Getting to Step 4 and Writing an offer is a major milestone in the home buying process.  With the help of your buyer’s agent you’ve done your due diligence. You’ve viewed and researched  homes in Iowa City. If you’ve got any “special requests” you’ll take care of that before Writing an offer. (I can’t tell you how often I’ve called City  Building Departments to ask questions about houses before writing offers with clients). At any rate by now you  feel comfortable enough to move forward and write an offer on the house you think will be the perfect fit for you and your family. If you’re relocating to Iowa City you’re probably a little nervous about this step. Change is not always easy and you have A LOT of that in your life when you’re relocating.  Being prepared. That’s what it’s all about. If you know you’ve covered all you bases you’ll be fine when you get to the point of writing an offer on a home.

Major Components of an Offer ~ Price, Terms & Conditions

Price is not the only factor you need to think about when it comes time to Writing an offer on a home.There are three major components to an offer – Price, Terms and Conditions. The plan is of course to get the best price and the most favorable terms and conditions for you. At the same time it needs to be appealing to the sellers. There’s a balancing act to getting this part of the process right. This is where the expertise of a (good) Realtor will come in handy. There’s much more to Writing an offer than haphazardly filling in the blanks and hoping for the best.

Once you’ve talked with your Realtor and decided on a strategy you move on to filling out and signing the necessary forms. I use the words filling out, because it truly is a “filling in the blanks” scenario. The forms are standard and approved by the Iowa City Area Association of Realtors.

Signing an Agency Disclosure

To start with, if you haven’t done so already, you’ll need to sign an Agency Disclosure acknowledging that you’ve been educated on the Rules of Agency in Iowa and how they apply to you in the purchase of a home. I’m pretty vocal on my blog about my support of Single Agency. (This is when buyers and sellers have their own agents. Dual agency is where the listing agent represents both parties). There are many reasons to work with a buyer’s agent. Having someone in your corner who has no obligations to the seller when it comes to this part of the process is one of them.

Residential Property Disclosure & Lead Paint Disclosure

Before writing an offer you’ll need to sign off on the Residential Property Disclosure form. This is a form filled out by the sellers giving information on any problems they might have had during the time they  lived in the property. Or it may contain information that there were no problems. Either way it’s required for buyers to acknowledge receipt of these documents. If the home was built before 1978 lead paint disclosures will also need to be acknowledged and signed.

Information on the Purchase Agreement Provided by the Iowa City Area Association of Realtors

• Address of property
• Price offered
• Terms of financing
• Amount of Earnest Money to be deposited into the listing broker’s trust account  (This is generally between $500 – $1000 for lower priced homes and a gesture of good faith that the offer is genuine. If the offer is not accepted earnest money is returned to buyer immediately).
• Date of Closing
• Information on how real estate taxes will be pro-rated
• Items will be included in the sale, (i.e. washer, dryer, dishwasher, water softener etc.)
• Time line for inspections: that will include home inspections, radon and pest inspection
• Other financing details such as asking the seller to pay closing costs. (I wrote a post about “Seller Paid” Closing Costs that’s worth reading before you decide about that one).
• Time for acceptance of offer

This is a partial list of major items in the standard Iowa City purchase agreement. It’s 4 pages long. (Not that long really, but full of legalize so it does need your undivided attention).

Presenting the Offer to the Listing Agent

Once you have signed the offer, it’s your agent’s job to present it to the listing agent as quickly as possible. The listing agent will in turn present the offer to the seller who has three options to respond:

• Accept it with no changes
• Respond with a counteroffer
• Ignore or reject the offer

It’s usually one of the first two options that occurs. It’s very rare that a seller will ignore or reject an offer. (A REALLY low offer that offends the seller is an example of when it could happen that a seller chooses not to respond).

This negotiating phase can go back and forth a couple of times until everyone is on the same page. ***It’s not a legally binding contract until buyers and sellers have both signed and are in agreement with ALL the terms of the contract. Additionally, buyers and sellers both need to have a copy of the signed documents for the contract to be enforceable. (The agent doesn’t need to hand deliver or anything like that, email is fine).

That about wraps up this post: Buying a Home in Iowa City: Step 4 – Writing an offer. As you can probably tell just by my approach to this post, I am a stickler for detail. Maybe you are too – that would make us a great match! When you’re ready to make your move I’d love to hear from you. You can call me anytime at 319-400-0268 or of course email works too.

Step One: Buying a Home in Iowa City – Getting Pre-approved by a Lender

Step 2: Buying a Home in Iowa City – Your Wants Needs & Wishes List

 Step 3: Buying a Home in Iowa City – Finding the Right Home

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 can see just how close Coralville is to its neighbors).

