University of Iowa Campus - Pictures Downtown Iowa City - 08/31/10 02:23 PM
Last week was the first full week of classes at the University of Iowa. This is a college town and as anyone will know who lives in a college town, the students bring an atmosphere that you just don't get anywhere else. On the day I took these photos I was lucky enough to be invited to lunch at the Masala, a vegetarian Indian restaurant downtown and thought since I was right there in the thick of things I'd take a walk and soak up the atmosphere. The weather was perfect and I think what struck me most is how green … (5 comments)

Weekly Real Estate Market Update North Liberty IA August 30, 2010 - Number of Homes Sold, Average Price and Days on Market - 08/30/10 01:55 PM

 

202 Active Listings28 Homes Under Contract3 Homes Sold August 23 - August 28, 2010
The North Liberty real estate market remains stronger than Iowa City and Coralville. The absorption rate is at 4.7 months. (This is the time it takes for the market to "absorb" homes). That's an average or 144 days on market. The fact that we have a price driven market means that there are still great opportunities if you are buying a home in North Liberty. Couple that with the extremely low interest rates - 4.25% for a 30 year fixed rate loan -  it's … (0 comments)

Weekly Real Estate Market Update Coralville IA August 30, 2010 - Number of Homes Sold, Average Price and Days on Market - 08/30/10 01:47 PM

 
228 Active Listings17 Homes Under Contract2 Homes Sold August 23 - August 30, 2010
Highest number of days on market: 156 daysLowest number of days on market: 7 daysThe Coralville real estate market is continues to be pretty slow. We still have the winning combination of more homes than buyers in the market place + historically low interest rates. In fact they're lower than ever - 4.25% for a 30 year fixed rate loan! As I've said before, beats me why the market isn't a total frenzy with such lucrative times for buyers. If you're still on the fence … (0 comments)

Weekly Real Estate Market Update Iowa City August 30, 2010 - Number of Homes Sold, Average Price and Days on Market - 08/30/10 01:38 PM

 
 
557 Active Listings41 Homes Under Contract3 Homes Sold August 23 - August 28, 2010
 
Highest number of days on market: 114 daysLowest number of days on market: 41 daysThe Iowa City real estate market is continues to be pretty slow. We still have the winning combination of lots more homes than buyers in the market place + historically low interest rates. In fact they're lower than ever - 4.25% for a 30 year fixed rate loan! As I've said before, beats me why the market isn't a total frenzy with such lucrative times for buyers. If you're … (0 comments)

Another Fun Weekend in Downtown Iowa City - Landlocked Film Festival 2010 - 08/28/10 12:19 PM
The Landlocked Film Festival continues today with with a day jam packed full of choices for independent film fans. This year there are more than 80 films by independent film makers being shown at five locations - The Sheraton Hotel,The Englert Theatre, Iowa City Public Library, Bijou Theatre, (in the IMU Building) and HotelVetro. The majority of the showings are free, with a low $5 admission for a few of the full length feature films. In addition to the films there's also the opportunity to visit workshops and film maker panels. You can find more info about that at the Landlocked … (0 comments)

Landlocked Film Festival 2010 - Schedule + Venues Friday August 27, 2010 - 08/27/10 09:21 AM
After Sand in the City Weekend last weekend it's only fitting that we highlight the fact that we are in fact landlocked here in Iowa City... This week it's something entirely different. This week we're taking it inside as Iowa City hosts its 4th annual film festival - Landlocked Film Festival 2010. This year there are more than 80 films by independent film makers being shown at five locations - The Sheraton Hotel, The Englert Theatre, Iowa City Public Library, Bijou Theatre, (in the IMU Building) and HotelVetro. The majority of the showings are free, with a low $5 admission for … (2 comments)

A Fun Weekend in Iowa City - Impressions of Sand in the City 2010 - 08/23/10 02:13 PM
Rain did not wash all the sand sculptures away on Friday. Resourceful Iowans managed to save their exhibits and the weekend continued without further ado at this year's Sand in the City event. I headed over yesterday afternoon, enjoyed some really excellent singing with the all male capella, Intersection. (I'm Welsh, that makes me a sucker for an all male choir - it's in the genes). Right after that I took some snaps of the wonderful exhibits from the Sand Sculpting Competition. Click here if you'd like to see the full-screen version of this slide show over at Picasa.
… (6 comments)

Weekly Market Update North Liberty August 23, 2010 - Number of Homes Sold, Average Price and Days on Market - 08/23/10 10:45 AM

