iowa city real estate: Iowa City Homes: Weekly Market Update February 14, 2011 - 02/14/11 06:18 AM
It's mid February and the real estate market in Iowa City is heating up. So much so that I figure it's time I started up my weekly market updates again. I ran into someone yesterday who was totally surprised at the idea that spring has actually sprung in the real estate market in Iowa City. He's thinking of listing his house in spring. I told him it's already here and he should get moving! I can talk all day long of course, but it's better if I back that statement up with data. Hence my idea to start up the weekly … (1 comments)

iowa city real estate: Iowa City Housing Trends: Home Sales in Iowa City December 2010 compared to December 2009 - 01/24/11 01:58 PM
After putting together several year over year market reports earlier in the month I figured it was time I drill it down some more and look at the numbers of homes sold in December in Iowa City. According to the Housing Trends Report released by the Iowa Association of Realtors this week home sales are up in Iowa for December. That's not the the case for Iowa City - Although they're not down either. 47 homes sold in December 2010 compared to 48 in December 2009. That's pretty even. There's a strange phenomena going on at the moment with single family … (3 comments)

iowa city real estate: Iowa City Real Estate: Asking The Seller for Closing Costs - How Much Are Closing Costs Anyway? - 01/17/11 02:08 PM
I want to ask the seller for closing costs - So how much are closing costs in Iowa City anyway Denise? This is another one of those questions that comes up a lot lately. Mostly of course with first time home buyers, for obvious reasons since it's the first time they buy a house. This of course is really a question for a lender. As it happens I do see A LOT of  HUD1 Settlement Statements so feel qualified enough to give you at least some guidance on the topic. Here's a list of the items that you will see for … (0 comments)

iowa city real estate: When is the Best Time to List Your Home? Soon. Spring Has Arrived in the Iowa City Real Estate Market - 01/13/11 10:50 AM
When is the best time to put your home on the market in Iowa City? That's a loaded question, isn't it? And one that comes up all the time at this time of year. Got an email this week reminding me that home owners have a very different view on this than Realtors and figured that was reason enough to write this post. To answer a question with another question. When exactly does the spring market kick in? That's the big motivating factor for when you should put your home on the market. From a Realtor's perspective I can tell you … (4 comments)

iowa city real estate: Iowa City Real Estate: Residential Sales & Average Price 2010 Compared to 2009 - 01/05/11 05:03 AM
My last market report covered home sales in Iowa City for the last decade, (2003 - 2010 to be precise. That's how far back the Iowa City MLS goes). Today I'm going to drill it down a bit and compare data for home sales and average prices for homes sold in Iowa City comparing 2010 to 2009.
785 homes sold in Iowa City from January to December 2010 compared to 880 homes sold in the same time frame in 2009. That's a drop of 12%. Looking at the chart it's single family homes that have taken a hit. The rest of … (0 comments)

iowa city real estate: Iowa City Real Estate: Do You Really Need a Buyer's Agent? Yes You Do! - 01/02/11 09:47 AM
This is a question that comes up all the time. I touched on the question of NOT working with the listing agent in my post yesterday when I talked about how IDX works. Today I figure I'll put a very big misconception to rest about working with listing agents and why you really need a buyer's agent when you buy real estate in Iowa City. It is a total myth that working with the listing agent will get you a better deal on a house. For some reason there is the perception that working with someone, (the listing agent) who is … (7 comments)

iowa city real estate: IDX = More Choices for Buyers - More Exposure for Sellers - 01/01/11 01:17 PM
Haven't been blogging too much lately. Too busy fixing my website after my "move" back in November. I'm happy to say everything is where it should be now and I am oh so much smarter when it comes to website development. Not sure what that last part means, but my hope is that an efficient website will mean you spend more time here finding the information you need about Iowa City real estate. Not to mention the fact that you now also have access to the most current data when it comes to real estate listings in the Iowa City area … (2 comments)

iowa city real estate: Iowa City Homes: Weekly Real Estate Market Upddate December 20, 2010 - 12/20/10 09:24 AM

