Iowa Real Estate Blog | Skogman Realty

Shake It All About at FRY Fest

September 3, 2010
By skogman

FRY fest is a celebration of all things Hawkeye. FRYday, September 3rd, thousands will gather at the Marriott Hotel in Coralville, Iowa to celebrate the University of Iowa Hawkeyes and their beloved Hayden Fry. Fry, coached the Hawks from 1979 to 1998 and was responsible for bringing the Tigerhawk to the U of I.

Today’s events include the worlds largest Hawkeye Tradeshow and Tailgate party, honoring of the 1960 and 1985 Big Ten Champion teams and concerts by The Nadas and Three Dog Night.

There will also be an attempt at the worlds largest Hokey Pokey dance for a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records. The current record was set in 2003 in Toronto, Canada where they had 4,431 dancers. The dance will take place at the Iowa River Landing with check in at 5:30 and the dance starting at 6:00 pm. Representatives from the Guinness Book of World Records will be there to witness the event.

There are numerous family friends activities planned throughout the day so put on your black and gold and head to Iowa City for the FRY Fest!

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Cedar Rapids Museum of Art Free Summer!

August 25, 2010
By skogman

Still Life with Cherries by Pablo Picasso

Skogman Realty is proud to be co-sponsoring the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art Free Summer! Now through September 19^th admission is free to all visitors. CRMA is a great place to spend the day with friends and family viewing historic pieces of art. There are currently nine exhibitions on display including work by local artists Grant Wood and Marvin Cone as well as pieces from Monet and Picasso.

We are excited to be taking advantage of this event by taking a tour of the From Monet to Picasso: The Riley Collection, which is one of the most significant private collections in Iowa.

The Museum is located at 410 Third Ave SE, Cedar Rapids and is open 10 am to 4 pm.

Stop in and explore!

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Featured Listing: 1812 2nd Ave SE, Cedar Rapids

August 4, 2010
By skogman

This weeks featured Cedar Rapids home for sale is located at 1812 2nd Avenue SE and is listed for $200,000 by Amy Starr. This is a unique but magnificent home with over 4,200 square feet finished, 5 bedrooms and 2 and a half bathrooms. With this home we decided to have owners answer our questions, because who better to describe a home than the people who get to enjoy it everyday.

Q: What distinctive features set this home apart?

A: The original woodwork is what people notice first. Beyond that the new and spacious kitchen really is appealing and functional.

Q: Can you describe the architectural style of the home?

A: The House is built in the Arts and Crafts style made popular by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Q: What are the advantages of the location and neighborhood?

A: Being on Second Avenue gives you easy access to downtown and local shopping. You are on a snow route so the street is always plowed during winter weather. Since it is a one-way there is mainly morning traffic going into downtown. After that it is quiet in the evening and on the Weekends. We are in the Historic District so the neighborhood has beautiful and distinct types of architecture. For families, I’d have to say that we are thrilled to have our children attend Washington High School. WHS is ranked by Newsweek Magazine as the Top High School in Iowa.

Q: Have there been any recent renovations or upgrades?

A: The Kitchen has been completely remodeled but still has the feel of an Arts and Crafts era home. People say the flooring is stunning ~ a refinished/restored Bird’s Eye Maple. The 1^st and 2^nd floors have both received fresh paint.

Q: What amazing views will the new homeowner be able to enjoy?

A: Looking into the fireplace on a winter night is always cozy. The tile surround is original and features a mosaic from the Grubey Tile Company.

Q: What makes the price of this home so great?

A: With over 4000 square feet, you will find no better price per square footage in Cedar Rapids.

Q: Can you tell us a fun fact about the home?

A: We have 6 staircases in the home!!!

Q: Is there anything else you would like us to know about the home?

A: I love our neighborhood. It is safe and beautiful. As we are in a Historic District, there is a lot of Pride of Ownership. It shows inside and outside of our homes. Our block is very family-oriented with 5 families with High School age children and 3 families of Elementary School age.

We would like to thank the owners of 1812 2nd Ave SE, for taking the time to tell us about the home.

About Amy:

Amy has been in the business just over 5 years and in that time has managed to become one of Skogman Realty’s top producers. To schedule a time to see this home or for any additional information, contact Amy.

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Featured Listing: 6020 Flagstone Dr NE, Cedar Rapids

July 29, 2010
By skogman

Listed by Debra Callahan, today’s Cedar Rapids home for sale sits in the Lost Quarry neighborhood. Located at 6020 Flagstone Dr NE, this home was built in 2004 and is a split bedroom ranch plan with 5 bedrooms and 3 and a 1/2 bathrooms with over 3,800 square feet finished. The lower level features a large rec room with a big screen TV, an area for a pool table, a bar and theater room with remote control lighting!

Hardwood floors throughout the great room, nook, kitchen, hallway and den are among the recent updates. The kitchen features stainless steel appliances, quartz breakfast bar and a nook that leads to the deck and patio. Cathedral ceilings, atrium staircase and floor to ceiling windows give this home its dramatic feel.

The home backs up to green space offering views of trees and wild life. Lost Quarry is within walking distance to Rockwell’s main office with shopping, schools and restaurants just minutes away.

The price of the home was just lowered $10,000 to $329,500, which is less than what the sellers paid for it 6 years ago! The home at 6020 Flagstone Dr NE is vacant and ready for new owners!

About Debra:

Debra prides herself on the ability to give her clients excellent service. Whether she is helping you sell your home or purchase a new home, you’ll experience a whole new level of personal service.

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Best of the Corridor 2010

July 19, 2010
By skogman

For the past five years the Corridor Business Journal has been doing a Best of the Corridor survey. CBJ subscribers were asked to vote for the people and companies they deemed the best in 50 different categories designed to hit several area business sectors.

