Your Iowa City Real Estate & Relocation Resource
Chances are you landed on this website looking for information about buying or selling real estate in Iowa City. Maybe you’re looking for a buyer’s agent to help you buy a home in Iowa City, Coralville or one of the neighboring towns. Or you’re looking for a good listing agent to help you sell your home in Iowa City. I can help you on both counts, (although not in the same transaction as I’m not a fan of dual agency). Let’s not put the cart before the horse though. How about I give you some time to check out the site… Buyers can start by checking out listings for homes for sale in the Iowa City area. Listings on my site are pulled from the Iowa City MLS and updated daily making it a reliable source for information. If it’s knowledge you’re after, clients, (buyers and sellers), tell me they love my blog and my regular updates on housing trends and market statistics for the Iowa City area.
Choosing the right Iowa City Realtor to help you with your home purchase or sale of your home deserves some research. I hope when you check out the website and blog you’ll get a feel for who I am and how I work. I encourage you to call or email with questions. You’ll find me to be open, friendly and willing to share my knowledge and experience buying and selling real estate in the Iowa City area.
Relocating to Iowa City
When it comes to quality of life you can expect here in the Iowa City area, Iowa City and the neighboring communities of Coralville and North Liberty regularly make it onto lists for the most livable places to be in the US. Check out this link to see some of the lists communities in the Iowa City area made in 2011.
Once you’ve made the decision to move to Iowa knowing what’s happening in the Iowa City real estate market is as important to you as when you already live here. In fact when it comes to buying a house in Iowa City, perhaps even more so as resale value is probably more important to you if you’re not sure how long you will be in the Iowa City area. As someone who relocated here myself in 2000, I know just how important it is to you to get the right information before you make any decisions. It’s my goal to provide you with all the information you need on neighborhoods and schools in the Iowa City area and anything else you need when it comes to buying real estate in Iowa City. I believe in keeping things simple. No games or gimmicks. Just plain good old-fashioned service.
Living & Working in Iowa City
Iowa City forms a contiguous area with their neighbor Coralville and is less than 30 minutes from Cedar Rapids and 15 minutes from North Liberty IA. The University of Iowa is the biggest employer in the area with 18,000+ employees. For health care The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics provides one of the best healthcare facilities in the nation and take spot number 2 for top employers in Iowa City. A full list of employers in the area compiled by the Iowa City Area Development Group, (ICAD) proves just how big a roll health care and education play around here with Pearson Education, ACT, Mercy Hospital and the VA Medical Center all making the top ten!
Students from all over the world attend the University of Iowa and as a teaching hospital the UI Hospitals also attracts students and residents from all over. That makes for a very diverse cultural environment in Iowa City and the thing I like most about it. I don’t think there are any countries NOT represented in Iowa City. To illustrate my point, I helped buyer clients from Kenya, Libya, Egypt and Turkey and India in 2011, just to name a few!
Housing Trends in Iowa City
Iowa City real estate is still a great investment, even in these tough economic times. Home to the University of Iowa and the UI Hospitals, there are always people relocating to the Iowa City area and that means there are always people buying and selling homes. (Although right now not in the same numbers as they were a few years ago). Not having a crystal ball I don’t want to stick my neck out too much, but considering how renting is becoming ever more expensive it seems likely the pendulum will swing the other way again very soon as buying a home in Iowa City is more affordable than ever.
When it comes to the housing market in Iowa City, after a slow beginning to the year home sales picked up in the second half of 2011. Home sales are up slightly for the year in Iowa City with 802 homes sold in 2011 compared to 785 in 2010. That’s just a 2% increase, but considering the very slow start to the year last year it’s good news that we were able to recover lost ground by the end of the year. The areas I keep a close eye on are Iowa City, Coralville and North Liberty. Watch out for updates to my blog as I churn out market reports as we kick off 2012. On the whole data for the Iowa City area is positive, although we still have a lot of catching up to do. The excess number of homes on the market means that for sellers there’s a lot of competition and for buyers there are lots of choices.
These are some really interesting times in the Iowa City real estate market. Buying or selling a home in the Iowa City area you will have a lot to think about as you make your decisions. I share a lot of data in my market reports, but there’s a lot more to buying or selling a home than a bunch of numbers. Your best bet is to talk to a Realtor about your specific needs as they relate to your specific situation. Buying or selling a house is definitely not one size fits all, and that’s never been more true than in this market!
Take a look around, check out my blog - And when you’re done gathering information on Iowa City real estate and ready to make your move, give me a call. I look forward to the opportunity of helping you sell your home in the Iowa City area or helping you find the right home to fit your lifestyle in the areas I know best – Iowa City, Coralville or North Liberty IA.