416 Active Listings20 Homes Under Contract11 Homes Sold week ending December 18, 2010 I was going to skip my weekly market update this week with Christmas at the door and all that, then I saw 11 homes sold last week and I thought that was definitely worth passing along! It seems it's developing into a pretty decent month for home sales in Iowa City after all. 8 single family homes and 3 condos sold last week in Iowa City.Highest Price home sold: $332,000Lowest Price home sold: $103,500Average Price of homes sold: $188,693Highest number of days on market: 141Lowest number of … (2 comments)

iowa city real estate: Iowa City Homes: Weekly Market Update - Homes Sold - Homes Under Contract & Active Listings - 11/29/10 07:53 AM

440 Active Listings39 Homes Under Contract3 Homes Sold November 22 - November 27, 2010 ~ 1128 Foster Rd - List Price $128,400 - Sold Price $123,000 - 179 days on market ~ ~ 908 Willow St - List Price $164,900 - Sold Price $164,900 - 85 days on market ~~ 313 Windsor Dr - List Price $198,500 - Sold Price $197,500 - 67 days on market ~ This is a snapshot of the Iowa City real estate market November 29, 2010.  2 single family homes and 1 condo sold last week. I think the take away from these stats is … (0 comments)

iowa city real estate: Iowa City Homes: Weekly Market Update November 15, 2010 - Homes Sold, Homes Under Contract & Active Listings - 11/15/10 03:05 AM

 
468 Active Listings46 Homes Under Contract4 Homes Sold November 8 - November 13, 2010321 Douglass St - Sold Price $72,000 - 129 days on market1130 4th Ave - Sold Price $85,000 - 6 days on market558 West Side Dr - Sold Price - $124,500 - 120 days on market301 River St - Sold Price - $300, 000 - 10 days on market This is a snapshot of the Iowa City real estate market November 15, 2010. 3 single family homes and 1 condo sold last week. The absorption rate for Iowa City is 7 months. This is the time … (0 comments)

iowa city real estate: Iowa City Real Estate: Market Statistics October 2010 Compared to October 2009 - 11/03/10 02:42 PM
Iowa City Real Estate: Market Statistics October 2010 compared to October 2009

43 homes sold in Iowa City in October 2010 compared to 54 homes sold in October 2009. That's a 20% decrease over last year - A pretty strong sign that the Iowa City real estate market is still struggling to find its feet again after the expiration of the home buyer tax credit. The economy is improving, interest rates are still in the low 4's and there are great deals to be had on homes. Now that the election is over maybe people will re-focus their attention on … (0 comments)

iowa city real estate: Iowa City Homes: Weekly Market Update October 25, 2010 - Homes Sold, Homes Under Contract & Active Listings - 10/25/10 05:46 AM

 
482 Active Listings41 Homes Under Contract12 Homes Sold October 18 - October 23, 2010
Highest number of days on market: 436 daysLowest number of days on market: 23 daysThis is a snapshot of the Iowa City real estate market October 25, 2010. 12 homes sold last week. 9 single family homes and 3 condos. Pretty good numbers for late October.Are you looking to buy a home in Iowa City? Do you have a real estate related question or a question about the area for me? Just send me an email letting me know how I can help. If you … (0 comments)

iowa city real estate: Iowa City Homes: Weekly Market Update October 18, 2010 - Homes Sold, Homes Under Contract & Active Listings - 10/18/10 06:01 AM

