**Click here to see the original post on wealthwithmorgage.com**Numbers are extremely important to consider when buying, selling and financing a home.  Each week I receive a summary of the market activity in my email and I find these statistics very valuable.  Even though I cannot personally sell or help you purchase a home (I'm a money guy.. not a house guy). I can assist you in finding the right person for the job!Below is last week's market summary.  Looks like home sales were up last week!  (Click to Biggie Size It!)Sorry for the photo quality.  I will get that corrected next week.The weekly market watch content is courtesy of Heather Barglof.  Statistics are compiled from DMAAR.Email this • Technorati Links • Add to del.icio.us • Stumble It! • Subscribe to this feed**Click here to ... 01/17/2008

 Did you know you can buy a new home in Des Moines just East of Lower Beaver on Bel Aire with no taxes for 5 years and your kids will go to Johnston Schools?Prices start below 200,000.  Check out Sawyers Dr. on my web site under listings. www.dsmrealestate.com.  You will alson find a free clasified section and a directory of people to help with some of of things to do with owning a huse. 01/08/2008

My personal photos from the Barton Solvents Fire in Des Moines, Iowaby: Brian Wentz, RealtorI was sorting through my files on my laptop, and copying off old listing pictures today when I ran across the photos I took of the huge fire we had in Des Moines at the Barton Solvents plant we had back in October. I was just finishing an appointment not far from the facility when I saw the black smoke starting to rise. So I grabbed my camera, and off I went to see what was happening. It was truly amazing to see the flames rising far into the sky and the 55 gallon barrels shooting off like rockets!It looks like the investigation is showing that the fire started from static electricity when workers were transferring some chemicals. Thankfully, no one was killed in the accident.What a day that was.... 12/31/2007

To All Our Current and Past Customers, Thanks for a Great 2007!by Brian Wentz, Realtor Beth and I just wanted to take a moment to say "Thank You" for a great 2007! It has been another exceptional year, thanks to the support and business of our customers and vendors! We are always amazed at the wonderful people we have the opportunity to meet in our business. Each year, we think "It couldn't get any better than this", and each year it does.We appreciate all the support, and we look forward to exciting new beginnings for 2008!                                   Brian Wentz & Beth ErnstBurnett RealtyDes Moines, Iowa Real Estatewww.BrianWentzRealtor.com 12/23/2007

I admit, Des Moines has sometimes had an image with "outsiders" as being "fly over country"- but not really somewhere to stop and visit. Those of us who live here, know how unique, and wonderful this community really is, which is why we choose to be a part of this great city. With the caucuses just a few weeks away, Des Moines is in the national spotlight once again. And as Des Moines plays host to many of those very "outsiders", who in some cases have not been here since 2004, it is fun to see their thoughts on far Des Moines has come!This article, found in the New York Times, highlights what we know to be true- Des Moines is a fun, vibrant, place to live and be!  Brian Wentz, Realtorwww.BrianWentzRealtor.com515-334-4994 12/08/2007

We all know that when we make improvements to our homes, we don't typically get 100% of our investment back when we move. And certainly, we make improvements to our homes for more reasons than just the return on investment. We do it to enjoy the time we spend in our home, to keep it up to date with current trends, and to personalize it to our individual tastes.  But how much a typical project return?Knowing that can help you properly plan and budget. Otherwise, a project stands to drain your wallet both now, and down the road at resale time.The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has released its annual report today. The report documents the average cost associated with a variety of home improvements, as well as the average increase in value that improvement has on a typical home, in... 12/06/2007

Local Builder Will Unlock Your Frozen Equity, Pay For The Sale of Your Current Home!This week, the Mills Family of Home Builders announced an incentive program called "Thaw Out Your Frozen Equity". The program is aimed at current home owners who want to move to new construction, who are either looking for an incentive to make their move now, or who might not have enough equity in their home to make a move possible, without this program. Under this program, the builder will actually pay the commission on the sale of your current home (up to $14,000), when you purchase one of theirs. The program works like this: Let's say you would like to move to a brand new, larger home. But you believe you can not move because, maybe you either owe about what your home is worth, or would not have enoug... 12/05/2007

