Iowa City Real Estate Blog: January 2010

What's the biggest misconception about Iowa City? That would be the rural image folks have about our area. As someone who relocated to the Iowa City area 10 years ago I have plenty to compare this to and I can tell you that it ain't so...That we have a vibrant college town with absolutely loads going on. In fact there is so much to do I decided it's worthy of a series. I figure my best plan is to break down all the things you can do in this surprising town into categories and will start with theaters...


Coral Ridge Mall Movie Theatre is, as the name suggests, located at the Mall in Coralville. It's a pretty big theater with 10 screens and stadium seating. Tel: 319-625-1010

Sycamore Cinema is located on the east side of Iowa City at Sycamore Mall. It has 12 state-of-the-art auditoriums and in addition to movies often shows unique events that include simulcast live concerts, sporting events and the New York Metropolitan Opera, (MET). Tel: 319-351-8383

Bijou Theater is a non-profit student run theater at the Iowa Memorial Union in Iowa City that focuses on independent, art house, foreign and classic movies. They have 1 screen and tickets are available at the box office only on the day of showing. Tel: 319-335-3041.


New Strand Theatre is in West Liberty - Now this is a bit rural. It's a 15 minute commute east of Iowa City. New Strand is not just a movie theater, it's also home to wonderful puppet shows from the Eulenspiegel Puppet Theater. (I love puppet shows, they bring back lovely memories of my sons growing up in Germany). Tel: 319-627-2014


The Englert Theatre is a Community Arts Theatre in downtown Iowa City. It was built in 1912 by William Englert and his wife Etta who wanted to rival the finest stages and movie houses in the Midwest. The local newspaper at the time wrote that "Iowa had nothing finer." It is still an impressive building. Well-preserved and adds to the atmosphere of the historic part of downtown Iowa City. In the spirit of Vaudeville, The Englert embraces all the Arts and hosts performances from all over the world. Case in point, The Peking Acrobats will be performing there in February. Tel: 319-688-2653

Riverside Theatre is located on Gilbert St and is Iowa City's resident professional theatre. It was founded in 1981 and strives to offer an artistic home for theatre professionals while entertaining audiences with intimate, engaging productions from the classics to world premieres. Tel: 319-338-7672

Hancher Auditorium was damaged in the floods of 2008, so does not have a physical address at present. That doesn't stop them organizing events though and these take place at a variety of locations, depending on the needs of the performers and ranges from West High School Auditorium to The Englert and The Mill in Iowa City. (Check out the website and you'll see they have 11 different locations). Tel: 319-335-1160

Iowa City Community Theatre  was established in 1956 and is dedicated to promoting the dramatic arts in and around Iowa City. They perform at a variety of locations, including Johnson County Fairgrounds and The Englert.

What do you think the chances are of your home selling at an open house? Probably not great. At least not here in the Iowa City area. (I represent sellers in the Iowa City real estate market and can only speak for my area of course). Selling a home is all about getting the right buyer in the right home at the right time. Seems to me the stars need to be aligned just right for all of that to happen on a day that you and your agent choose! 

Does that mean if you have a home on the market you shouldn't bother with open houses? That depends. Can you expect a lot of buyer traffic? Will it mess up your day completely if you have to vacate the property for two hours on a Sunday afternoon? Those are the things you should look at. (Not necessarily in that order).

Now what does buyer traffic have to do with anything you ask yourself? Well, we're assuming THE buyer is unlikely to come through your home on a random day this month, but the more people that do come through, the better the chance is that word gets out that your house is for sale. The whole idea of marketing your home is to make sure as many people as possible know it's for sale. Don't underestimate word of mouth. It's as good a tool as any in our marketing tool box. While I'm on the subject, have you told everyone you work with that your home is for sale?  And the folks at church too?

Is holding an open house a good return for the effort? Maybe. Maybe not. That would depend on how much of an effort it is for you. Your agent is usually happy to hold open houses for you. The question becomes is it a major inconvenience to you to vacate your home for the afternoon? If the answer to that question is yes, don't do it. You work hard. You earned your weekend, so enjoy it. If you on the other hand are out and about anyway, because you have multiple activities outside the home, then go for it. What have you got to lose?

So who really benefits from open houses anyway? The easy answer is that buyers just love to browse homes - Especially in spring time after a long cold winter! (Hence the timing of this post). Comparing homes and "seeing what's out there" is the favorite response when I ask visitors to my open houses. We Realtors also benefit from open houses. Even if a buyer doesn't buy your home they may work with us to buy a different home. It doesn't come up all that often, but it does come up.

Ultimately Open Houses are very hit and miss for everyone involved - Buyers, Sellers and Realtors. Will you sell your home at an open house? Probably not. Will it still be worth it? Maybe... 

If you're thinking of listing your home in the Iowa City area, give me a call. I'd love to show you what I do to market your home to get it sold.

This is an excellent post from Julia Odom explaining some of the new rules in the FHA mortgages. The  3% reduction in seller concessions is the big one and the one likely to have the biggest impact on first time home buyers.