Skogman Realty was voted ‘Best Real Estate Management Company’ in the Corridor for the second time. We are thrilled that the public and fellow business owners feel that we are doing a good job and serving our clients well.

In the write up, which ran in the July 19-25 issue, President Chris Skogman talks about how Skogman Realty doesn’t buy into the old adage in the real estate industry, that a company’s most important assets are their homes for sale or their listing inventory. Chris says, at Skogman, the most important assets are the agents. “The one thing that can’t be copied is the quality of the agent that works here. So we’re constantly striving to have the hardest working and most highly respected people working with us.” This couldn’t be more true. Skogman has an amazing group of agents and with them comes the listings.

Thank you to all of our agents and employees for making Skogman the Best in the Corridor.

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Freedom From Hunger

July 8, 2010
By skogman

As part of the HACAP Freedom From Hunger food drive we decided to have a competition between our 5 offices to see who could collect the most food. Starting Monday June 28th the offices had until Friday the 2nd to collect food and get it to HACAP. The office with the most food in weight, would win a pizza party for their office.

Here are the results:

Marion Office: 58 pounds
West Office: 70 pounds
Coralville Office: 193 pounds
Downtown Office: 358 pounds
Hiawatha Office: 560 pounds

That is a total of 1,239 pounds of food that will go the HACAP Food Reservoir and will be distributed to area food pantries, free meal sites and programs that serve the homeless and hungry in Cedar Rapids and surrounding areas.

HACAP is a great organization and does great things for the community, we are happy to be able to contribute to the cause.

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Freedom Festival

July 1, 2010
By skogman

It’s that time of year again…time for the Freedom Festival! This is always a sure sign that it is summer in Cedar Rapids. Ever since I was little, I have loved the Freedom Fest and everything it represents. The family activities, the patriotism and the culture are all part of the spirit!

I love this time of year, not just because of the great childhood memories I have surrounding it, but also because there is always something to do! The Balloon Glow, the parade, the Office Olympics, tons of concerts and of course the big finale, the fireworks on July 4^thare just a few of my favorites. The events and activities that take place over these couple of weeks are not only entertaining but are educational and are a celebration of the community.

This year will be extra special with the fireworks returning downtown for the first time since the flood. I look forward to seeing the swarms of people gathering on the streets and roof tops to see the amazing display.

Have a safe and happy fourth of July!

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May Sales Leaders

June 16, 2010
By skogman

May was supposed to be a slow month in real estate, with the end of the tax credit, but these four women proved that the Cedar Rapids real estate market didn’t come to a screeching halt! Collectively they sold almost 5 million dollars in real estate.

Great job ladies and keep up the good work!

Heather Morris Cathy Hill

Heather Morris - Iowa Realtor Iowa Realtor photo

Tiffany Earl Debra Callahan

A Realtor Photo

* Their names will appear on the marquee at our 1st Avenue office celebrating their success.

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Two years later…

June 14, 2010
By skogman

It has been two years since we stood in the parking lot of our downtown office, watching water from the flooded Cedar River rushing up 1^stAvenue making its way toward us. It wasn’t until the water passed the rail road tracks and started seeping into our parking lot, that we started to get a little nervous.

Our land surveyor told us that our building was sitting at 34 feet, above the river, so as long as the water didn’t hit that point we would be OK. Luckily for us the river crested at 31 feet, stopping short of our building.

The realization that we were going to stay dry was bitter sweet. We looked around to our neighbors and they were not as fortunate. The river’s water covered more than 10 city square miles, leaving a wake of destruction in its path. More than 5,000 homes were damaged and over 900 businesses were affected.

While there have been great strides in the rebuilding process for homeowners and for businesses, there is still so much to be done. Buildings downtown sit empty and neighborhood blocks sit dark at night waiting to learn its fate.

Programs like Block by Block and Iowa Department of Economic Development (IDED) are helping to restore and rebuild homes in and out of flood affected areas . These programs are not only putting people back into their homes but are also building new homes in the Cedar Rapids area to replace those that are being torn down.

We have many hurdles yet to climb but day by day we are progressing toward full recovery and we look forward to a bigger and better Cedar Rapids.

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New Construction Sales Report for 2009

June 9, 2010
By rj murphy

Skogman Realty is fortunate enough to work with a large number of builders in our community. Our relationships with our builder partners run deep and we truly value the opportunity we have to work together. I thought I would share some of our statistics from last year to show how we measure up.

In 2009 the Cedar Rapids Area Association of Realtors listed and sold 724 new construction listings. This is down from the 750 new construction sold listings in 2008.

Of these 724 sold new homes in 2009, Skogman Realty listed and sold 238 of these homes and brought buyers to the purchase 264 times! ** Or said another way…Skogman participated in the sale of 69% of the new construction transactions in 2009.

Average days on the market for the Cedar Rapids Area Association of Realtors MLS new construction listings is 133 days, average price is $201,493.

Average days on the market for Skogman Realty Builder Partner new construction listings is only 115 days, average price is $227,644.

Skogman Realty sold their Builder Partner new construction listings for an average of 18 days faster and for 11% more than the average price in the CRAAR MLS.

In the calendar year of 2009 Skogman Realty represented 53 different new construction Builder Partners.

Visit our Builder Profile page to see a list of our builder partners or simply search all new construction listings to find a home that suites you.

If you are a builder and have questions about our Builder Development program and would like to learn how to be a Builder Partner please contact RJ Murphy @ 319-360-6345 or rjmurphy@skogman.com or any Skogman Realtor.

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