Most mornings I read the local newspaper while listening to the National TV news, and more often than not I am bombarded with messages from the media about how bad the real estate market is right now. Stores seem endless about sellers who cannot get their homes sold, about how values are unstable, and how you be "crazy" to be a buyer in this market. (Yes, the guest on one morning program actually used the word "Crazy".) And admittedly, there are many markets experiencing major corrections. But with values in some markets rising 20... 30....50% annually in recent years... Well, we all knew it was bound to happen at some point.But in Des Moines, we always seem to march to a bit of our own beat. While the markets have appreciated nicely for many years now, we have not experienced the outla... 12/04/2007

Dara Rasavanh Joins RE/MAX Real Estate Concepts Dara Rasavanh formerly of Iowa Realty has joined our Southside office.Dara has been licensed since 1992 and has a wealth of knowledge in selling real estate. Dara has a reputation of taking care of her clients and does very well with getting referrals from them.Dara's contact information is below ...... please welcome her to RE/MAXCurrent email: Dara@RealEstateConcepts.net She will be using a remax.net email address soon.Cell: 490-0481 Office: 515.276.2872www.HomeConnectUSA.comDes Moines Real Estate Des Moines Homes for SaleTake a Look at RE/MAX and Our Office 09/03/2007

Current Market Conditions Nationally the housing market has made a dramatic downturn while Iowa was one of six states to post higher existing-home sales for the second quarter. July home sales increased 3.2 percent; the number of homes sold was 1,053. The average sale price increased 2.2 percent - or $3,781 - to $177,118. Sales volume for July climbed 5.5 percent to $186.5 million. The inventory for homes for sale shrank 1 percent, to 6,761.Iowa was at 4.7% unemployment in 2004, today we are at 3.9%.Mortgage rates in 2006 we were at 6.68%, today we are at 6.60%.RE/MAX continues to have Premier Market Presence in the City of Des Moines, RE/MAX Real Estate Concepts has posted records in 2007 not seen in our 7 year history.Iowa was at 4.7% unemployment in 2004, today we are at 3.9%.Mortgag... 09/02/2007

We are excited to announce we are opening an Altoona office September 10th. Tracy Adams who is the owner of RE/MAX Qualities has decided to sell her franchise to Real Estate Concepts & Nigel Chapman. Nigel has partnered with Real Estate Concepts with our Managing Partnership program. The Managing Partner has an initial investment with an ownership stake and shares in the profit or loss of that office. Tracy joined RE/MAX in 1999 and has been a top producer since day one. She purchased her RE/MAX franchise from Steve Wolvers in 2005 and currently ranks 38th in number of sales as a buyer's agent in Polk County. Tracy will be joining us on September 10th and is looking forward to meeting everyone. The Altoona office now enables our agents to meet with their clients at the West Des Moines, ... 09/02/2007

Des Moines Real Estate Firm's Growth Continues With New Downtown LocationRE/MAX Real Estate Concepts is proud to announce the opening of its newest office at the Kaleidoscope at the HUB downtown. The HUB location opened its doors on May 21, bringing to four the number of offices RE/MAX Real Estate Concepts maintains in the Des Moines metro area. RE/MAX Real Estate Concepts' new downtown site at 655 Walnut, Suite 225, is a prime example of real estate maxim "location, location, location"; over 15,000 people walk through the skywalk level of the Kaleidoscope every business day, opening up a whole new market for Des Moines-area real estate services."We're loving the way downtown's changing, and obviously that's going to be, in the next couple of years, something that's going to be creating... 07/07/2007

Our uptown 41st Street block, in Des Monies, IA just held it's eighth annual block party.  I've been actively involved for a long time now, as one of the founders of the original organizing committee so I knew the value of a block party several years before I restarted my RE career. We've typically had at least 50% participation from the 40 households that are on the block.   Because we've done it so long now, this year's preparation was pretty much on autopilot -- the leadership team knows what roll they have played in the past and each member took simply a "same thing, different year" approach. We try to pull in new neighbors and this year our two new households (from Chicago and N.C.) attended and that's a nice testimony to the caliber of people we are attracting.  Then most of the n... 06/10/2007