What to watch out for when you make an offer on a condo in Iowa City

So you've found the condo that's perfect for you and are all set to make an offer. You'll write up a purchase agreement and here in the Iowa City area we have an addendum where you get 5 calender days to review the homeowners condominium association documents. If you find something that doesn't suit you, then you can walk away from the deal.

Here are a couple of things you should REALLY be watching out for:

Along with the condominium bylaws, (that you are going to read, even if they are "put you to sleep material"), you absolutely need to see a copy of the last couple of years financial statements. You want to know that the association is solvent and can pay for lawn care, snow removal, trash removal and other regular bills. You want to know that they have sufficient funds to pay their bills and there's not a special assessment lined up in the near future.

On the subject of special assessments, these do come up when it comes time to replace windows or a new roof. For you the condo fee is part of your monthly payment. If there's a chance of it going up from $70 to $200 a month for six months or a year to cover a major remodel, then you want to know about it ahead of time. 

I can't stress enough how important it is to dig deep when gathering this information. Recently I spoke to a seller who felt jibbed, because he wasn't given this info when he moved into his home. He figured he could have gotten a nicer, more expensive condo and still had the same monthly payment if he had known what lay ahead for him. These fees affect your bottom line, so the more you know the better it is for you in the long run.


I'm a bit of a freak when it comes to details. (20 years living in Germany will do that to you!) I'm all over these things when I'm helping clients. I believe to make smart decisions you need all the facts. If you're thinking of buying a home in the Iowa City area, give me a call. One thing you can be sure of is that I am a great information gatherer and you'll have all the facts you need as you work your way through the home buying process.

Please do me a favor, if your photos for your real estate listings suck, please take heed of this post. This is one of those if she can do it, so can I posts... I'm not an expert, but my photos don't suck and there's no reason for yours to either. Good photos can be achieved without breaking the bank and with a little effort and attention to detail.

So we're real estate professionals, but we wear a lot of hats. We learn other stuff, we can learn to be half way decent photographers too...

The first thing is to buy a wide angle lens camera. I have a Canon SD800 IS. I've had it a couple of years and am sure there are better ones on the market now, but it still does a decent job on indoor real estate photos. (Nature shots not so much, but no reason to go there now).

The next thing is to follow the golden rule as explained by Deena Cottingham in her post yesterday - Keep the camera straight and get lower. Now I just want to point out to all of you with back or knee problems, you don't have to physically get lower. It's just the camera that needs to be lower. I'm 5' 3" and hold the camera at about waist level. I hold it in such a way that I can kind of see the large screen - one of the reasons I bought this camera. (Physically challenged and diminishing eyesight - am I giving away my age here or what??)

Anyway, moving on, I take multiple shots from slightly different angles. I also use the 2 second delay function giving the camera time to adjust to the light. It's not unusual for me to take up to 50 shots and use 15 of them. Homes are like people. They have good and bad profiles too. Ultimately you need to take photos from multiple angles to find the right shot.

Editing is the last step in the process. I use Corel Paint Shop Pro X2. It's MUCH cheaper than Photoshop and easy to use. I can correct barrel distortion, lighten the image if necessary and sharpen it up a bit, (in that order), and I'm all set to post my photos online.

We all know a picture paints a thousand words, so if your real estate photos are not up to muster it's time to step up to the plate and do something about it. It's what your seller clients deserve and ultimately it's what buyers expect.

Iowa City Real Estate: Don't Pay $59.00 For A Duplicate Warranty Deed

If you live in the Iowa City area you don't need to pay $59.00 for a duplicate warranty deed. Now I'm pretty sure you don't need to pay that anywhere in Iowa or the rest of the country, but since I am only 100% certain of my facts for around here I will limit this post to talking about that.

At the beginning of the year it seems there are some shady companies out there wanting to make a fast buck. They send out letters to unsuspecting new home owners offering them "bargain priced" warranty deeds. Every year I get a call from at least one client around this time asking me if they need a warranty deed and whether they should write the check. The answer on both counts is NO. You don't need a warranty deed and if you for some reason feel you'd like to have one anyway, then just pop down to the recorder's office in Iowa City. They will make you a copy for 25¢ and for $2 they will certify it!

So what's a warranty deed anyway? A warranty deed is what is signed by the sellers at closing to transfer property. After closing it goes to the recorder's office and it is recorded in the public records that the property has changed hands. The only times it's likely to be looked at again is either when the property changes hands again, or you refinance... Hard to see why you would actually need a copy yourself, but as I said if you feel you do and you live in the Iowa City area, don't pay $59.00 for it, the Iowa City recorder's office has a much cheaper solution.

It's cold in Coralville again today... 5° Fahrenheit to be precise.  (-15° Celcius). We have another winter storm warning from 6.00pm Wednesday through Thursday. I say another, because I'm already having trouble keeping up with how many winter storms we've had this winter!

Now if you think I'm unimpressed by all this cold weather, below is a photograph of a certain someone who is even less impressed than me! This is my cat Tigger and I actually think his body language says it all. He is hating this weather with a passion, (and is usually very vocal about it). He insisted on testing the deck this morning in this photo - I think he has an almost resigned look about him... (Note how he somehow manage to get snow on his face.:-)

North Liberty Real Estate Market Report December 2009

As we kick off a new year I have lots of data to share with you in my monthly report on what's going on in the real estate market in North Liberty Iowa.  I'll start with a year over year comparison of the monthly and quarterly numbers of homes sold in North Liberty for the period ending December 31, 2009. Followed by a year over year comparison of annual home sales in North Liberty for 2009.

