448 Active Listings39 Homes Under Contract10 Homes Sold November 15 - November 20, 2010 Average Price Homes Sold w/e November 20, 2010 $182,040 Highest Price Home Sold: $342,000 Lowest Price Home Sold: $ 52,500 Highest number of days on market: 328 daysLowest number of days on market: 25 days This is a snapshot of the Iowa City real estate market November 22, 2010. 6 single family homes and 3 condos and 1 acreage sold last week. The absorption rate for Iowa City is 7 months. This is the time it takes for the market to "absorb" homes. The first step in calculating the absorption rate is to find out how many homes sold in the past 12 months and how many are currently on the market. 778 homes sold in the last 12 months in Iowa City and there are currently 448 showing as active listings.... 11/22/2010

It's the weekend and I'm scouting around looking for interesting events and things to do in the Iowa City area. Here's a good one for you if you're an antiques fan (and we know there are lots of you out there, don't we?) There's a three day Antique Show at the Riverside Casino & Golf Resort running today, November 19, 2010 through Sunday, November 21, 2010. 35+ Vendors. It's open to the public and admission is free. Where? Riverside Casino Event Center When? Friday November 19 - 4.00pm - 9.00pm Saturday November 20 - 10.00am - 6.00pm Sunday November 21 - 10.00am - 4.00pm Questions? Please call English River Promotions 319-656-3174   Originally posted @ ichomesforsale.com 11/19/2010

Big weekend at the movies this weekend. The most anticipated movie of the year is out tonight at midnight. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. This is the seventh and last installment of the much loved Harry Potter series. Of course they're making a two part nail biter out of it. Why wouldn't they? After a 10 year run a sudden death scenario would be very unsatisfying for fans. (Not to mention less profitable). Movie times - schedules: Coral Ridge Cinema in Coralville -  Phone # 319-625-1010Sycamore Cinema in Iowa City - Phone # 319-351-8383There is actually a second new movie out this week for the few of you that might be interested... The Next Three Days stars Russel Crowe and Elizabeth Banks. Seems like a somewhat far fetched plot that I have a hard time imagining holding u... 11/18/2010

  468 Active Listings46 Homes Under Contract4 Homes Sold November 8 - November 13, 2010321 Douglass St - Sold Price $72,000 - 129 days on market1130 4th Ave - Sold Price $85,000 - 6 days on market558 West Side Dr - Sold Price - $124,500 - 120 days on market301 River St - Sold Price - $300, 000 - 10 days on market This is a snapshot of the Iowa City real estate market November 15, 2010. 3 single family homes and 1 condo sold last week. The absorption rate for Iowa City is 7 months. This is the time it takes for the market to "absorb" homes. In case you're wondering how I came up with the 7 months, here's the calculation: The first step in calculating the absorption rate is to find out how many homes sold in the past 12 months and how many are currently on the market. 791 homes sold in t... 11/15/2010

Theater lovers looking to experience something a little different won't be disappointed tonight when "In the Night" premieres at the David Thayer Theatre in the UI Theatre Building, Iowa City. It's directed by dance/theater artist Martha Clark, a legend in her field, who collaborated with theater and dance students, faculty and staff, as well as with UI and community scientists, to develop a visual masterpiece about dreams and the brain. Premiere "In the Night" - Thursday November 11, 2010 - 8.00pm Additional Performances: Friday November 12 - 8.00pm Saturday November 13 - 8.00pm Sunday November 14 - 2.00pm Wednesday November 17 - 8.00pm Saturday November 20 - 8.00pm Where: David Thayer Theatre in the UI Theatre Building, 200 N. Riverside Drive, Iowa City. Admission: Tickets for the per... 11/11/2010

The Holidays are just around the corner - Yes, I know it's hard to believe - It's that time of year again, time to think about Holiday Shopping. This Saturday, November 13, 2010 is the first of two Farmers Markets scheduled for this year in preparation for the Holidays. The second will be on December 11. The Holiday Farmers Market is a special event held indoors at the Robert A Lee Community Recreation Center. It's a great opportunity to buy greenery, wreaths and other handcrafted items. Not to mention fresh baked goods, jams, jellies and home made candies. Do I have your mouth watering yet? As if you needed any more convincing, there's the opportunity to sampling artisan cheeses and wine or grabbing some freshly brewed coffee as you browse the over 90 tables set up at the Recreation Ce... 11/10/2010

  468 Active Listings41 Homes Under Contract8 Homes Sold November 1 - November 6, 2010 Average Price Homes Sold w/e November 6, 2010 $201,989 Highest Price Home Sold: $320,000 Lowest Price Home Sold: $ 74,000 Highest number of days on market: 260 daysLowest number of days on market: 28 daysThis is a snapshot of the Iowa City real estate market November 8, 2010. 8 homes sold last week - 6 single family homes and 2 condos. The absorption rate for Iowa City is 6.7 months. This is the time it takes for the market to "absorb" homes. In case you're wondering how I came up with the 6.7 months, here's the calculation: The first step in calculating the absorption rate is to find out how many homes sold in the past 12 months and how many are currently on the market. 820 homes sold in the last 12... 11/08/2010