It's a nice problem to have -- I seldom have that many listings anyhow - I think five is my tops thus far, but recently I changed companies, brought my three listings with me.  Two sold in a week and the other within a month!  Now I'm fresh out and I need to get some new ones.  Believe me though, I'm not complaining.  :^) I work in all kinds of ways to prospect for new ones but I'm wondering whether others here have had experience with companies like HomeGain or Reply.com?   I don't relish the idea of going out and knocking on FSBO doors, yet it has proved to be a fruitful method from time to time.  Generally, that's what I do if I'm short on work and long on time.   Or, I issue another newsletter.  I do have some active buyers and prospects for future listings down the road, fortunatel... 05/29/2007

Like Capitalization Rate, P/E ratios are a quick and easy way to determine whether a particular investment opportunity warrants further discovery.  Do others use P/E Ratios or do you have another technique that gives you what you're looking for?    05/12/2007

Here is link to my favorite links page, and from there, if you select the entry for Des Moines Anti-Bubble Research,  you can open a PDF document published about RE values in Des Moines.   It's for the analytical types who want more info than what will be available in the local newspapers. I also keep very accurate info for an area I call my "Listing Prospect Farm" area -- from 34th to 48th, and from Hickman to the Freeway.  A big area of approximately 2000 homes but this gives me enough inputs so that my data is less skewed.   Good reliable data on local real estate trends is hard to find, but that's why I keep it, and usually use this to help me to provide an accurate "Maximum Market Value Report".  We never had a "bubble" in the Des Moines or Central Iowa Market, so it's highly impro... 05/12/2007

Recently, several business people in the City of Des Moines have been making their way each Wednesday morning to the Cub Club for a great meeting to create word-of-mouth referrals.  As many of us in the Real Estate Industry know, the best type of business lead that you can receive is a referral.  We can obtain them from past customers, yet they aren't as inclined to think of their role in our business as being a "salesperson" on our team.  It's different with the BNI group -- Business Networking International's moral compass revolves around the premise that "Givers Gain" -- the more referrals I give to you, the more likely you are to want to give referrals back to me.   This new chapter has quickly grown from 1 to 7 members, and we're looking to grow to 25 as quicly as possible -- while... 04/05/2007

The use of the ethanol blend of gasoline known as e-85 has increased 200%.  Ethanol is made from corn in Iowa.  The due to the demand for e-85 corn prices have gone up.  In reading The City Of Des Moines 2006 performance report I read "In Iowa, the price of corn is one of the primary variables used in calculating the taxable value of residential property"  That is intresting to hear.  Assessed Value:  Is the value of a property for the purpose of taxation. The adverage assessed value in the city of Des Moines is $89,530.  That value is then reduced by the state property tax roll back of 52% Meaning tax is calculated on less then half of the property value. The the assessed value of assessed residential property in Des Moines is $6.75 Billion  03/17/2007

The First Realty's Westown Office is the # 2 Real Estate Office in the MLS area Des Moines West. The 2006 Des Moines Area Association of Realtors' Statistic show that Westown had a 12.04% market share. The average sales price was $185,132. The average sales price for the #1 ranked office was $ 167,920. That is a 10.5% difference in sale price. I will say that again: a 10.5% difference in sales price. The number one office had only 1.5% more sales than Westown. The MLS Area Des Moines West is a collection of neighborhoods including North of Grand, Waterbury, South of Grand And Ingersoll Park. First Realty/Better Homes & Gardens® was founded in Des Moines in 1960. With four metro Des Moines locations, and 30 affiliate offices across Iowa; the company has the largest statewide affiliate p... 02/27/2007

Another article in the Des Moines Business Record shows that even though some things have been declining, the economy's looking better and better for 2007 in Des Moines and central Iowa. FORECAST FOR 2007: Things are looking up. "A solid year" - Carl Tannenbaum. "Home sales have declined steadily since 2004," he said. "But today's sales would still be all-time highs just a few years ago." -Carl Tannenbaum. With things looking positive for 2007, what better time to buy a home? What better time to upgrade, or even find that dream home today? Need help? That's what I'm here for. Call me to list your home today!Adam Forney 515.865.6000Adam@YourDesMoines.com Not sure yet? Visit me today online! www.YourDesMoines.com 01/31/2007