Greater Des Moines Real Estate and Living Journal

August brought improvement in property sales for many markets around the nation and the Des Moines area was no exception. The numbers look rougher than they actually are due to the expiration of the home buyer tax credits which essentially ended June 30th 2010 after a nearly two and a half year r...

It's that time of year again. The leaves are falling, the swimming pools are empty, the air is getting crisp and volunteers are signing up to read with elementary school children in Des Moines through the Everybody Wins! program. Everybody Wins! is a mentoring and literacy program that teams up w...

Technically accurate data is about to become guaranteed on the Des Moines MLS. Few, if any, agents would argue that having accurate listing data is a negative, but questions may still surround the method by which data is considered "accurate." Agents on the Des Moines MLS received this notice tod...

A few years back I helped a couple buy a home in Bridgewood near the new Jordan Creek mall in West Des Moines. That was in 2004 and the home then backed, and still backs, to a large 8 acre parcel of undeveloped land. At the time the land was zoned PUD but permitted uses were for daycare and or no...

It's always nice to get fed and network, and thanks to our local RPAC or REALTOR Political Action Committee chapter agents could do just that at an appreciation event and mixer tonight at the Rock Bottom Brewery in Clive. The event was held in the billiard room and invitees received two free drin...

After some ups and downs, Iowa's foreclosure rate is on the upswing again. According to an article in the Friday August 27th 2010 Des Moines RegisterIowa's foreclosure rate rose to 2.82% of all mortgages in the second quarter of the year. The figures provided were gleaned from a Mortgage Bankers ...

Yesterday there were 56 new listings on our MLS and 117 price changes. That's a large number of changes to be sure and in looking at the inventory I noticed that approximately half were from one builder, Hubbell Homes. I view price change numbers above new listings to be a bearish factor for pric...

A few years back I had the good fortune to meet Barb. Barb had a family members home in the Beaverdale area that she needed to get sold. It was a small home with a partial basement but it was on an excellent lot. It ended up selling in about two months and Barb was pretty happy with the result. F...