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Coralville, IA Real Estate News

By Denise Hamlin, Broker/Owner, Helping Happy Clients Make Smart Choices
(Cardinal Realty ~ 319-400-0268)
Coralville City Council Meeting November 22, 2016Bridgewater Development PUD Site Plan ApprovedBack in September I wrote about attending my first Council Meeting in Coralville as a resident specifically interested in the Bridgewater Development. At the time, residents living on the access road put forward a strong case with regard to Part 4 of the Bridgewater Development. The site plan at the time involved putting 4 apartment buildings, each with 36 units in a neighborhood that otherwise only has single family homes. The residents also voiced their concerns about the amount of traffic that would be generated by multi-family housing in an environment that until now has been single family homes. Were their concerns heard? The answer to that question is probably yes and no.The Developers c...
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By Denise Hamlin, Broker/Owner, Helping Happy Clients Make Smart Choices
(Cardinal Realty ~ 319-400-0268)
Residents Have Their Say At Public Hearing ~ Bridgewater Development, Coralville IAA couple of weeks ago I got a letter from the City of Coralville informing me of a proposed development in an area that backs up to my house and my neighborhood. It was a two liner, and included a plan of the proposed Bridgewater Development. I'm a Realtor®. I'm also a Homeowner. I was a bit torn about what I thought about this plan. (2 lines is hardly enough info to form an opinion on). On the one side I often walk in that neighborhood and with my Realtor® hat on had often wondered what the hold up was in developing what is a prime piece of land in a prime Coralville location. On the other hand, as a homeowner I'm not fussed on the idea of having the view of my wooded back yard spoilt with apartments abo...
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By Denise Hamlin, Broker/Owner, Helping Happy Clients Make Smart Choices
(Cardinal Realty ~ 319-400-0268)
What are the top 3 emotional reasons to buy a house or condo in Coralville? I had to take off my Realtor® hat for this and think really hard why I think Coralville is such a great place to live and what it is that I appreciate most about the town I live in. Walking and Biking Trails in CoralvilleFirstly, I want to say that if you like to walk, which I do, Coralville offers lots of opportunities for that. For a small town of approximately 20,000 residents we have a really good selection of parks and walking and biking trails. Not to mention, just walking around the tree lined neighborhoods is a pretty walk on its own. I'm fortunate enough to live about a five minute walk from the Brown Deer Golf Club and often I find myself walking along the Brown Deer Neighborhoods, looking at the lovel...
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By Denise Hamlin, Broker/Owner, Helping Happy Clients Make Smart Choices
(Cardinal Realty ~ 319-400-0268)
Many home buyers relocating to Iowa City end up in Coralville, myself included. Why do you suppose that is? I've written before about the many advantages of Relocating to Iowa City. Today I want to look at what makes Coralville such a great place to live. Living in Coralville ~ Location, Location, Location!There are a couple of very big advantages to living in Coralville. The first is the easy access to the Interstate. This is a huge advantage if your daily commute requires a trip to Cedar Rapids or North Liberty. Coralville is also just 20 minutes away from The Eastern Iowa Airport, a 3 - 4 hour drive to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester and about the same distance from Chicago. In other words it's strategically well positioned for a multitude of reasons for residents of all ages - students...
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By Denise Hamlin, Broker/Owner, Helping Happy Clients Make Smart Choices
(Cardinal Realty ~ 319-400-0268)
Home Sales in Coralville January - September 2014 Home Sales in Coralville are down slightly for the year and up for the last quarter, with a surge in September when almost twice as many homes sold in Coralville as last year. The chart shows home sales in Coralville from January through September. It includes what I'm calling the "market movers" - Single Family Homes, Condos and Zero Lots. These are the styles / types of homes that make up the bulk of the residential home sales in Coralville. A quick glance will tell you right away that both single family homes and zero lots were and still are in short supply for the many buyers out and about looking for homes this year.  All the indicators show that Coralville is trending towards a sellers market. There are just 87 listings showing as ...
