Iowa City Real Estate Blog

271 Active Listings
39 Under Contract
5 Homes Sold Feb 1 - Feb 6
5.2 Months of inventory on the market

The absorption rate in North Liberty is just over 5 months, pretty good news for sellers as it means North Liberty is starting to trend towards a sellers market. 6 months of inventory of homes on the market is considered neutral and more than 6 months a buyers market. North Liberty has a good year in 2009 and looks set you continue on the same track in 2010.

Here's a link to a post I wrote a while back with pretty detailed info about the absorption rate.

185 Active Listings
23 Under Contract
3 Homes Sold Feb 1 - Feb 6
7.3 Months of inventory on the market

The absorption rate in Coralville is about the same as Iowa City with just over 7 months, so we still have a buyers market. 6 months of inventory of homes on the market is considered neutral and less than 6 months trending to a sellers market. The absorption rate is a great tool for sellers to figure out how the market is trending.

Here's a link to a post I wrote a while back with pretty detailed info about the absorption rate.

537 Active Listings
60 Under Contract
4 Homes Sold Feb 1 - Feb 6
7.4 Months of inventory on the market

The absorption rate in Iowa City is just over 7 months, so we still have a buyers market. 6 months of inventory of homes on the market is considered neutral and less than 6 months trending to a sellers market. The absorption rate is a great tool for sellers to figure out how the market is trending.

Here's a link to a post I wrote a while back with pretty detailed info about the absorption rate.

The Debt to income ratio is something that confuses many home buyers when they're in the market for a home loan. I think Chris Thomas does a great job of breaking things down in the post below and making it clear that it's not one size fits all.

Exciting weekend coming up as we look forward to Super Bowl Weekend. While you're preparing for the big game there's still time for a trip to the movies or take in a show before Sunday.  If you're looking for choices, this is what I've come across in Iowa City and Coralville for this weekend February 5 through February 7... 

Two new movies to share with you this week. The first is From Paris with Love - A deceiving title I think... I would have expected a romantic comedy and I would have been wrong... It's an action adventure movie with John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Myers. John Travolta plays a trigger happy CIA agent with his green side kick (Jonathan Rhys Myers) who are running around the streets of Paris causing mayhem as they try to prevent a terror attack. John Travolta is great in this kind of crazy roll so probably steals the show.

The other movie is Dear John, Lasse Hallestrom's adaptation of Nicholas Sparks' novel. It stars Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried. It's about a young man who goes to war after meeting the love of his life. The letters his new love sends him are what get him through his days, but these very letters have consequences that neither could have envisioned. I've said it before, I've never seen a movie that truly lived up to the book. I love Lasse Hallestrom movies, but I'm going to stick by that statement!

You can catch these movies at the Coral Ridge Mall Movie Theatre in Coralville and the Sycamore Mall Cinema in Iowa City.

Moving onto the regular theatre... Lots of fun to be had this weekend in Iowa City. I'll kick off with the Englert where you can see improv sketch comedy at it's best with the 50th anniversary of Second City on both Saturday and Sunday. This is where some of today's most famous comedians started out, so you can expect big laughs as the troupe looks back at 50 years of classic sketches.

More comedy at The Riverside Theater where End Days continues it's run until February 21. This is a play about science, religion and suburbia. (Yes, I did say comedy... And I'm sure you're as surprised as me that a play about science and religion makes it into the comedy gendre!)


Another great weekend at The Mill of course. Friday sees the return of legendary singer-songwriter Dave Moore.  Dave has played on nationally known radio programs like A Prairie Home Companion and The World Cafe.

Just to prove the point that The Mill is "the in place in town" Dr Dog with the Growlers is performing on Saturday and that show is sold out already! There's a reason The Mill was voted Best Live Entertainment Venue in the Press Citizen's Best of Area list...

If you like your country music with dance then check out the Wildwood Smokehouse & Saloon. Great music and great food and free wi-fi...They often have specials too like all you can eat ribs on Wednesdays...They're on Facebook and you'll find a list of their specials there.

And for those of you who feel like kicking it up a notch the Riverside Casino might be just the place for you this weekend. It's not all about the casino, they have plenty of live entertainment too. This weekend they have quite a show lined up on Friday and Saturday with The Britins, a Milwaukee band who entertain audiences with a tribute to The Beatles. Talk about a trip down memory lane... It seems we have quite a bit of that going on this weekend in Iowa City.

All of this of course culminates with the big game on Sunday. Who are you rooting for? I think the soft-hearted amongst us will be rooting for the "underdog." From what I can see they know how to celebrate in New Orleans and if they pull this off that will be one heck of a party!

North Liberty Real Estate Market Report January 2010

It's the beginning of the month and time for a first look at homes sold in the North Liberty area in January.

Homes sold in North Liberty are up by 11% compared to last year. 20 homes sold in January 2010 in comparison to 18 in January 2009. Considering you really need to be motivated to buy a house in a very hard and bitterly cold winter in Iowa this is definitely good news.

The average price of homes sold in January was also up slightly at $154,752 compared to $144,130 in January 2009. That's an increase of 7%. With an average of 80 days on the market.

North Liberty benefited greatly from the first time homebuyer tax credit all through last year and January continues in that trend. It will be interesting to see what effect  the expanded homebuyer tax credit for repeat buyers will have on the North Liberty real estate market as we head towards the home buying season. And remember, this tax credit is a limited time offer with little chance of being extended, so this could mean a lively couple of months coming up in North Liberty.

Buying or selling a home in North Liberty, it's definitely a good time to keep an eye on the market.  The more you know before you buy or sell a home, the better shape you'll be in when it comes to either listing a home for sale or making an offer on a home that's currently on the market. A CMA - Current Market analysis - is something sellers are used to. I believe there is a benefit to buyers too before they make an offer on a home and provide a CMA for both buyer and seller clients.


