About Iowa City's Iowa City Iowa Real Estate & Relocations

Yesterday after a really busy week I finally found time to whip out my camera and take some photos of houses in the Goosetown neighborhood. I'd just finished showing homes in the area and couldn't resist stopping a while to take some photos of what is truly a wonderful Iowa City neighborhood with some really charming houses. Goosetown is in the north of Iowa City. It's affectionately named Goosetown, because of the Bohemian immigrants who settled there in the 1850's and kept geese in their yards. It's about a mile from downtown Iowa City, making it a very popular choice amongst folks relocating to Iowa City for the University of Iowa. Goosetown is on the east side of the Iowa River, which is where you will find the older period homes dating back to the 1800's.

Goosetown is actually quite a narrow area on the map ranging between Brown St, (part of the Historic District) and E Bloomington St. To the left of it is the Northside Neighborhood and below it is the College Green Neighborhood. The best map I found showing the different Iowa City neighborhoods is on the City of Iowa City website. If you're relocating to Iowa City you may want to check it out to see where the Goosetown neighborhood is relative to Campus and downtown Iowa City. At this time of the year I field more questions about homes within "walking distance" of Campus than any other time of the year. Good enough reason to point you in the direction of a map that gives you some idea of the lay of the land here in Iowa City.

Originally posted at ichomesoforsale.com

There are many tax breaks associated with owning your own home. One of the lesser known ones is the Homestead Tax Credit. This is a small tax break, usually $115 - $130 on a home in the Iowa City area. What the credit means is that your property taxes are reduced by the amount of the credit every year. It's not a refund. This is purely a tax break that reduces your property tax liability. It may not seem like a lot, but it's certainly enough to fill up your car with gas a few times in the year ... (Although depending on your car a couple of times may be an exaggeration these days). This is a tax credit that is only available to home owners using their homes as a primary residence. It cannot be claimed for rental properties.

This is a real easy credit to apply for. The only caveat is the deadline for getting the application in. The deadline is July 1st. Any applications received after that date will not be applied until the following year when property taxes are re-calculated. (The tax year runs from July 1 to June 30 in Johnson County). You only need apply one time and the credit will be applied to your property taxes every year as long as you live in the home.

Another lesser known credit is the Military Exemption. As the name suggests this is a tax credit for servicemen and women and includes past and present members of the Armed Forces. The Military Exemption Form on the Johnson County website shows eligibility requirements for this credit. The deadline for application is the same as the Homestead Tax Credit. It's also only available for home owners using the home as their primary residence. I don't have a dollar amount for that as it's calculated differently than the Homestead Tax Credit. You'll find information about how both of these tax credits are calculated on the Iowa State Association of County Auditors website.

To apply for either the Military Exemption or the Homestead Tax Credit, all you need to do is print off the forms from the Johnson County website and either mail or drop them off at the Johnson County Assessor's Office, 913 S Dubuque St, Iowa City (Before July 1st of course!)

Originally posted @ ichomesforsale.com

That's it. I keep my mouth shut next time. We've had a bitterly cold winter in the Coralville and Iowa City area this year, but up until yesterday we were pretty lucky as far as missing major storms is concerned. Actual snow fall has been on the low side. On Monday I had to go and jinx it for us all by just provoking those guys at the weather service to get it wrong! They didn't. We got the snow they predicted. In fact we were one of the harder hit areas and got about a foot of snow overnight. Today everything in the Iowa City and Coralville area is at a standstill. No classes, not even at the University of Iowa. No buses. It took my son about 3 hours to dig us out of our driveway - Not that we're going anywhere. We're smart people, we're staying home today!

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 homes sales down and condo sales on the rise. Not really sure what to make of that yet. We'll see in the coming months whether that trend continues.

What's not at all surprising is that prices are down. It's winter. We have winter pricing, plus we have a struggling economy. Although we're lucky around here and a fairly stable economic environment compared to other parts of the country we still have a lot of homes on the market and that means opportunities for buyers. From personal experience I can tell you that despite the freezing temperatures I've been busy since the first of the year, so I wouldn't be surprised if buyers are starting to feel more confident and the trend changes in the coming months. We'll see. That's pure speculation. Watch out for my market reports and we will soon be able to tell from the numbers whether that is indeed the case!

As far as the days on market are concerned, according to data from the Iowa City Area MLS single family homes spend less time on the market than condos. The average number of days for single family homes in 2010 was 93 compared to 117 in 2009. For condos it was an average of 131 days on market in 2010 compared to 109 in 2009. I think the data for days on market is highly manipulated due to expired listings and re-listed properties and would suggest you talk to a Realtor about the actual absorption rate (aka days on market). This is a subject I'll cover in a post in the near future if you want to check back for that.

Source for data: Iowa City Area MLS January 23, 2011

Iowa City Real Estate Market Report - 2010 Compared to 2009

Originally posted @ ichomesforsale.com

Spring is just around the corner. I know, it doesn't seem like it, but let's shake that off the winter blues this weekend and get into the mood for spring. What's got me so excited you ask? Well, that would be the Iowa City Area Home and Builder Show that's taking place this weekend at the Coralville Marriott Conference Center. I'm a real estate agent of course I'm excited. I love homes. (And I'm not just saying that). If you love homes too then you want to go to the Marriott this weekend and check out the Iowa City Home and Builder Show. If you're thinking of buying a home you'll find inspiration. If you're already a home owner and thinking about those updates you want to start in spring you'll find inspiration too.

Schedule for the Iowa City Home & Builder Show 2011:

When?
Friday January 21, 2011 - 5.00pm - 9.00pm
Saturday January 22, 2011 - 10.00am - 6.00pm
Sunday January 23, 2011 - 10.00am - 4.00pm

Where?
Marriott Conference Center, Coralville, IA - Map It

The theme for this year's show is "Lifestyles for our Community." The idea is that local vendors provide a variety of design concepts for indoor and outdoor living spaces. You can learn about green building, renovation, universal design and much more. This is your chance to meet with experts in their field. Have I got you excited yet? I hope so, because I am!

As this is truly a community event there is also participation by the local high schools.

On Saturday students from West High School will host a pancake breakfast from 9.30am to 12.30pm in the Oakdale Ballroom. Proceeds will benefit West High's Vocal Music Department.

On Sunday City High School will host their pancake breakfast. Also in the Oakdale Ballroom and also from 9.30am - 12.30pm. Proceeds will benefit the boy's track team.

Tickets for the breakfasts are $8 and include admission to the Home & Builder Show. Tickets for just the Home & Builder show are $5 for adults. (Visit iowacityhomes.com for a $1 off coupon). Children under 14 get in free when accompanied by an adult. You can park for free in the south parking lot. (That's the great thing about Coralville, there's plenty of places to park anyway).

Originally posted @ ichomesforsale.com