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By Denise Hamlin, Broker/Owner, Helping Happy Clients Make Smart Choices
(Cardinal Realty ~ 319-400-0268)
39 homes sold in Coralville in August 2012 compared to 39 in August 2011. This is one of those times you realize why they say real estate is local. Coralville home sales are even with last year, while  home sales are up by 30% in Iowa City and 67% in North Liberty. These are towns that flow into one another and yet they are very different markets. When you look at the chart you'll see that it's single family homes that are popular with buyers in Coralville at the moment. Zero Lot sales which have been doing great this year in Coralville are down in August. The absorption rate  is down just slightly at 5.8 months, that's an average of  178 days on market. The fact that the absorption rate is consistently going down every month is a measure of the continuing strength in the Coralville IA ...
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By Denise Hamlin, Broker/Owner, Helping Happy Clients Make Smart Choices
(Cardinal Realty ~ 319-400-0268)
Home Sales are up by an impressive 29% in Coralville for the the first half of 2012. 167 homes sold in Coralville January through June 2012 compared to 129 in the same time frame last year.   If you hop over to the original post on my website, you'll find a table with details on average and median price of homes sold in Coralville in the last six months. The good news is that home prices in Coralville  are up a tad too. The absorption rate  is at 6.8 months, that's an average of 206 days on market.   So what exactly does this data mean to you as a home buyer or home seller in Coralville? If you've got a house to sell in Coralville, the increase in activity means your chances of selling your home in shorter time frame are better than they have been in the last couple of years. Don't let ...
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By Denise Hamlin, Broker/Owner, Helping Happy Clients Make Smart Choices
(Cardinal Realty ~ 319-400-0268)
The 4th of July Parade in Coralville was once again a huge success. The hot weather did not slow things down at all. Although I wonder how it much fun it was for those in costume, like Santa Claus or Herky, (bet you never thought you'd see those two mentioned in one sentence, did you?)  Three of the photos I picked for this collage have "special meaning" in that they make you aware of upcoming events that you might want to put on your calendar. The Johnson County Fair is July 23rd through July 26th. FryFest is Friday September 7th. Last, but certainly not least, the Iowa City Aerohawks have their Annual Airshow on Sunday September 9th, 2012.   These are just a few of the photos I took. I also put together a slideshow. You can see that when you follow the link to my website denisehamlin....
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By Denise Hamlin, Broker/Owner, Helping Happy Clients Make Smart Choices
(Cardinal Realty ~ 319-400-0268)
The 12th Ave extension in Coralville and the S Jones Blvd expansion have resulted in connecting Coralville and North Liberty in a way they weren't connected before. Much of the boundary for the two towns runs along Forevergreen Rd. In fact North Central Junior High School is North of Forevergreen Rd, in North Liberty, while Michelle Ln is south of Forevergreen Rd, in Coralville. Van Allen Elementary School is behind North Central Junior High and as you can imagine, living that close to schools makes the neighborhoods around Michelle Ln pretty popular neighborhoods to live in. Click here to view homes in Van Allen School District At the time of writing this post the highest priced home in neighborhoods along the 12th Ave Extension is $549,000. The lowest priced home $279,900. Typically h...
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By Denise Hamlin, Broker/Owner, Helping Happy Clients Make Smart Choices
(Cardinal Realty ~ 319-400-0268)
4thFest in Coralville has become quite the tradition attracting thousands of visitors and residents every year.  4thFest 2012 starts on Saturday June 30 giving us 5 days of fun for this year's 4th of July celebrations. Most of the activities are free and take place at S.T. Morrison Park in Coralville. Events include a 5k run/walk, carnival, food and free concerts. The highlight of course is the 4thFest Parade starting at 10.00am on July 4th and the Fireworks after dark. The 4thFest Parade starts at the Geico - Macgregor's Parking Lot on 22nd Ave, Coralville with the same route as last year. <<-- Link to route. The Firework Display is after dark at S.T. Morrison Park. Any of the streets around 5th St in Coralville will get you a good view for that.  Schedule for 4th of July Celebrations ...