Source for data: Iowa City Area MLS February 4, 2010




Iowa City Real Estate Market Report

Coralville Real Estate Market Report

Coralville Real Estate Market Report January 2010

It's the beginning of the month and time for a first look at homes sold in the Coralville area in January.

The number of homes sold in Coralville was down in January compared to last year. 3 homes sold in January 2010 in comparison to 5 in January 2009. January is historically not a strong month as you can tell. This year we're having an even rougher winter than usual that might have contributed to the low number.

The average price of homes sold in January was $197,333 with an average of 130 days on market. The average price is down by 14% from $230,460 in January 2009.

Unlike Iowa City and North Liberty, Coralville has not benefited greatly from the first time homebuyer tax credit. We're hoping the expanded homebuyer tax credit for repeat buyers will influence the market place in the coming months and bring up those numbers as we head towards the home buying season. For now we just watch and wait.

Buying or selling a home in Coralville, it's definitely a good time to keep an eye on the market. Subscribe to my blog below and you'll get regular real estate market updates for the area. The more you know before you buy or sell a home, the better shape you'll be in when it comes to either listing a home for sale or making an offer on a home that's currently on the market. (I do a full CMA - Current Market analysis - for both buyers and sellers).

Iowa City Real Estate Market Report January 2010

It's the beginning of the month and time for my first look at homes sold in Iowa City in January.

The number of homes sold in Iowa City in January was down compared to last year. 16 homes sold in January 2010 in comparison to 22 in January 2009. Not exactly a great kick off to the year, but way too early to call a trend.

The average price of homes sold in January was $268,265 with an average of 89 days on market. The average price is up by 31% from $205,056 in the same time period in 2009. This is a fair indication that it was not the first time home buyer that was doing the home buying in January. Perhaps the new expanded homebuyer tax credit for repeat buyers is starting to influence the market place. We'll know more in the coming months, as I said in the previous paragraph, this is too early to call a trend!

Buying or selling a home in Iowa City, it's definitely a good time to keep an eye on the market. Subscribe to my blog below and you'll get regular real estate market updates for the area. The more you know before you buy or sell a home, the better shape you'll be in when it comes to either listing a home for sale or making an offer on a home that's currently on the market. (I do a full CMA - Current Market analysis - for both buyers and sellers).

Source for data: Iowa City Area MLS February 2, 2010.

Home for Sale: 814 20th Ave, Coralville, IA 52241 - $149,500

Lots of space to grow in this wonderfully maintained ranch home in a fantastic central location. Large family room and 4th non-conforming bedroom in basement. Nice large eat-in kitchen leads to the 3 seasons porch. Fenced in yard with mature trees, patio and pond. 1 car attached garage w/ extra wide driveway for extra parking. Live in a great neighborhood with shopping, schools and parks all within walking distance. Short commute to UIOWA and UI Hospitals and Dental School.

Built: 1969

Style: Ranch

Bedrooms: 3 (4th non-conforming bedroom in basement)

Bathrooms: 1 Full on main level, 1 three-quarter bath in basement

MLS# 20100741

Excellent first time home buyer opportunity!

Another week bites the dust and as we head for another chilly weekend in Iowa City and Coralville. Cabin fever? Let's see what we've got going on in Iowa City and Coralville with my weekly round up of movies and events for January 29 through January 31.

As always, I'll start with new movie releases. Slow week this with just 2 new movies to share with you. The first is vintage Mel Gibson in Edge of Darkness. After the death of his daughter Thomas Craven, a Boston detective (Mel Gibson), takes to the street looking for vengeance. A classic revenge movie by all accounts. If you like Mel Gibson you probably won't be disappointed.

The next movie is When in Rome starring Kristen Bell. As the title suggests, she's in Italy and guess what, she has a man problem! Actually, more precisely after visiting the famous fountain she has too many men wooing her. The movie doesn't get good reviews, but that's nothing new for what I guess my sons would call a "chick flick." Seems like film critics often get it wrong when it comes to light and breezy comedies and children's movies too. Danny DeVito is in this movie, that makes it worth a second look right there...

You can catch these movies at the Coral Ridge Mall Cinema in Coralville and the Sycamore Mall Theatre in Iowa City.

The Englert has a weekend of opera lined up with performances of Mozart's La finta giardiniera (The Disguised Garden Maid) on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It's part of the UI's Martha-Ellen Tye Opera Series and is directed by Gary Briggle.

More into comedy than opera? The Riverside Theater also has a show opening tonight. End Days is a funny play about science, religion and suburbia. (This has got to be good. Science and religion are not the first words that spring to mind for me when it comes to comedy). It runs from January 29 through February 21.

In the live entertainment arena The Mill has another fun filled weekend for us. In fact today, (Friday), they have 2 acts for us. The first is part of their Jazz after 5 series with OftEnsemble, a UI Jazz group performing 5.00pm - 7.30pm. Later, at 9.00pm The New Duncan Imperials will be making "the most glorious noise on the planet."

On Saturday Adobanga with Sarah Cram and the Derelicts will entertain us with an evening of rustic and rocking folk music.

If you like your country music with dance then check out the Wildwood Smokehouse & Saloon. Great food, great music and free wi-fi...They often have specials too like all you can eat ribs on Wednesdays...They're on Facebook and you'll find a list of their specials there.

Moving in a different direction, Riverside Casino is another very popular local venue. You may be drawn by the casino, but they have plenty of live entertainment too.

Iowa City is a busy little town and Coralville has The Mall, the Ice Rink and Children's Museum for a great afternoon out with the family. My post is just a snapshot of a few of the highlights this weekend. Another good source for what's going on in the Iowa City area is the Press Citizen.