 
211 Active Listings23 Homes Under Contract9 Homes Sold August 16 - August 21, 2010
Highest number of days on market: 155 Lowest number of days on market: 28 The North Liberty real estate market remains stronger than Iowa City and Coralville. The absorption rate is at 4.8 months. (This is the time it takes for the market to "absorb" homes). That's an average or 144 days on market. The fact that we have a price driven market means that there are still great opportunities if you are buying a home in North Liberty. Couple that with the extremely … (0 comments)

Weekly Market Update Coralville August 23, 2010 - Number of Homes Sold, Average Price and Days on Market - 08/23/10 10:40 AM

 
231 Active Listings16 Homes Under Contract5 Homes Sold August 16 - August 21, 2010
Highest number of days on market: 179 daysLowest number of days on market: 36 days The Coralville real estate market is continues to be pretty slow. We still have the winning combination of more homes than buyers in the market place + historically low interest rates. In fact they're lower than ever - 4.25% for a 30 year fixed rate loan! Beats me why the market isn't a total frenzy with such lucrative times for buyers. I guess we just wait and see what Fall … (0 comments)

Weekly Market Update Iowa City August 23, 2010 - Number of Homes Sold, Average Price and Days on Market - 08/23/10 10:33 AM

 
563 Active Listings38 Homes Under Contract9 Homes Sold August 16 - August 21, 2010
Highest number of days on market: 140 daysLowest number of days on market: 36 days The Iowa City real estate market is continues to be pretty slow. We still have the winning combination of more homes than buyers in the market place + historically low interest rates. In fact they're lower than ever - 4.25% for a 30 year fixed rate loan! Beats me why the market isn't a total frenzy with such lucrative times for buyers. I guess we just wait and see … (0 comments)

Sand in the City 2010 - Pictures Before the Rain Came... - 08/21/10 01:12 PM
Sand in the City is part of the Iowa City Summer of the Arts Program. It kicked off on Friday with the sculpting competition and continues through the weekend with fun events and live music - Topped off with great food on Culinary Row. In case you're thinking of heading down there, it's not at the Ped Mall where you might expect it to be. It's at Iowa Ave, in front of the Old Capitol. (The road is closed down as far as Linn St).
I was there yesterday to check out the sculpting competition. As is typical in Iowa … (3 comments)

Summer Fun Downtown Iowa City - Sand in the City Weekend 2010 - 08/20/10 09:12 AM
The Summer of the Arts Program kicks it up a notch this weekend with 3 full days of great family fun with Bank of the West's Sand In the City. The fun starts on Friday morning at 9 a.m. when ten teams begin building their sand sculptures along Iowa Ave, Iowa City for the sand sculpting competition. Judging is at 4.00pm. Fingers crossed it stays dry...Don't think for a second the fun stops there though. That's just the beginning. There's also the Kid's Sand Pit, and FUN Zone, Artist Booths and live music on the Iowa City Saab Main Stage. And … (2 comments)

Weekly Market Update North Liberty, IA August 16, 2010 - Number of Homes Sold, Average Price & Days on Market - 08/16/10 12:21 PM
Weekly Market Update North Liberty, IA August 16, 2010 - Number of Homes Sold, Average Price & Days on Market.

 
215 Active Listings29 Homes Under Contract0 Homes Sold August 9 - August 14, 2010 Zero homes sold in North Liberty last week. This is a first for me since starting my weekly reports for the area. It could change in the next day or so as agents enter more information on home sales into the MLS system. If that happens I will update this report. Despite the lack of closings last week, North Liberty still has the fastest turnover … (0 comments)

Weekly Market Update Coralville, IA August 16, 2010 - Number of Homes Sold, Average Price & Days on Market - 08/16/10 12:11 PM
Weekly Market Update Coralville, IA August 16, 2010 - Number of Homes Sold, Average Price & Days on Market.

 
237 Active Listings21 Homes Under Contract5 Homes Sold August 9 - August 14, 2010
Highest number of days on market: 171 daysLowest number of days on market: 71 days The market continues to offer great opportunities for buyers.  We still have the winning combination of more homes than buyers in the market place + historically low interest rates, in fact they're lower than ever. For sellers it's a different story. We have a price driven market and buyers are looking … (0 comments)

Weekly Market Update Iowa City August 16, 2010 - Number of Homes Sold, Average Price & Days on Market - 08/16/10 12:02 PM
Weekly Market Update Iowa City August 16, 2010 - Number of Homes Sold, Average Price & Days on Market

 
 
569 Active Listings34 Homes Under Contract12 Homes Sold August 9 - August 14, 2010
Highest number of days on market: 182 daysLowest number of days on market: 20 daysIf you need to sell your home and would like me to prepare a CMA (Current Market Analysis) please call me anytime at 319-400-0268 or click here to send me your contact details.For a complete list of homes for sale in Iowa City just send me an email letting me know … (0 comments)

