Coralville Home Sellers Market Update November 2009
It's coming to the end of the month and almost time for my monthly real estate market report giving a general picture of how the market is trending in Coralville. As we are going through a time of transition I figured it would be a good time to put together a few numbers with home sellers in mind. If you have your home listed right now, or are thinking about listing it, then the idea is to look at the real estate market from your perspective.
17 Homes sold in Coralville November 1 - November 23
That's a 31% increase over last year. 13 homes sold in Coralville in November 2008
7 of the homes sold were priced below $200,000. Coralville bucks the trend of both Iowa City and North Liberty in that there is a higher percentage of higher priced homes sold than lower priced homes.
Average sale price: $211,163
Average Days on Market: 96
Active Listings: 183
Absorption Rate: 6.9 Months (Here's an explanation of how the absorption rate is calculated if you need it).
Coralville has stiff competition when it comes to home prices in Iowa City and North Liberty, especially when it comes to lower priced homes. In a price driven market where buyers are looking for deals this means if you're thinking of selling your home in Coralville, you really need to look at the bigger picture before you list your home for sale. The new tax credit for repeat buyers should impact the Coralville market in a positive way, although at this point it's a little early to tell. The first time homebuyer tax credit did not impact Coralville in any significant way, so I'm not going to stick my neck out on that one!
There are so many nuances when it comes to selling a home. If you are thinking of selling your home in Coralville in the near future and would like to talk about your specific situation, please contact me @ 319-400-0268.
North Liberty Iowa Home Sellers Market Update November 2009
It's coming to the end of the month and almost time for my monthly real estate market report giving a general picture of how the market is trending in North Liberty. We are in a time of transition so I figured it would be a good time to put together a few numbers with home sellers in mind. If you have your home listed right now, or are thinking about listing it, then the idea is to look at the real estate market from your perspective.
45 Homes sold North Liberty November 1 - November 23
That's a 50% increase over last year already, (and we still have a few days left in November). 30 homes sold in North Liberty in November 2008.
39 of the homes sold were priced below $200,000. (A pretty good sign that it's still the first time home buyer that's driving the market in North Liberty).
Average sale price: $150,807
Average Days on Market: 111
Active Listings: 252
Absorption Rate: 4.7 Months (Here's an explanation of how the absorption rate is calculated if you need it).
North Liberty remains a hot tip in the area. In fact with 4.7 months absorption rate, North Liberty is trending towards a sellers market and with the new tax credit for repeat buyers there's a good chance this trend will improve even more in the coming months. That's the good news. Even in North Liberty though sellers can't afford to be complacent. We still have a price driven market place. When you list your home for sale you will do best if you keep that in mind.
There are so many nuances when it comes to selling a home. If you are thinking of selling your home in North Liberty in the near future and would like to talk about your specific situation, please contact me @ 319-400-0268.
Iowa City Home Sellers Market Update November 2009
It's coming to the end of the month and almost time for my monthly real estate market report giving a general picture of how the market in Iowa City is trending. As we work our way through a time of transition I figured it would be a good time to put together a few numbers with home sellers in mind. If you have your home listed right now, or are thinking about listing it, then the idea is to look at the real estate market from your perspective.
Homes sold in Iowa City November 1 - November 23: 49
That's an increase of 58% over last year already - 31 homes sold in the entire month of November 2008.
33 of the homes sold were priced below $200,000, the remaining 16 obviously above. 
Average sale price: $186,263
Average Days on Market: 104
Active Listings: 530
Absorption Rate: 7.2 Months (Here's an explanation on how the absorption rate is calculated if you need it).
Home sales are up significantly for the month. With the new tax credit for repeat buyers there's a good chance this trend will continue and improve in the coming months. As a seller though you can't afford to be complacent about that. We still have a high inventory of homes on the market, so buyers can afford to be picky. When you list your home for sale you will do best when you keep that in mind. Your home needs to be priced right and look spectacular to get a buyers attention in the current market. We haven't made the transition to a sellers market so far, so nothing's changed there just yet.
There are so many nuances when it comes to selling a home. If you are thinking of selling your home in Iowa City in the near future and would like to talk about your specific situation, please contact me @ 319-400-0268.
It's Friday and time to take a look at new movies and other events in Iowa City and Coralville this weekend. These are a few things that caught my eye for this weekend November 20 - November 22.