 
489 Active Listings44 Homes Under Contract5 Homes Sold October 11 - October 16, 2010
Highest number of days on market: 182 daysLowest number of days on market: 57 daysThis is a snapshot of what's going on in the Iowa City real estate market at the moment. The first thing you'll see is that the number of homes under contract is rising. That's a good sign. With interest rates still incredibly low at 4.25% for a 30 year fixed rate loan and really great prices on homes it certainly is a good time to be a buyer. As I mentioned … (0 comments)

iowa city real estate: Iowa City Real Estate Market Report 3rd Quarter 2010 - Homes Sold, Average Price & Days on Market - 10/07/10 06:26 AM
Iowa City Real Estate Market Report 3rd Quarter / July - September 2010 compared to July - September 2009

165 homes sold in Iowa City in the 3rd quarter 2010 compared to 309 homes sold in the 3rd Qtr 2009 - That's a 47% decrease in home sales over last year. Clearly the expiration of the home buyer tax credit has had quite an impact on the Iowa City real estate market. You would think the low interest rate, around 4.25%, coupled with great prices on homes would counteract that, but up to now there is no sign of that. … (0 comments)

iowa city real estate: Iowa City Real Estate Market Report September 2010 Compared to September 2009 - 10/05/10 06:03 AM
Iowa City real estate market report September 2010 - Number of homes sold, average price and days on market.

 
32 homes sold in Iowa City in September 2010 compared to 51 homes sold in September 2009. The data shows us that the Iowa City real estate market continues to struggle to find its feet again after the expiration of the home buyer tax credit. With interest rates in the low 4's and great deals to be had on homes it can only be a matter of time before the tide turns - At least that's my humble opinion!
… (2 comments)

iowa city real estate: Weekly Market Snapshot - Iowa City IA September 20, 2010 - 09/20/10 01:23 AM

520 Active Listings 41 Homes Under Contract 4 Homes Sold September 13 - September 18, 2010

Highest number of days on market: 90 days Lowest number of days on market:  28 days This is a snapshot of what's going on in the Iowa City real estate market at the moment. No big fluctuations - I don't know why the market isn't humming with interest rates in the low 4's. As I talked about in a recent post, the low interest rate should be as much as if not a bigger incentive than the tax credit. Free money is gone … (0 comments)

iowa city real estate: Weekly Market Snapshot - Iowa City IA September 13, 2010 - 09/13/10 03:10 AM
Weekly snapshot of the real estate market in Iowa City IA - September 13, 2010 - Homes Sold, average price and days on market - Active Listings and homes under contract.

 
 
521 Active Listings36 Homes Under Contract7 Homes Sold September 6 - September 11, 2010
Highest number of days on market: 222 daysLowest number of days on market: 52 daysThis is a snapshot of what's going on in the Iowa City real estate market at the moment. No big fluctuations. Interest rates are still incredibly low at 4.25% for a 30 year fixed rate loan. As I talked … (0 comments)

iowa city real estate: Weekly Real Estate Market Update - Iowa City IA September 6, 2010 - 09/06/10 09:03 AM
Market Snapshot of current market conditions - Iowa City IA September 6, 2010

526 Active Listings36 Homes Under Contract9 Homes Sold August 30 - September 4, 2010
Highest number of days on market: 268 daysLowest number of days on market: 73 daysHome sales in Iowa City picked up a bit in August. If you check out the links to the monthly reports below you'll see what I mean. 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 … (0 comments)

iowa city real estate: Iowa City Real Estate Market Report August 2010 Compared to August 2009 - 09/06/10 04:47 AM
Iowa City Real Estate Market Report August 2010 compared to August 2009

 
61 homes sold in Iowa City in August 2010 compared to 84 homes sold in August 2009. Not great numbers, but a significant improvement over July when the numbers were way down compared to 2009. 
The source for the data used in all my market reports is from the Iowa City MLS. For the days on market/absorption rate I take numbers from the MLS and insert them into a simple Excel spread sheet to avoid manipulating the data. According to that calculation we have  7.5 months … (2 comments)

iowa city real estate: Weekly Market Update Iowa City August 23, 2010 - Number of Homes Sold, Average Price and Days on Market - 08/23/10 03:33 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)