Weekly Real Estate Market Update North Liberty August 9, 2010: Homes Sold, Homes Under Contract & Active Listings - 08/13/10 10:02 PM
Weekly market upate North Liberty, Iowa: Number of homes sold, homes under contract and active listings August 9, 2010
 

 
217 Active Listings24 Homes Under Contract8 Homes Sold August 2 - August 9, 2010 When it comes to calculating the days on market I use a simple method to calculate the absorption rate/days on market that doesn't manipulate the data. According to that calculation we have 5 months of inventory on the market, that's 151 days on market. July has been slow in the area and the absorption rate has slipped a bit in North Liberty compared to recent … (2 comments)

New Movies & Things to Do in Iowa City and Coralville this Weekend - 08/13/10 12:34 PM
Lots of choices when it comes to new movies this week. Just the ticket considering the extremely hot and humid weather we're having in Iowa City this week. What better place to seek refuge than a nice cool air conditioned movie theater? You can check out the schedule for movies at the Coral Ridge Movie Theatre in Coralville and the Sycamore Cinema in Iowa City Three new movies to tell you about - And all aimed at different demographics.  The Expendables is chock a block with stars - Rocky Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li and Mickey Rourke just to name a … (0 comments)

Needs & Wants List - An Easy Way to Cut Down on the Legwork When You're Buying a Home in Iowa City - 08/12/10 01:23 PM
We have lots of homes on the market in the Iowa City area at the moment. You want to find the best one for you. How exactly do you do that without trudging through ALL the homes currently listed? I know, right now it seems like a daunting task, after all, you don't want to miss anything do you? Well, right there is where the fallacy lies. You don't need to see ALL the homes on the market in Iowa City to find the right one for you. If you make some important decisions up front you can start the elimination … (3 comments)

Weekly Real Estate Market Update Coralville August 9, 2010: Homes Sold, Homes Under Contract & Active Listings - 08/09/10 12:33 PM
Weekly Market Update Coralville: Number of homes sold, homes under contract and active listings August 9, 2010
 

 
 
247 Active Listings21 Homes Under Contract7 Homes Sold August 2 - August 9, 2010 I use a simple method to calculate the absorption rate/days on market that doesn't manipulate the data. According to that calculation we have 9.4 months of inventory on the market, that's 286 days on market. A few months ago we had 11 months of inventory, at the moment it's holding steady around 9 months. It's heading the right way. We just need some time to work … (0 comments)

Weekly Real Estate Market Update Iowa City August 9, 2010: Homes Sold, Homes Under Contract & Active Listings - 08/09/10 12:22 PM
Weekly market update Iowa City: Number of homes sold, homes under contract and active listings August 9, 2010
 

 
 
 
572 Active Listings33 Homes Under Contract23 Homes Sold August 2 - August 7, 2010 When it comes to calculating the days on market I use a simple method to calculate the absorption rate/days on market that doesn't manipulate the data. According to that calculation we have 8.0 months of inventory on the market, that's 243 days on market. MLS data puts it at less. No matter how you slice and dice it, we still have many more homes … (0 comments)

Hanging Out At The Ped Mall, Downtown Iowa City - 08/07/10 10:38 PM
This is what you see if you're hanging out at the Ped Mall in Iowa City... Browsing fine Art and reading books. Two of my favorite pastimes right there! And you can never get enough of kids having fun. An average day in a college town. You've got to love it!
… (3 comments)

HooverFest: The Biggest Event of the Year in West Branch is Better than Ever! - 08/06/10 12:44 PM
We're heading for the weekend again and I have another Fest to share with you. HooverFest in West Branch. Yes, it's true, we have one celebration after another in the Iowa City area at this time of year. We just finished celebrating the Johnson County Fair. Just around the corner is The Iowa State Fair in Des Moines and right now I am going to tell you about HooverFest. West Branch is home of the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site and the whole town comes alive for HooverFest. When? This Saturday, August 7, 2010 - They are saluting Firefighters and First … (0 comments)

New Movies & Things to Do in Iowa City and Coralville this Weekend - 08/06/10 12:20 PM
It's Friday and time to look at new movies this weekend in Iowa City and Coralville. There's been so much going on to write about that I'm having trouble keeping up and missed a couple of weeks - I was starting to get withdrawal symptoms and needed to check my sources to see what I've been missing! It seems Inception is the movie of the year, if not the decade. Still haven't managed to see it myself, but it's definitely on my "to do" list. You can check out the schedule for movies at the Coral Ridge Movie Theatre in Coralville … (0 comments)