I'll start as I always do with movies. The apparently hotly anticipated second installment in the Twilight Saga: New Moon hits theaters today. I say hotly anticipated, because I noticed it's trending as #1 topic on twitter this morning. If vampires aren't your thing and you're looking for a nice feel good movie as we head towards the holiday season, The Blind Side is probably right up your street. There's quite a buzz about Sandra Bullock's great performance in this movie. I like her movies, but was a bit surprised to hear her name and Oscar in the same sentence, so she really must have surpassed herself! Lastly, kids will be happy with the animated movie Planet 51. A cute story about aliens on a far away planet being fearful about being invaded by aliens (!) It seems it's a movie with a message that I remember from books when I was reading to my kids when they were small. You can catch these movies at the Coral Ridge Mall Cinema in Coralville and the Sycamore Mall Theatre in Iowa City.
Moving on to regular theater...The Young Footliters will present their fall show, Dr Dolittle at the Iowa City Community Stage at 4-H Johnson County Fairgrounds. Show times are at 7.00pm Friday and Saturday and 2.00pm on Sunday. If you remember, from a previous post, The Young Footliters are a non-profit organization run by parents to encourage and support a positive singing and acting experience for young people from kindergarten to K12 in the Iowa City area. Great idea, don't you think? They've picked another classic with Dr Dolittle too.
Iowa City's best live entertainment venue, as voted in the Press Citizen's Best of the Area List has a fun evening lined up this evening. Kicking off at 5.00pm with their aptly named Jazz After Five Series. You can't beat The Mill for entertainment any day of the week. Check out their schedule and see for yourself.
Now if you want to check out a bar that isn't down town, Charlie's Bar & Grill in Coralville is a hot tip. Check out the website and see for yourself.
Almost done, but of course mustn't forget my weekly mention of Prairie Lights Bookstore. As someone who just loves books I have a self-imposed requirement to mention them every week... They often have guest readings and are definitely worth bookmarking.
Finally, I will wrap up by mentioning the last game of the college football season against Minnesota scheduled for Saturday. The Iowa Hawkeyes have had a great season. It's been so exciting and such a roller coaster ride this year I'm sure football fans will be sad to see it over.
We have a very busy little town and I'm sure there's lots more going on, this is just what caught my eye. If you have any input for future posts, be sure to let me know, I'd love to include it.
A $1500 Federal Tax Credit for energy saving home improvements that save you money - That's a win - win all the way for any home owner...
The cold season is here in Iowa, at least according to the calender. Right now we're enjoying unseasonably warm weather here in Iowa City and it almost feels like spring... Don't be fooled though, winter is around the corner and now is a great time to take care of some home improvements AND lower your bills in the winter months ahead. And while you're at it, remember that you may be eligible for federal tax credits for many home improvements you make in your home that save energy...
Tax credits are available for eligible purchases at 30% of the cost up to $1,500 for 2009 and 2010. Some of the more common eligible purchases are windows and doors, insulation, heating and air-conditioning systems and water heaters. It’s already in our own best interest to buy energy star products. Why not get paid by the government for doing it?
My first tip to you if you're living in an older home in Iowa City is to check out how much insulation you have in your attic. Until recently it was standard for homes in our area to have a 3 - 4 inches of insulation in the attic. Current data shows us that we need a minimum of 10 - 14 inches, (depending on the type of insulation used), to effectively keep the heat in our homes from going up and out of the roof. In fact, adding just 10 inches of insulation is likely to save us 20% on heating cost. Insulation is pretty cheap, so we're talking a good bang for the buck here!
Now before you rush off to spend money on home improvements, we know we can rely on the government to complicate the process when it comes to the eligibility requirements for this credit, so the best thing is to do is go to the government's EnergyStar Website and check out exactly what qualifies for the credit. Just as an example, the standard required for windows in 2009 is different to 2010 (!)
Below are some of the basic requirements as far as the standard type of home improvement I’m talking about in this post. There are different time lines and requirements for solar, wind and geo-thermal energy that I’m not going into here. You’ll find more info about that on the EnergyStar Website.
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I'm a Brit selling real estate in Iowa. (The accent often surprises people). Enthusiastic and passionate about real estate I love helping clients buy and sell homes in the Iowa City area.
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