What does sale pending mean? Can I still look at a house that is sale pending?This is one of those questions I get asked by buyers and sellers alike. Buyers want to make sure no-one else comes along to threaten their accepted offer. Sellers are excited and want the neighbors to know the hard work has paid off and they will be moving soon. For both the "Sale Pending" rider is a sign that they've reached the home stretch. Not too much can stop them now... Or can it?Judging by other posts I've read on the subject, the definition of sale pending may vary depending on the MLS. I'm a member of the Iowa City MLS and these rules are for the Iowa City area. If a house is marked sale pending on the Iowa City MLS it means that the buyers contingencies have been met in the purchase agreement. This ... 02/01/2011

After putting together several year over year market reports earlier in the month I figured it was time I drill it down some more and look at the numbers of homes sold in December in Iowa City. According to the Housing Trends Report released by the Iowa Association of Realtors this week home sales are up in Iowa for December. That's not the the case for Iowa City - Although they're not down either. 47 homes sold in December 2010 compared to 48 in December 2009. That's pretty even. There's a strange phenomena going on at the moment with single family homes sales down and condo sales on the rise. Not really sure what to make of that yet. We'll see in the coming months whether that trend continues. What's not at all surprising is that prices are down. It's winter. We have winter pricing, p... 01/24/2011

Spring is just around the corner. I know, it doesn't seem like it, but let's shake that off the winter blues this weekend and get into the mood for spring. What's got me so excited you ask? Well, that would be the Iowa City Area Home and Builder Show that's taking place this weekend at the Coralville Marriott Conference Center. I'm a real estate agent of course I'm excited. I love homes. (And I'm not just saying that). If you love homes too then you want to go to the Marriott this weekend and check out the Iowa City Home and Builder Show. If you're thinking of buying a home you'll find inspiration. If you're already a home owner and thinking about those updates you want to start in spring you'll find inspiration too. Schedule for the Iowa City Home & Builder Show 2011: When? Friday Janu... 01/21/2011

I want to ask the seller for closing costs - So how much are closing costs in Iowa City anyway Denise? This is another one of those questions that comes up a lot lately. Mostly of course with first time home buyers, for obvious reasons since it's the first time they buy a house. This of course is really a question for a lender. As it happens I do see A LOT of  HUD1 Settlement Statements so feel qualified enough to give you at least some guidance on the topic. Here's a list of the items that you will see for sure on your closing statement. These are estimates and will depend on the provider. (Bank, attorney, appraiser, etc). One of the questions I get asked is whether a more expensive house means more closing costs. It may when it comes to points, or a loan origination fee, but not for t... 01/17/2011

When is the best time to put your home on the market in Iowa City? That's a loaded question, isn't it? And one that comes up all the time at this time of year. Got an email this week reminding me that home owners have a very different view on this than Realtors and figured that was reason enough to write this post. To answer a question with another question. When exactly does the spring market kick in? That's the big motivating factor for when you should put your home on the market. From a Realtor's perspective I can tell you it's already started here in Iowa City. Spring is not weather dependent when it comes to the Iowa City real estate market. I'll go one step further and tell you it's pretty typical for the real estate market to pick up right after the 1st of the year. This year is ... 01/13/2011

Can you explain Seller Paid Closing Costs to me Denise? Questions about asking the seller for closing costs is really high on the list of questions I'm fielding lately, especially with first time homebuyers. To begin with I need to bust another myth. Seller paid closing costs are not really seller paid. What happens is that you as a buyer apply for financing on the home based on the purchase price and part of those proceeds go towards paying the closing costs. That might be difficult to understand, so let me give you an example. Let's say you make an offer on a house for $150,000 and ask for the seller to pay $2000* towards closing costs. What will happen is that you will apply for a home loan based on a purchase price of $150,000. At closing the seller will get $148,000 and $2000 will ... 01/10/2011

Denise, do you have access to see all the homes for sale in Iowa City? No matter what Real Estate Company is selling it? If so, do we just get you the address and you take it from there?This is a question I got in an email this week. It was a big wake up call for me. I'd met with these guys and explained the benefits of Buyer Agency. I write posts about the benefits of working with a Buyer's Agent all the time apparently assuming that Buyers know I can get them into any home they want to see. You know what they say about people who assume, right?From a Buyer's perspective, what benefit could it possibly be to work with a Buyer's Agent if you don't have the option to see every single home listed out there? It's fine that a Buyer's Agent will give you a peace of mind in a transaction, but... 01/08/2011