Iowa City Real Estate: Market Statistics October 2010 compared to October 2009 43 homes sold in Iowa City in October 2010 compared to 54 homes sold in October 2009. That's a 20% decrease over last year - A pretty strong sign that the Iowa City real estate market is still struggling to find its feet again after the expiration of the home buyer tax credit. The economy is improving, interest rates are still in the low 4's and there are great deals to be had on homes. Now that the election is over maybe people will re-focus their attention on these facts and we start to see a turnaround. Not wanting to sound like a broken record, now is a really great time to be buying a home! Average Price Homes Sold October 2010 $189,401 Highest Price Home Sold: $402,594 Lowest Price Home Sold: $  25,000 ... 11/03/2010

Iowa City Homes: Weekly Real Estate Market Update November 1, 2010 - Homes Sold, Homes Under Contract & Active Listings     471 Active Listings42 Homes Under Contract8 Homes Sold October 25 - October 30, 2010 Average Price Homes Sold w/e October 30, 2010 $176,550 Highest Price Home Sold: $285,000 Lowest Price Home Sold: $133,000 Highest number of days on market: 168 daysLowest number of days on market: 36 daysThis is a snapshot of the Iowa City real estate market November 1, 2010. 8 homes sold last week - 4 single family homes, 3 condos and 1 Zero lot. It hasn't been the busiest October and it looks like home sales are down a bit in Iowa City compared to last year. I'll be posting more info about that in the next couple of days when I compile my monthly report for Iowa City. Last Week's... 11/01/2010

3rd Annual Small Works Show Chait Galleries, downtown Iowa City opening reception 5-8pm November 5, 2010 The exhibit runs throughout the holidays until January 5, 2011 Monday - Friday 11am - 6pm , Saturday 10am - 5pm, and Sunday 12am - 4pm. Free and open to the public. Small is in at the Small Works Show at the Chait Galleries, downtown Iowa City. It's  a great opportunity to view works of art displaying intricate detail and precision from both established and new artists. Like me, you're probably wondering what you can expect from a small works show so here's a run down of some of the artists and info on their exhibits: Quilts by Patti Zwick, jewelry in precious metals by Young Joo Yoo, ceramic sculpture from Elizabeth Shriver, oil paintings by Nancy Lindsay and Michael Rose, photograp... 10/30/2010

Halloween Weekend is coming up. Here are some of the fun things you can be doing in Iowa City this weekend. Live Entertainment The Halloween Bash at Gabe’s, starts at 9pm on Saturday and features local favorites Nebula Was, Mad Monks, and Five in a Hand. Admission is $5.The Mill has a special Halloween Show at 9.00pm Saturday with Celtic rockers Wylde Nept performing. On Sunday October 31, 2010 they have their 3rd Halloween tribute show. The idea is that local bands play music from great bands from the past.The Yacht Club has live music Friday, Saturday and Sunday and gets into the Halloween spirit big time at 9pm Sunday with a special Halloween show with Dead Larry and Roster McCabe. Admission is $6. Costume Parties On Saturday you can head on over to the Wildwood Smokehouse & Saloon f... 10/28/2010

Kick off Halloween at the Fifth Annual Creepy Campus Crawl at the UI Pentacrest, Iowa City Look out Iowa City. This weekend is going to be a scary one. It starts on Friday October 29 when the Old Capitol Museum, the Museum of Natural History and the Department of Geoscience - all buildings on the UI Pentacrest - get transformed into a creepy crawly Halloween extravaganza. Watch out for creepy rain forests and haunted coal mines, not to mention some of your favorite Harry Potter characters to get you into the spirit of Halloween. The fifth annual Creepy Campus Crawl will take place at the Old Capitol, the Museum of Natural History and the Department of Geoscience from 6.30pm - 8.30pm on Friday October 29, 2010. The event is free, all you need to do is show up, in costume of course. There... 10/26/2010

Halloween Parade and Carnival Iowa City October 29, 2010 It's that time of the year again... Time to put on those scary costumes and head on down to the Weatherdance Fountain in Iowa City for the annual Halloween Parade and Carnival. When? Children and their parents or caregivers will meet between 6.00pm - 6.15pm Friday October 29 at the Weatherdance Fountain at the Ped Mall in Iowa City. The Parade will begin at 6:15pm with the route heading east on College Street to the Robert A. Lee Community Recreation Center. After the parade the festivities continue at the Recreation Center with Halloween themed carnival games including cookie decorating, face painting and a Haunted Hallway. There is no fee and no need to register beforehand so all you need to do is show up - Dressed for the occas... 10/25/2010

