A First Look at Home Sales in October in Iowa City - 10/31/11 08:18 PM
It's Monday and the last day of the month - An excellent opportunity to take a first look at home sales in Iowa City for the month of October. At the beginning of the month it didn't look like we were going to break any records for the month. I'm happy to say that changed and as of 5.30pm today 58 homes sold in Iowa City in October 2011. Only one of the houses on that list closed today so it's pretty clear that we can expect that number to go up in the coming days as the last day of the … (0 comments)

A Beautiful Fall Day in the North Ridge Neighborhood in Coralville Iowa - 10/31/11 07:54 PM
The North Ridge Neighborhood unsurprisingly borders on North Ridge Park. It's North of I-80 and on the North West side of Coralville. We're having beautiful Autumn weather in Iowa this year and last week I took a trip out to my favorite park in Coralville to take some photos of the park and the surrounding neighborhood with the wonderful Fall colors. The North Ridge Neighborhood is close to the University of Iowa Oakdale Campus to the north and Coral Ridge Mall to the south. It's also just minutes away from exit/entrance 240 for I-80. I've helped several clients buy homes in … (0 comments)

Closing Costs? How Much Can You Expect to Pay When You Buy a House in Iowa City? - 10/28/11 10:05 PM
This was a question I was asked several times this summer by folks relocating to Iowa City. I've had a busy year and been asked a lot of questions. Now seems the perfect time to start a series where I answer some of them. First of all let's clarify what closing costs are. Closing costs are the fees and expenses incurred over and above the purchase price of a house. Think of them as the price of doing business. A lot of things happen behind the scenes between the time an offer is accepted and closing. If you're obtaining financing to purchase … (3 comments)

Housing Trends in Coralville: Home Sales & Prices January - September 2011 - 10/27/11 07:27 PM
With September behind us it's been a great month to take a look at the first three quarters of the year to figure out what's going on in the real estate market in our area. Last week I looked at Iowa City. Today I'm looking at Coralville. I put together two graphs to show home sales and prices for both 2011 and 2010. And if you're wondering why I didn't put all the data in one graph, I tried that and it was nothing but confusing so I split it up into 2 again. If you have trouble reading the data on … (0 comments)

The Rocky Horror Show in Coralville and Iowa City This Weekend - 10/27/11 07:18 PM
The Rocky Horror Show is a Halloween favorite. This weekend you can choose to see the freaked out musical performed at the CCPA in Coralville or go the more standard route and take in the cult movie at the Englert or the Bijou Theatre in Iowa City. (Although I'm not sure the word standard has any place in a blog post about the Rocky Horror Show).
First let's look at the CCPA. They opened just a few months ago and have already become a "go to" venue in Coralville. This week as we head towards Halloween weekend theCity Circle Acting Company has 5 performances … (2 comments)

Popo's Puppet Festival at the ICPL Saturday October 29, 2011 - 10/26/11 10:12 PM
Annual Puppet Festival Saturday October 29, 2011 10.15am - 1.15pm at the Iowa City Public Library There's so much going on this Halloween weekend it's hard to choose what to write about! As it happens I'm a sucker when it comes to puppet shows so this one was a no brainer for me. Some of my favorite memories involve watching my two boys enraptured faces as they watched puppet shows in Germany. They're pretty popular over there and we went to A LOT of them.
Popo's Puppet Festival is this Saturday in Meeting Room A at the ICPL Here's a full schedule … (0 comments)

Things to do After Dark in Iowa City Halloween Weekend 2011 - 10/26/11 10:00 PM
Halloween Weekend is coming up. Here are links to some of the popular venues in downtown Iowa City for live entertainment and good food... With a couple of them vying for the position of pulling the best draft beer in town. I'm a Guiness gal myself. (Which I'm guessing won't come as a surprise to anyone reading this who knows anything about me).
The Mill has its annual Halloween Cover Show at 9.00pm Friday October 28. The idea is that local bands play music from great bands of the past. On Saturday October 29 Wyle Nept will be playing original Celtic pub tunes.
The Blue Moose Tap House has a … (0 comments)

Annual Halloween Parade & Carnival Iowa City October 28, 2011 - 10/25/11 09:09 PM
Halloween Parade and Carnival, Iowa City, October 28, 2011 - 6.00pm - 8.00pm
It's everyone's favorite time of the year again. Children and their parents and caregivers can get ready for a fun time organized by the Iowa City Parks & Recreation Department at this year's Halloween Parade and Carnival.
The fun kicks off Friday October 28 between 6.00pm - 6.15pm. That's when children and their caregivers meet at the Weatherdance Fountain in Iowa City for the parade to the Robert A. Lee Community Recreation Center.
At 6:15pm the parade begins with the route heading east on College Street to the Recreation Center.
After … (2 comments)

