700 to 3,000 square feet. Amenities include landscaped decks, green roofs, indoor and outdoor pools, a fitness center, 470 parking spaces and an illuminated crown that will be clearly visible in the South Loop skyline. The developer of this condo, Renaissant, has also built projects such as the 253-unit Vision on State St. and the complex at 1000. S. Michigan Avenue.

[tags]Chicago Condos, Hi-rise Condos, Park Michigan[/tags]

John Vanderslice, CEO of Miraval Resorts, wants to introduce you to a new type of living – in fact, a new type of condo.

Its unofficial name is the Spadominium. Its official name is Miraval Living, and it’s slated to be located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in early 2008. These condos are more than just living spaces; according to the project’s website, they’re New York City’s first “inspired living experience.” Residents can choose to participate in a myriad of wellness classes and activities, as well as enjoy the comfort of a full-blown spa down the hallway from their condominium unit.  According to Vanderslice, 10 to 15 more of these projects are in the planning stages for other cities accross the country, including Chicago.

According to the San Fransisco Chronicle, “Miraval Living is notable for the intensity — one might call it invasiveness — of its concept. Staff advisers will design a custom regimen for each new resident, drawing from hundreds of in-house services that include things like sessions with Dr. Lana L. Holstein, a sex therapist, and the chance to experience the Quantum Leap, a tethered, sometimes blindfolded jump from a tiny platform affixed to the top of a telephone pole.”

This appears to be the next step in condo marketing – combining comfort with wellness, something very popular with America’s aging baby-boom population.  Think of Miraval Living as the condo equivalent of Whole Foods.  Miraval’s primary competitor, Canyon Ranch, plans on opening a spadominium in Chicago in 2010.  The waiting list is already 600 people deep.
[tags]Chicago condos, Spadominium, Miraval Living[/tags]

Marketing for the new 12-story, 56-unit condo complex will begin late this month, and construction is slated for early to mid next year.  An apartment building that is currently on the site at 419-27 W. Belmont Avenue and 3170-77 N. Hudson Avenue will be demolished to make room for the new project.

The new luxury condos will range from 810 to 1,450 sq. ft. and will consist of 10 one-bedroom, 34 two-bedroom and 12 three-bedroom units.  Prices will proabably be around $500 a square foot.  A 62-spot car garage will be located on the ground floor.

The development entity Belmont Hudson LLC expects the units to sell fast, given the location on quaint Hudson street in Lakeview, near Belmont Harbor.  Originally, the building was supposed to be constructed out of stone, but due to community restraints the builders decided to make it brick – which will better match the surrounding real estate.

[tags]Chicago Condos, Lakeview Condos, Luxury Condos, Pre-Construction Condos[/tags]