My last market report covered home sales in Iowa City for the last decade, (2003 - 2010 to be precise. That's how far back the Iowa City MLS goes). Today I'm going to drill it down a bit and compare data for home sales and average prices for homes sold in Iowa City comparing 2010 to 2009. 785 homes sold in Iowa City from January to December 2010 compared to 880 homes sold in the same time frame in 2009. That's a drop of 12%. Looking at the chart it's single family homes that have taken a hit. The rest of the market is pretty stable. In fact condo sales rose in 2010. The data is kind of mixed and I still don't have a crystal ball so I'll just go out on a limb here and say I think  it's possible the tide is turning and the Iowa City real estate market is starting to find its feet.  It's J... 01/05/2011

This is a question that comes up all the time. I touched on the question of NOT working with the listing agent in my post yesterday when I talked about how IDX works. Today I figure I'll put a very big misconception to rest about working with listing agents and why you really need a buyer's agent when you buy real estate in Iowa City. It is a total myth that working with the listing agent will get you a better deal on a house. For some reason there is the perception that working with someone, (the listing agent) who is close to the source, (the home seller), will get you as a buyer more information, more flexibility, better pricing, maybe even a reduced commission... The chances of any of these things happening are slim to none! Listing Agents have signed contracts with sellers. They ar... 01/02/2011

Haven't been blogging too much lately. Too busy fixing my website after my "move" back in November. I'm happy to say everything is where it should be now and I am oh so much smarter when it comes to website development. Not sure what that last part means, but my hope is that an efficient website will mean you spend more time here finding the information you need about Iowa City real estate. Not to mention the fact that you now also have access to the most current data when it comes to real estate listings in the Iowa City area with a direct feed from the Iowa City MLS. My first post of the year is on that very subject. Just got an email from someone who wants to set up a showing for a house in Iowa City. Perfect timing really as it gives me the opportunity to clarify exactly how IDX wor... 01/01/2011

It's the end of the year, a time reserved for reflection. What makes it even more interesting this year is that it's also the end of a decade and we have so much more to look back on. Today I decided it would be a good idea to look at the number of homes sold  in Iowa City in the last decade. Well, it was a good idea, but didn't quite work out as planned. It seems the Iowa City Area MLS only has data going back 7 years. (And I did call to make sure about that, because I would have liked to go back the full ten years).  For more info on housing trends in Iowa City here's a link to a post on the average price + median price 2003-2010   The graph shows the number of homes sold in Iowa City since 2003. Source for data is the Iowa City MLS. It may not be a complete look at the decade, but 7 ... 12/28/2010

It's the end of the year and time for a closer look at what's going on in the Iowa City real estate market. After looking at homes sold in Iowa City in the last decade, (or at least as far back as I could go in the Iowa City MLS), it's now time to look at the trends in home prices in Iowa City. You definitely need both to properly analyze housing trends in Iowa City. Some folks like to look at the average price, others prefer the median price. I usually go with the average price, but for this round-up decided to do both. The graph shows the average price and the median price of homes sold in Iowa City since 2003. Source for data is the Iowa City MLS. It may not be a complete look at the decade, but this is as far back as the Iowa City MLS goes and 7 years does give you a very good idea ... 12/28/2010

416 Active Listings20 Homes Under Contract11 Homes Sold week ending December 18, 2010 I was going to skip my weekly market update this week with Christmas at the door and all that, then I saw 11 homes sold last week and I thought that was definitely worth passing along! It seems it's developing into a pretty decent month for home sales in Iowa City after all. 8 single family homes and 3 condos sold last week in Iowa City.Highest Price home sold: $332,000Lowest Price home sold: $103,500Average Price of homes sold: $188,693Highest number of days on market: 141Lowest number of days on market: 26The absorption rate for Iowa City is 6.6 months. This is the time it takes for the market to "absorb" homes. What the absorption rate tells us that based on the current inventory the average time i... 12/20/2010

For me Cinderella epitomizes Christmas as one of the best pantomimes of the season. If not THE best. This weekend you can get carried away by the magic and music of Cinderella when the Iowa City Community Theatre and University of Iowa Community Credit Union present the beloved Roger & Hammerstein musical at the Johnson County Fairgrounds. This is definitely a family affair folks. Bundle everyone one up, (because it is cold out there) and head on over to the Johnson County Fairgrounds for this witty re-telling of this wonderful rags to riches tale. Haven't you missed seeing the wicked stepmother getting her comeuppance? (And yes, that is a word!) There's nothing like this feel good story to get you in the mood for Christmas and you have three shows to choose from with performances on Fr... 12/16/2010