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By Denise Hamlin, Broker/Owner, Helping Happy Clients Make Smart Choices
(Cardinal Realty ~ 319-400-0268)
The City Circle Acting Company returns to the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts this week with their much anticipated production of  "Guys and Dolls." This classic musical comedy was adapted for the stage in 1950 and an instant success on Broadway. The familiar story of two worlds colliding when hard bitten gamblers cross paths with pious save-your-soul missionaries is one that's always gone over well with audiences. Now it's your chance to see it with our very own City Circle Acting Company at the CCPA in 6 performances coming up in the next 10 days. Schedule for Guys & Dolls at the CCPA June 15 - June 24, 2012 Friday June 15 - 7.30pm Saturday June 16 - 7.30pm Sunday June 17 - 2.00pm Friday June 22 - 7.30pm Saturday June 23 - 7.30pm Sunday June 24 - 2.00pm You can buy tickets o...
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By Denise Hamlin, Broker/Owner, Helping Happy Clients Make Smart Choices
(Cardinal Realty ~ 319-400-0268)
The Spring real estate market is definitely in full swing in the Iowa City area. The last market report looked at home sales in North Liberty, today the focus is on home sales in Coralville in March and April this year. April was a really  good month for home sales in Coralville with 30 homes sold in April 2012 compared to 13 homes sold in April 2011. That high number more than makes up for the fact that home sales in March were pretty flat.  The absorption rate in Coralville is at 7.5 months / 227 days on market. We still have a large inventory of homes on the market in Coralville. With  increased buyer activity and lots of homes contingent or pending sale just waiting to close it can really only be a matter of time before the market "absorbs" more homes in Coralville with the effect t...
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By Denise Hamlin, Broker/Owner, Helping Happy Clients Make Smart Choices
(Cardinal Realty ~ 319-400-0268)
The real estate market in Iowa City is heating up for spring, you know that already, I wrote about that last week. How about Coralville? If you follow my market reports you'll know that they don't move in tandem. Coralville is very different to Iowa City and had a harder time during the downturn. Fortunately Coralville also has a lot going for it, not only is it a real easy commute to Iowa City, there's also easy access to the Interstate. And yes, before you start wondering where I'm going with this, home sales are up in Coralville in April too. 22 homes sold in Coralville in April so far. That's already up by 69% compared to April 2011 and the month is not over yet! Double digits home sales this early in the year in Coralville is really a great sign that buyers are on the move in a ser...
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By Denise Hamlin, Broker/Owner, Helping Happy Clients Make Smart Choices
(Cardinal Realty ~ 319-400-0268)
What would you change in your home? That's the joy of home ownership. The moment a home is yours you want to make changes and because it's yours you have the freedom to make those changes. This year the Iowa City Area Home & Builder Show is coming at a time when home owners are ready for spring and thinking of ways how to make their great homes even better. Looking for ideas? Below is the schedule for the 2012 Home & Builder Show at the Coralville Marriott Conference Center. Schedule for the Iowa City Home & Builder Show 2012: When?Friday March 30, 2012 - 5.00pm - 9.00pmSaturday March 31, 2012 - 10.00am - 6.00pmSunday April 1, 2012 - 10.00am - 4.00pmWhere?Marriott Conference Center, Coralville, IA Visit iowacityhomes.com for a $1 off coupon The Iowa City Home & Builder Show is a communi...
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By Denise Hamlin, Broker/Owner, Helping Happy Clients Make Smart Choices
(Cardinal Realty ~ 319-400-0268)
The weather is anything but typical in Iowa at the moment. Usually at this time of the year we're still all wrapped up waiting for the warmer weather... Not so this year. This March the temps have regularly been in the high 60's and 70's. In fact pretty soon I'm sure we'll have weather forecasters telling us to go easy on the water - Rain fall has been pretty low this month too. Not that I'm complaining mind you. I love it when I walk out of my front door to be greeted by awesome views like this....