Housing Trends in Iowa City: Home Sales & Prices January - September 2011 - 10/25/11 08:50 PM
It's a great time to take a look at home sales and prices in Iowa City. The 3rd quarter is behind us, it's the perfect time to look at the bigger picture and take a look at home sales and prices for the year to date.
The graph below shows home sales and prices in Iowa City January through September 2011. To put some perspective on the numbers. 635 homes sold in Iowa City January through September 2011. Last year 658 homes sold in the same time period. That puts home sales down for the year by 3% compared to January … (0 comments)

One of the Glory's of Fall in Coralville Iowa - 10/22/11 09:59 PM
It was a beautiful Fall day in Coralville today. Went over to my listing on Oakleaf St to check everything was in order for the showings tomorrow. (Yes, plural, more than one showing. Things are definitely picking up around here lately). While I was there I couldn't resist taking a shot of this most magnificent tree. This zero lot on Oakleaf has the best yard on the block and the tree knocks spots off all the others in the neighborhood too, especially on a day as nice as today!

… (3 comments)

Housing Trends in North Liberty IA: 2nd & 3rd Quarter 2011 - 10/21/11 07:11 PM
North Liberty IA Real Estate Market: Home Sales in the 2nd and 3rd Quarter 2011
Keeping on top of market reports is turning out to be a challenge in the summer months when I'm busy. I'm doubling up with my quarterly reports and giving you two for one this time round by looking at 2nd and 3rd quarter home sales. Last week I covered Iowa City and Coralville. This week it's North Liberty's turn.
170 homes sold in North Liberty in the 2nd quarter 2011 compared to 238 homes sold in the 2nd Quarter 2010  -  That's a 28% decrease in home sales compared to … (0 comments)

Trends in the Coralville Housing Market: 2nd & 3rd Quarter 2011 - 10/13/11 10:10 PM
Coralville IA Real Estate Market: Home Sales in the 2nd and 3rd Quarter 2011
Yesterday I looked at home sales in Iowa City, today its Coralville's turn. The data is from the Iowa City MLS and shows home sales in Coralville in the 2nd and 3rd quarter. This year it makes sense to look at data from the previous quarter to look for a trend in the housing market. Usually the more accurate way to gauge housing trends is to compare to the previous year. That's not working as well for us this year with the first time home buyer tax credit … (0 comments)

Iowa City Homes: Market Snapshot October 10, 2011 - 10/10/11 09:01 PM
With house prices as low as they are and the 30 yr fixed interest rate below 4% you'd expect the real estate market to be hopping. That's not quite the case. Home sales in Iowa City remain steady this month. Homes sold in October to date are up to 20. That's a couple more than last year at this time. 43 homes sold in October 2010 so we've got  a good number to beat. There are 69 homes listed as pending or contingent and 416 currently showing as active listings on the Iowa City MLS.
Active listings going down, pending sales on the … (1 comments)

North Liberty Iowa on a Sunny Day in October - 10/10/11 08:50 PM
Glorious sunshine, pleasant temps and low humidity. The weather in Iowa is about as good as it gets this October! This week I spent a lot of time in North Liberty. Not only was I out with a client looking at homes in North Liberty, I also listed a condo there and needed to take some photos for that. It was such a nice day I walked down the road a bit and took some photos of the pond and surrounding area.
Just in case you're interested, the condo is at 560 Penn Ct and the link will take you to the listing … (0 comments)

Trends in the Iowa City Housing Market: 2nd & 3rd Quarter 2011 - 10/06/11 04:47 PM
Iowa City Real Estate Market: Home Sales in the 2nd and 3rd Quarter 2011
Lately in my market reports I've been talking about how the 3rd quarter has picked up considerably. It's difficult to prove that since I didn't have time to do quarterly market reports for the 2nd quarter in June. I'm going to catch up on that now by giving you two for one today with an update on home sales in Iowa City in the 2nd and 3rd quarter.
303 homes sold in Iowa City in the 2nd quarter 2011 compared to 397 homes sold in the 2nd … (0 comments)

A Bird's Eye View of Coralville from Plaza On Fifth - 10/04/11 02:42 PM
The CCPA had it's open house on Saturday celebrating the National Arts & Humanities Month. It was about time I visited the place I drive past daily and blog about all the time. And with them having an open house in the luxury condominiums above the Theater I knew it would be worth my while to make time to go there this weekend.
It was a beautifully sunny day and it was certainly worth my while. The Theater was very impressive with a well thought out layout. There's even close circuit TV in a reception area if you need to … (2 comments)