Weekly real estate market update Iowa City December 13, 2010 - Number of homes sold, homes under contract and active listings.     427 Active Listings29 Homes Under Contract5 Homes Sold week ending December 13, 2010 This is a snapshot of the Iowa City real estate market December 13, 2010. 3 single family homes and 2 condos sold last week. I hope you're duly impressed. I've gone all out on the graphics this week! Thought it was high time I kicked it up a notch and as you can tell from the numbers, it's not that busy so I have time to improve my skills. Highest Price home sold: $203, 500 Lowest Price home sold: $97,000 Average Price of homes sold: $160,480 Highest number of days on market: 109 Lowest number of days on market: 13 The absorption rate for Iowa City is 6.6 months. This is the... 12/13/2010

Thought it was high time I upgraded the graphs on my market reports. It's been on my "to do" list for a while and yesterday I finally took the time to figure out how to create graphs in Excel. (Thanks to Renee Burrows who shared her deepest secrets with us a while back).     On Monday I looked at the number of homes sold in November. I collected data from the Iowa City MLS showing the number of homes sold in November from 2006 through 2010. Today I thought I'd follow up with the average price in the last five years. I'm starting with Iowa City, because that's where I always start. I'll follow with Coralville and North Liberty. Iowa City oddly enough did better than Coralville or North Liberty when it came to the number of homes sold in November. Looking at the average price in November ... 12/08/2010

Usually when I compile my data for my monthly market reports I compare the number of homes sold to the same month in the previous year. Real estate sales are seasonal so comparing with the same month in a different year is the most logical way to approach the topic. This month however that wasn't going to work. Comparing November 2010 to November 2009 was definitely not comparing apples with apples! Last year the first time homebuyer credit was due to expire on November 30. That had a huge impact on home sales in the Iowa City area. The number of homes sold in October already got me thinking, but of course those numbers weren't as extreme as they were in November when buyers were on a deadline last year. Skipping a month wasn't an option so I figured the most logical solution was to lo... 12/06/2010

Did you miss the Fall Arts and Crafts Show in November? The one that was previously held at the Carver-Hawkeye Arena and this year was at the Marriott? Well, if you did you're going to be happy this weekend, because we have another big crafts show coming up! Sponsored by the University of Iowa Fine Arts Council, The Thieves' Market will be held in the main lounge at the Iowa Memorial Union this weekend, December 4th and 5th.  More than 100 artists will present and sell their crafts - Unique hand made items ranging from paintings to jewelry to woodwork and everything in between. Looking for the perfect gift for that special someone this Holiday season? You're sure to find something totally original and unique here! There's food too to keep your strength up as you shop for those Holiday g... 12/03/2010

440 Active Listings39 Homes Under Contract3 Homes Sold November 22 - November 27, 2010 ~ 1128 Foster Rd - List Price $128,400 - Sold Price $123,000 - 179 days on market ~ ~ 908 Willow St - List Price $164,900 - Sold Price $164,900 - 85 days on market ~~ 313 Windsor Dr - List Price $198,500 - Sold Price $197,500 - 67 days on market ~ This is a snapshot of the Iowa City real estate market November 29, 2010.  2 single family homes and 1 condo sold last week. I think the take away from these stats is that homes sell nearer the asking price when they haven't spent too much time on the market. Not exactly a new revelation, but certainly something that buyers and sellers have an easier time understanding when they see actual data. The absorption rate for Iowa City is 6.8 months. This is the t... 11/29/2010

I now have a live feed on my site from the Iowa City Area MLS. All the real estate listings you find there now are updated every 15 minutes so you can be sure you have the most current information on homes for sale in the Iowa City area. Previously I was getting my information from Google Base. A great source for real estate, but unfortunately not always accurate. Hence the change. No more stale listings on my site. As soon as an agent enters a new listing or changes the status of a listing on the MLS it will show up on my site 15 minutes later. (This is all part of a service known as IDX that agents sign up for). Here's a preview of a Search for Homes in Iowa City under $150,000 Nice to be able to write that paragraph. On Monday nothing was working. Today everything's fine. Well, I say... 11/25/2010