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Iowa – Top 5 States with the Healthiest Housing Market

April 25, 2011
By skogman
 

Downtown Cedar Rapids, Iowa

On April 17th, CNBC.com ran an article highlighting 10 ten states with the healthiest housing markets.  While Iowa is reported to have some of the lowest real estate prices, we were still able to rank in the top 5!  To determine the state of the housing market the chief economist at LendingTree, Cameron Findlay, looked at debt-to-income ratio, unemployment, home ownership, negative equity and the average loan-to-value ratio.

Iowa was ranked number 5, behind Maine, New Hampshire, Minnesota and number one was North Dakota.

Here are the stats for Iowa as reported by CNBC.com:
Debt as percent of income: 13%
Unemployment rate: 6.1%
Home Ownership: 71.1%
Negative equity: 42.9%
Average Home Price: $152,000
Loan as percent of home value: 66.7%
Percent of U.S. Market: .42%

The article states that Iowa ‘has the best debt as a percent of income on the list’, that combined with the low unemployment rate are what kept us high up on the list.

To read the full of the article: http://www.cnbc.com/id/42557873?slide=1

 
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Market Update

January 18, 2011
By skogman
 

2010 was a peculiar year in the real estate market.  The year started with the home buyer tax credit still in place, which lead to some of the best sales months we have ever seen.  In the 2nd quarter the Cedar Rapids Area Association of Realtors had the most sales in its history.  We knew we ‘borrowed’ sales from the coming months, but we could have never predicted how many.  There was a staggering drop in sales in May which lead to the worst 3rd quarter in closings in 10 years according to CRAAR.  We didn’t see sales begin to recover until November, when we a saw a 13% increase in pendings over 2009. December also showed a 7% increase over 2009.  Overall the year ended up just 4% below 2009.

A bright note in the 4th Quarter was the reduction in inventory.  In March the number of homes for sale in the Cedar Rapids area jumped to more than 2100 and continued to rise through September.  October was the first month we saw a slight decrease in inventory and the decline continued through November and December.  While we are happy to be heading in the right direction, inventory is still 13% higher than it was this time last year.

The Iowa City area also saw some of the highs and lows throughout the year.  The Iowa City Association of Realtors reports that the total number of units sold was down 6% from 2009, while the average sale price was up slightly to $184,050 from $183,560 in 09.  Iowa City saw a spike in inventory before the tax credit ended, but has seen that number steadily decline since May.  In the month of December the number of homes for sale in Iowa City was at a 15 month low.

The number of homes for sale in a market is an indicator of how strong that market is.  If there are fewer homes for sale that would typically mean that more homes are selling and therefore the market is thriving.  When combined with the number of sales, we can see how many months of inventory we have.  At the end of 2010 Cedar Rapids had 7.3 months of inventory and Iowa City had 10 months.  In a ‘good’ market we like that number to be under 6 months.

We have been very fortunate in the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City real estate market when compared to our colleagues across the country.  We are cautiously optimistic for 2011 that we will see a more stable real estate market.

2010 Iowa City area real estate market snap shot

2010 Cedar Rapids real estate market snap shot

 
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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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Pending Home Sales up 23% in Cedar Rapids

April 14, 2010
By skogman
 

Spring has sprung in Cedar Rapids!  Buyers are out in full force and are looking for the homes of their dreams.  Pending home sales in Cedar Rapids for the first quarter are up 23% when compared to 2009.  Skogman Realty’s pending transactions were up 32%! 

2010 is off to a great start and we expect to keep this momentum going through April 30th and the end of the tax credit deadline.  With only a couple weeks remaining there has been a lot of speculation that the sales we are seeing today are sales that would have normally come in future months.   While we hope this isn’t the case there is really no way of knowing if the number of buyers will significantly drop off May 1st. 

So what does this mean for you?  For sellers, the April 30th deadline is as important for you as it is for the buyers.  Buyers are hurrying to get an accepted offer by April 30th, they are highly motivated and have a lot of homes to choose from.  With approximately 1200 homes for sale in the Cedar Rapids metro area there is a lot of competition and your home needs to stand out from all of the others.

For buyers, because homes are selling quickly it is important that you are pre-qualified and have all of your ducks in a row so when you are ready to make an offer the sellers know you are willing and able buyer.