  482 Active Listings41 Homes Under Contract12 Homes Sold October 18 - October 23, 2010 Average Price Homes Sold w/e October 23, 2010 $186,772 Highest Price Home Sold: $  25,000 Lowest Price Home Sold: $362,000 Highest number of days on market: 436 daysLowest number of days on market: 23 daysThis is a snapshot of the Iowa City real estate market October 25, 2010. 12 homes sold last week. 9 single family homes and 3 condos. Pretty good numbers for late October.Are you looking to buy a home in Iowa City? Do you have a real estate related question or a question about the area for me? Just send me an email letting me know how I can help. If you need to sell your home in Iowa City and would like me to prepare a CMA (Current Market Analysis) with information of homes sold in your neighborhoo... 10/25/2010

This is a question that comes up a lot. What's all the fuss about buyers agents? The easy answer is that a buyer's agent represents you and you alone in a real estate transaction. Think of it as "white glove" service for the buyer. The seller's got his guy or gal, why shouldn't you have yours? To illustrate this, how about we start with figuring out what may happen when you work with the listing agent? To begin with, you have to know right off the bat that the agent has a conflict of interests. He or she is bound by a listing agreement to get the highest price and best terms for the seller. It really doesn't make sense that at the same time they can be negotiating the lowest price and best terms for you. Taking that thought one step further. Do you suppose the listing agent will give yo... 10/21/2010

  489 Active Listings44 Homes Under Contract5 Homes Sold October 11 - October 16, 2010 Average Price Homes Sold w/e October 16, 2010 $156,680 Highest Price Home Sold: $206,000 Lowest Price Home Sold: $96,000 Highest number of days on market: 182 daysLowest number of days on market: 57 daysThis is a snapshot of what's going on in the Iowa City real estate market at the moment. The first thing you'll see is that the number of homes under contract is rising. That's a good sign. With interest rates still incredibly low at 4.25% for a 30 year fixed rate loan and really great prices on homes it certainly is a good time to be a buyer. As I mentioned in a recent post, I think the low interest rate is as much as if not a bigger incentive than the tax credit. Free money is gone before you know i... 10/18/2010

It's Friday again and time to look at new movies coming out today in Iowa City and Coralville, (October 15). I'm also going to tell you about a big 10th Anniversary Benefit going on at the Englert, downtown Iowa City tonight. More about that after movies...You can check out movie times and schedules at the Coral Ridge Movie Theatre in Coralville and the Sycamore Cinema in Iowa CityTwo new movies this week - The first is so choc-a-bloc with star power it should have no trouble knocking Social Network off its top spot at the box office this week. The movie is RED and stars Bruce Willis - Morgan Freeman - John Malkowich and Helen Mirren - It doesn't get any better than that! Who cares what the storyline is with that kind of star power? I'll keep it brief and just say it's a comedy/drama ab... 10/15/2010

Getting pre-approved for a home loan is the first order of business when you're looking to buy a home in Iowa City. If you're relocating to the Iowa City area this can be a challenge since you don't know anyone yet. It's also a challenge for first time home buyers who just don't know the questions to ask when they do meet up with a lender. Those are reasons enough right there for you not to rush off and talk to a lender before you visit with me. Nope. I want you to talk to me first. I can save you from making costly mistakes. That's what Buyers Agents do. They help you to make smart decisions. They won't refer you to just any lender. They'll talk to you about your specific needs and help you figure out what kind of mortgage professional you need. In my case, once I have a little backgro... 10/13/2010

Iowa City Homes: Weekly market update October 11, 2010 - Homes sold, homes under contract & active listings     504 Active Listings35 Homes Under Contract5 Homes Sold October 4 - October 9, 2010   Average Price Homes Sold w/e October 9, 2010 $174,700 Highest Price Home Sold: $210,000 Lowest Price Home Sold: $120,000 Highest number of days on market: 143 daysLowest number of days on market: 33 daysThis is a snapshot of what's going on in the Iowa City real estate market at the moment. No big fluctuations. Not a lot of action going on right now. Interest rates are still incredibly low at 4.25% for a 30 year fixed rate loan. As I talked about in a recent post, the low interest rate is as much as if not a bigger incentive than the tax credit. Free money is gone before you know it, a low int... 10/11/2010

Saw the trailer for Katherine Heigl's new movie earlier and thought it was time I got back into posting about the new movies for the weekend. Checking around I also stumbled over a couple of other events to tell you about, more about that later. You can check out the schedule for movies at the Coral Ridge Movie Theatre in Coralville and the Sycamore Cinema in Iowa City Three new movies to tell you about - All aimed at different demographics.  Life as we know it is the obvious place to start. It stars Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel. It's a movie about 2 single adults who get tasked with being caregivers to an orphaned infant. Definitely one for the gals this one. From the trailer it looks kind of cute, so I'm going to go with it being a hit. It's up against some pretty tough competitio... 10/08/2010