Homes Sold in North Liberty December 2009 Compared to December 2008

17 homes sold in North Liberty in December 2009 compared to 30 homes sold in 2008.

Median price: $259,000 compared to $181,450 in 2008.

Average days on market: 145 compared to 121 in December 2008.

Homes Sold in North Liberty in the 4th Quarter - October - December 2009

110 homes sold in North Liberty October through December 2009 compared to 89 homes sold in the 4th quarter 2008.

Median price: $141,700 compared to $164,900 in the 4th Quarter 2008.

Average days on market: 106 compared to 118 in the 4th Quarter 2008.

Homes Sold in North Liberty January 1 2009 - December 31, 2009

615 homes sold in North Liberty January through December 2009 compared to 534 homes sold in 2008.

Median Price: $146,000 compared to $157,700 in 2008.

Average days on market: 102 compared to 108 in 2008.

North Liberty is one of the fastest growing communities in Iowa and had a very good year for home sales in 2009. Well priced new construction attracted price conscious first time homebuyers. The sharp decline in December is probably an indicator of the fact that first time homebuyers purchased their homes before the November 30 deadline. For the year home sales were up by 15%. 

With the extension of the homebuyer tax credit, it seems likely that first time homebuyers will be out and about again now that the holidays are over and 2010 should be another good year for North Liberty. We'll look for confirmation of that by watching the trends closely in the coming months.

Iowa City Real Estate Market Report December 2009

Coralville Real Estate Market Report December 2009

Source for data: Iowa City Area MLS January 5, 2010.

Coralville Real Estate Market Report December 2009

It's the beginning of the month and time for my monthly report on what's going on in the real estate market in Coralville. With an entire year to look back on I have a lot of data to share with you this month. I will start with a year over year comparison of the monthly and quarterly numbers of homes sold in Coralville for the period ending December 31, 2009. Followed by a year over year comparison of annual home sales in Coralville for 2009.

Homes Sold in Coralville December 2009 Compared to December 2008

12 homes sold in Coralville in December 2009 compared to 25 homes sold in 2008.

Median price: $189,500 compared to $176,900 in 2008.

Average days on market: 89 compared to 123 in December 2008.

Homes Sold in Coralville in the 4th Quarter - October - December 2009

55 homes sold in Coralville October through December 2009. 55 homes also sold in the 4th quarter 2008.

Median price: $190,000 compared to $176,900 in the 4th Quarter 2008.

Average days on market: 92 compared to 117 in the 4th Quarter 2008.

Homes Sold in Coralville January 1 2009 - December 31, 2009

300 homes sold in Coralville January through December 2009 compared to 324 homes sold in 2008.

Median Price: $189,000 compared to $193,125 in 2008.

Average days on market: 104 compared to 105 in 2008.

Home sales in Coralville bounced around a bit in 2009. After some ups and downs and a notable sharp decline in December, Coralville managed to end the year with a 7% decline in home sales.  We will need to watch the trends closely in the coming months to see where Coralville is headed in 2010.

North Liberty Real Estate Market Report December 2009

Iowa City Real Estate Market Report December 2009

Source for Data: Iowa City Area MLS January 5, 2010.

Iowa City Real Estate Market Report December 2009

I have so much data to share with you this month that it was tough to know where to start! I decided to do it chronologically. First a year over year comparison of the monthly and quarterly numbers of homes sold in Iowa City for the period ending December 31, 2009. Followed by a year over year comparison of annual home sales in Iowa City for 2009.

Homes Sold in Iowa City December 2009 Compared to December 2008

48 homes sold in Iowa City in December 2009 compared to 41 homes sold in 2008. That's an increase of 17%.

Median price: $219,950 compared to $175,000 in 2008.

Average days on market: 115 compared to 126 in December 2008.

Homes Sold in Iowa City in the 4th Quarter - October - December 2009

169 homes sold in Iowa City October through December 2009 compared to 127 in the 4th quarter 2008. That's an increase of 33%.

Median price: $178,000 compared to $183,000 in the 4th Quarter 2008.

Average days on market: 95 compared to 112 in the 4th Quarter 2008.

We ended the year on a high note with a strong 4th quarter for home sales in Iowa City. Below are the numbers for the year. Altogether we see a modest increase in home sales for the year. Encouraging data, especially for home sellers when you think of the slow start we had at the beginning of 2009.

Homes Sold in Iowa City January 1 2009 - December 31, 2009

879 homes sold in Iowa City January through December 2009 compared to 857 homes sold in 2008. That's an increase of 3%.

Median Price: $172,900 compared to $173,001 in 2008.

Average days on market: 93 compared to 100 in 2008.

Coralville Real Estate Market Report December 2009

North Liberty Real Estate Market Report December 2009

Source for Data: Iowa City Area MLS January 5, 2010.