About Johnson County, IA

Home Sales in Iowa City were up again in February. 22 homes sold in Iowa City February 2012 compared to 21 in February 2011. That's not as impressive as January when home sales were up significantly compared to last year. I don't think this means the Iowa City real estate market is slowing down though since there are currently 81 homes marked as contingent or sale pending right now on the Iowa City MLS, a really good sign that we have a lot of closings coming up!

The absorption rate has increased to 6.5 months, that's an average of 196 days on market. The calculation for the absorption rate factors in the number of homes currently listed as active on the MLS. With spring just around the corner the number of homes on the market has risen quite a bit since last month, which is likely the explanation as to why the absorption rate / number of days on market is going up at the moment and not down. (The link at the start of this paragraph takes you to a post I wrote a while back on how the absorption rate is calculated).

All the signs show that the real estate market in Iowa City is picking up. 8 straight months of positive data speaks for itself! If you have a house to sell, now would be a really good time to put that plan into action. Spring and early summer is typically the time in Iowa City when the most buyers are out and about. Getting your house on the market when there are the most buyers to see it is a very good idea. Not convinced yet? Want to talk through your options and figure out whether now is a good time for you to list your home in Iowa City? Give me a call at 319-400-0268 or drop me an email. I won't feed you a line - I'll tell you what I think. Give me a call and put me to the test!

Iowa City Real Estate Market Report January 2012

Home Sales in Iowa City January - December 2011

Home Sales in Iowa City by School District January - December 2011

Data for the market report for February collected from the Iowa City MLS March 5, 2012

Originally posted at Iowa City Homes for Sale

Lucky for me that February has an extra day this year so I can squeeze in my monthly market report for North Liberty at the last minute. Right in line with expectations Home sales in North Libery are up in January. The numbers are almost as impressive as Iowa City. 26 homes sold in North Liberty January 2012 compared to 12 in 2011. That's a 116% increase compared to an increase of 138% in Iowa City in January.

The absorption rate has dropped to 4.9 months, that's an average of 150 days on market. (6 months absorption rate is a balanced market). 4.9 months absorption rate is technically a sellers market. It's true that the number of homes sold is definitely on the rise in North Liberty. When you click through this link you'll find a table on the original post where you'll see home prices are on the rise too. It's worth noting that home prices are skewed by a few factors. One of them being that about half the homes sold in North Liberty in January were new construction and they typically sell close to or at asking price.

It's the competition from new construction that makes selling a home in North Liberty different to selling a home in Iowa City or Coralville. Not that they don't have new construction in Iowa City or Coralville, just not as much. As we head towards Spring, if you've got a house to sell in North Liberty, now is a very good time to talk to a Realtor. This market report for North Liberty confirms that the housing market in North Liberty is definitely trending in the right direction. Condo sales are particularly encouraging. What you need to know now is how that relates you and your house. Yes, there are more homes selling in North Liberty, but what are the chances of you getting the price you feel your home is worth? Only someone who really knows the North Liberty real estate market can help you figure that out.

Now is the time of course when I point out that I'd love the opportunity to talk with you and discuss what your options are when it comes to selling your home in North Liberty. You can call 319-400-0268 or drop me an email. I look forward to hearing from you!

Home Sales in North Liberty IA January - December 2011

Data for the market report for January collected from the Iowa City MLS February 29, 2012

Originally posted @ Iowa City Homes For Sale

7 homes sold in Coralville in January 2012 compared to 15 homes sold in January 2011. If that seems like a bit of a drastic drop, only 3 sold in January 2010, which kind of puts things more in perspective. In fact I went back a few years and the low single digits is more typical for the last few years, making 7 seem more "normal" for the time of year than the high 15 homes sold last year.

The absorption rate is at 7.2 months, that's an average of 217 days on market. (6 months absorption rate is a balanced market). Coralville is not doing as well as Iowa City where home sales are up for the 7th straight month and the absorption rate down to a low 4.8 months. If you check out the annual report for home sales in Coralville for 2011 you'll see that in general the trend is positive with a glitch every now and then. It's likely that this month is one of those glitches.

As we head towards spring and the peak buying time of the year, I wouldn't be surprised to see the numbers of homes sold in Coralville up again in the coming months. Especially when you consider Coralville benefits from its close proximity to Iowa City and is popular with buyers relocating to the Iowa City area for the UIOWA and UI Hospitals. With incoming Residents and Students thinking about accommodation for the Fall semester right around the corner, these are buyers that will have a big impact on home sales in Coralville in the coming months.

For information on the average and median price of homes in Coralville in January please visit the original post at Iowa City Homes For Sale

So what's the takeaway this month? Too few homes sold in January in Coralville to really make anything of the data. The single family homes that sold were lower priced homes, while the condos that sold were priced on the higher end. That right there is a strange phenomena for Coralville. We're just going to have to wait and see what the spring market brings.