Fun & Free: Music in the Park - Morrison Park, Coralville August 5, 2010 - 08/05/10 10:55 AM
Music in the Park today in Coralville. Where? Morrison Park. When? 6.30pm - 8.00pm. The weather looks like it's going to play ball. We aren't exactly having our best summer ever... Today by way of a change they're forecasting sunshine. All the more reason to enjoy this break in the wet weather, bring along your chairs and hang out at Morrison Park and enjoy some good local music with Jeffrey Morgan and Friends. Best of all, this event is free, plus there's plenty of free parking too. As it's a Thursday it's Farmer's market day, plus Hyvee will be sure to … (3 comments)

North Liberty Real Estate Market Report July 2010 Compared to July 2009 - 08/04/10 05:08 PM
North Liberty Real Estate Market Report July 2010 Compared to July 2009
51 homes sold in North Liberty in July 2010 compared to 130 homes sold in July 2009. Not exactly encouraging numbers of course. Not that surprising though either considering the expiration of the homebuyer tax credit at the end of June.  51 homes sold in North Liberty in July 2010 compared to 130  homes sold in July 2009. Not exactly encouraging numbers of course. Not that surprising though either considering the expiration of the homebuyer tax credit at the end of June. If you've been following my market reports … (0 comments)

Coralville Real Estate Market Report July 2010 Compared to July 2009 - 08/04/10 02:53 PM
Coralville Real Estate Market Report July 2010 Compared to July 2009

26 homes sold in Coralville in July 2010 compared to 60 homes sold in July 2009. Not a huge surprise to see this dip in home sales after the expiration of the homebuyer tax credit at the end of June. Let's hope it was just a glitch and we see some stronger sales in August.
As far as the days on market are concerned.  I use a simple method to calculate the absorption rate/days on market that doesn't manipulate the data. According to that calculation we have 9.4 months … (0 comments)

Iowa City Real Estate Market Report July 2010 Compared to July 2009 - 08/04/10 10:48 AM
Iowa City Real Estate Market Report July 2010 compared to June 2009
 

 
68 homes sold in Iowa City in July 2010 compared to 174 homes sold in July 2009. Quite the dip as you can see. It won't come as a surprise to you to learn that the expiration of the first time homebuyer tax credit had a significant impact on our market. The surprise would have been if that had not happened! Hopefully it levels out a bit now though and the numbers improve in August.
As far as the days on market are concerned. I … (0 comments)

Weekly Market Update North Liberty August 2, 2010: Homes Sold, Under Contract & Active Listings - 08/02/10 12:14 PM
Weekly real estate market update North Liberty Iowa August 2, 2010. Homes sold, homes under contract and active listings.

 
217 Active Listings26 Homes Under Contract7 Homes Sold July 26 - July 31, 2010When it comes to calculating the days on market I use a simple method to calculate the absorption rate/days on market that doesn't manipulate the data. According to that calculation we have 5 months of inventory on the market, that's 151 days on market. July has been slow in the area and the absorption rate has slipped a bit in North Liberty compared to recent weeks. What … (2 comments)

Weekly Market Update Coralville August 2, 2010: Homes Sold, Homes Under Contract & Current Listings - 08/02/10 12:05 PM
Weekly real estate market update Coralville, Iowa August 2, 2010: Homes sold, homes under contract and current listings.

 
 
251 Active Listings27 Homes Under Contract3 Homes Sold July 26 - July 31, 2010I use a simple method to calculate the absorption rate/days on market that doesn't manipulate the data. According to that calculation we have 9.6 months of inventory on the market, that's 292 days on market. It's going to take us a while to work through all the homes on market in Coralville so we probably won't see any major changes for a while.So what does all this … (0 comments)

Weekly Market Update Iowa City August 2, 2010: Homes Sold, Homes Under Contract & Current Listings - 08/02/10 11:48 AM
Weekly real estate market update Iowa City August 2, 2010. Homes sold, homes under contract and current listings.

 
585 Active Listings53 Homes Under Contract13 Homes Sold July 26 - July 31, 2010No big fluctuations on the week to week numbers at the moment. When it comes to calculating the days on market I use a simple method to calculate the absorption rate/days on market that doesn't manipulate the data. According to that calculation we have 8.2 months of inventory on the market, that's 248 days on market. MLS data puts it at less. Fact is though that we have … (0 comments)

Anime Iowa 2010: Cosplay means lots of hugs in the real world - 08/01/10 04:22 PM
Made it to the Marriott to take some cool photos of Anime 2010 and got a bit more insight into the world of Anime - Japanese animation. I have a curious mind and it was a lot of fun learning about something that I didn't have the first clue about just two days ago.Turns out these young people are used to being accosted in the street and were happy to pose for photos. They were open and friendly and Mitch and Holly even filled me in on some background info on the Anime Conventions and the costume Holly was wearing. She's … (8 comments)