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By Denise Hamlin, Broker/Owner, Helping Happy Clients Make Smart Choices
(Cardinal Realty ~ 319-400-0268)
18 homes sold in Coralville in February 2012 compared to 8 homes sold in February 2011. That's a pretty impressive increase in home sales for Coralville. The absorption rate is at 8.4 months, that's an average of 254 days on market. (6 months absorption rate is a balanced market). Unsurprisingly that is up from last month. The number of active listings factors into how the absorption rate is calculated and with so many homes coming on the market as we head towards spring it makes total sense that the absorption rate is higher. That will change again once the prime selling season kicks in and the trend goes the other way with more homes selling than are being listed.     If you've got a house to sell, now is the time to get it on the market. You want to have your house on the market at a...
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By Denise Hamlin, Broker/Owner, Helping Happy Clients Make Smart Choices
(Cardinal Realty ~ 319-400-0268)
The City Circle Acting Company returns to the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts this week with their production of  "Our Town." If you have any preconceived ideas about theatre you can throw those out the window before going to see this show. There are no stars in this play. There's not even a plot. It's a story about ordinary folks in their ordinary lives told in a totally extraordinary way. This Pulitzer prize winning play surprised everyone when it was a hit back in the 30's and continues to deliver it's simple message today. The message about living, loving and dying will captivate audiences in Coralville the same as it's captivated audiences the world over for decades. Schedule for Our Town at the CCPA March 23 - April 1, 2012 Friday March 23 - 7.30pmSaturday March 24 - 7.3...
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By Denise Hamlin, Broker/Owner, Helping Happy Clients Make Smart Choices
(Cardinal Realty ~ 319-400-0268)
It's good news all around today. Not only are home sales up in Iowa City again this month, they're also up in Coralville. This is especially good news in Coralville as home sales took a bit of a dip in January. I figured it was a glitch, it's good to see I was right. 11 homes sold in Coralville in February so far compared to 5 this time last year. 24 homes are listed as pending or contingent and 175 homes are currently showing as Active Listings on the Iowa City MLS. As I said in my post earlier today, if you're on the fence about selling your home, now would be a REALLY good time to list it! Spring is typically the best time to list your home anyway. This is the time of year when you will get the biggest number of buyers out looking for homes at the same time. Iowa City is a relocation...
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By Denise Hamlin, Broker/Owner, Helping Happy Clients Make Smart Choices
(Cardinal Realty ~ 319-400-0268)
7 homes sold in Coralville in January 2012 compared to 15 homes sold in January 2011. If that seems like a bit of a drastic drop, only 3 sold in January 2010, which kind of puts things more in perspective. In fact I went back a few years and the low single digits is more typical for the last few years, making 7 seem more "normal" for the time of year than the high 15 homes sold last year. The absorption rate is at 7.2 months, that's an average of 217 days on market. (6 months absorption rate is a balanced market). Coralville is not doing as well as Iowa City where home sales are up for the 7th straight month and the absorption rate down to a low 4.8 months. If you check out the annual report for home sales in Coralville for 2011 you'll see that in general the trend is positive with a gl...
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By Denise Hamlin, Broker/Owner, Helping Happy Clients Make Smart Choices
(Cardinal Realty ~ 319-400-0268)
The most efficient way to search for homes in the Iowa City area is by school district. That way you can narrow down neighborhoods without making the area so small that the search becomes ineffective. That's the principal I use when helping buyers to find homes and figured it's just as effective a tool for researching homes sold by neighborhood. Last week I looked at Iowa City. Today I'm looking at homes sold in Coralville. Coralville has a population of about 20,000 and there are 3 elementary schools in Coralville itself. Some children living in the north of Coralville visit one of the other three elementary schools shown on the chart below in neighboring towns Tiffin, North Liberty and Iowa City. (If you check out this post where I created a map of elementary schools in the area you c...
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