One thing's for sure. If you've got a house to sell, now is the time to get it on the market. You want to have your house on the market at a time when there are the most buyers out there to see it. If not as many homes are selling in Coralville at the moment, you want to have the advantage of having yours on the market when there are the most eyes on it. And that just happens to be spring and early summer.

If you have a house to sell in Coralville I'd love the opportunity to talk with you and discuss your options. You can either call at 319-400-0268 or drop me an email with some basic information about your home and I'll provide you with a complimentary market analysis.

Home Sales in Coralville IA January - December 2011

Home Sales in Coralville by School District January - December 2011

Home Sales in Iowa City January - December 2011

Home Sales in Iowa City by School District January - December 2011

Data for the market report for January collected from the Iowa City MLS February 9, 2012

Lately my market reports are full of positive news for housing trends in Iowa City. Home sales for January are no exception. Once again home sales are up in Iowa City. In fact home sales in Iowa City are up by a whopping 138% compared to January 2011. 31 homes sold in Iowa City January 2012 compared to 13 in 2011. And if that wasn't impressive enough. This is the highest number of homes sold in Iowa City in January of any year since 2007 when 35 homes sold!

The absorption rate has dropped to 4.8 months, that's an average of 148 days on market. (6 months absorption rate is a balanced market). 4.8 months absorption rate is technically a sellers market. Home prices don't totally reflect that yet. Since I'm on a roll with good news, there is positive data to share with you on that too. Although about half of the homes sold in Iowa City last month sold at less than 95% of list price, (indicating that buyers are still putting pressure on prices), a few homes sold in Iowa City ABOVE list price in January. That is definitely a good sign for sellers and gives us every reason to be optimistic about the spring market.

To view a table with information about the average price and median price of homes sold in Iowa City please visit the original post at Iowa City Homes For Sale

What's the takeaway this month? If you've got a house to sell, now would be a good time to talk to a Realtor. This market report is further indication that the housing market in Iowa City is definitely on the right track. What you need to know now is how that relates you and you're house. As you can tell from all the information in my market reports, one of my specialties is figuring out the market. I'd love the opportunity to talk with you and discuss your options. You can either call at 319-400-0268 or drop me an email with some basic information about your home and I'll provide you with a complimentary market analysis.

Home Sales in Iowa City January - December 2011

Home Sales in Iowa City by School District January - December 2011

Data for the market report for January collected from the Iowa City MLS February 6, 2012

The most efficient way to search for homes in the Iowa City area is by school district. That way you can narrow down neighborhoods without making the area so small that the search becomes ineffective. That's the principal I use when helping buyers to find homes and figured it's just as effective a tool for researching homes sold by neighborhood. Last week I looked at Iowa City. Today I'm looking at homes sold in Coralville.

Coralville has a population of about 20,000 and there are 3 elementary schools in Coralville itself. Some children living in the north of Coralville visit one of the other three elementary schools shown on the chart below in neighboring towns Tiffin, North Liberty and Iowa City. (If you check out this post where I created a map of elementary schools in the area you can see just how close Coralville is to its neighbors).

***Clicking on the chart will take you to the full size version for easier reading

Kirkwood & Central Neighborhoods - Largest Number of homes sold in Coralville at the Most Affordable Prices

Kirkwood and Central Elementary Schools are in the heart of Coralville and this is where the most affordable homes can be found. This is the more established part of Coralville. This is where you'll find smaller single family homes, apartment style condos and A LOT of zero lots. For newer homes, buyers need to look further north. I relocated to Coralville in 2000 myself and a lot has changed since then. "New" Coralville, pretty much anything north of Holiday Rd, looks a lot different than it did when I arrived 12 years ago. The 12th Avenue extension takes commuters to North Liberty these days and Van Allen Elementary is just past the boundary between Coralville and North Liberty.

Opportunities for Buyers in the High End, Luxury Market in Coralville

Homes sold in the Wickham, Van Allan and Lincoln school districts as you can see are generally priced higher. The explanation for that is that the area to the north of Coralville has primarily larger single family homes and luxury condos. (Homes sold in the Clear Creek school district are apartment style condos in apartment buildings at Coral Ct).

If you checked out my market reports at the beginning of the year for Coralville you'll know that home sales were down a bit for the year compared to 2010. (275 homes sold in coralville in 2011 compared to 295 in 2010). What's clear from this chart is that home sales for the higher end and luxury market are down. This is obviously not great if you're a seller, but we all know every market is good for someone and this means opportunities for buyers. With interest rates below 4% it can only be a matter of time before buyers recognize they can get a whole lot of house with an interest rate that low!

I'm all about providing as much information as possible for buyers and sellers in Coralville and Iowa City. If you have any questions for me, please be sure to drop me an email or give me a call. I'm here to help!

Data for this market report was pulled from the Iowa City MLS January 31, 2011

Originally posted at Iowa City Homes for Sale