***Clicking on the chart will take you to the full size version for easier reading

Kirkwood & Central Neighborhoods – Largest Number of homes sold in Coralville at the Most Affordable Prices

Kirkwood and Central Elementary Schools are in the heart of Coralville and this is where the most affordable homes can be found. This is the more established part of Coralville. This is where you’ll find smaller single family homes, apartment style condos and A LOT of zero lots.  For newer homes, buyers need to look  further north. I relocated to Coralville in 2000 myself and a lot has changed since then. “New” Coralville, pretty much anything north of Holiday Rd, looks a lot different than it did when I arrived 12 years ago. The 12th Avenue extension takes commuters to North Liberty these days and Van Allen Elementary is just past the boundary between Coralville and North Liberty.

Opportunities for Buyers in the High End, Luxury Market in Coralville

Homes sold in the Wickham, Van Allan and Lincoln school districts as you can see are generally priced higher. The explanation for that is that the area to the north of Coralville has primarily larger single family homes and luxury condos. (Homes sold in the Clear Creek school district are apartment style condos in apartment buildings at Coral Ct).

If you checked out my market reports at the beginning of the year for Coralville you’ll know that home sales were down a bit for the year compared to 2010. (275 homes sold in coralville in 2011 compared to 295 in 2010). What’s clear from this chart is that home sales for the higher end and luxury market are down. This is obviously not great if you’re a seller, but we all know every market is good for someone and this means opportunities for buyers.  With interest rates below 4% it can only be a matter of time before buyers recognize they can get a whole lot of house with an interest rate that low!

I’m all about providing as much information as possible for buyers and sellers in Coralville and Iowa City. If you have any questions for me, please be sure to drop me an email or give me a call. I’m here to help!

Data for this market report was pulled from the Iowa City MLS January 31, 2011

Next to looking for homes for sale I know that buyers relocating to Iowa City are also looking for information about schools and lifestyles. To this end I’ve added a very classy lifestyle tool to my website that I hope helps buyers relocating to Iowa City to get a better feel for the Iowa City area. Through the lifestyle search in the side panel you can research all kinds of things, ranging from schools, golf courses, coffee shops and a whole lot more to get a real feel for the Iowa City area

To give you an idea of how it works I figured it would be a good idea to save a few of the more popular searches and add them to pages and posts on my website. Since I know  schools are high on the list of priorities for buyers relocating to Iowa City, this search is for elementary schools in the Iowa City area. The light blue shaded area indicates a half mile radius from the school. I’ve also added a border around the respective towns, (I started with Iowa City, Coralville and North Liberty). If you click on the individual schools you’ll get a wealth of information about the schools. If you select the border of one of the towns you’ll get loads of information about the town.

If you find the embedded map below is a little on the small side, here’s a link to a full page version of the map of Elementary Schools in Iowa City

25 homes sold in Iowa City in January so far. That puts home sales way ahead of January 2011 when only 9 homes sold in the entire month. The real estate market in Iowa City is getting off to a great start in 2012!

46 homes are listed as pending or contingent and 310 homes are currently showing as Active Listings on the Iowa City MLS. I’m going to say something now that I wasn’t saying last year at this time. We need more inventory! I know for a fact buyers are looking for fresh listings. If you’re on the fence about selling your home, now would be a REALLY good time to list it.

310 Active Listings
46 Homes Pending or Contingent
25 homes sold in Iowa City in January to date -  21 Single Family Homes, 3 Condos and one Zero lot

The Absorption Rate is at 4.5 months. That’s an average of 137 days on market, (and technically a sellers market). If you follow the link you’ll find out more about how the absorption rate is calculated. The number of active listings is part of that calculation and since that number is still pretty low it could be that the absorption rate is skewed lower than it really is.

That said, the low inventory is a good sign. (At least from a sellers’s perspective, and for the economy in general come to that). Houses are selling in greater numbers again. If this trend continues in the coming months  we could see a more stable and balanced market in Iowa City very soon.

Consider this your go to destination for information about the Iowa City real estate market and check back often for updates. Since there is so much misinformation around about how the housing market is doing  I consider it my mission to prove with data that housing trends in Iowa City are looking good and things are humming along just nicely in this neck of the woods.

Home Sales in Iowa City by School District 2011

Home Sales in Iowa City January through December 2011

A Closer Look at Home Sales in Iowa City 2011

Data for this market update pulled from the Iowa City MLS January 27, 2011

This is the third part in my series primarily directed towards buyers Relocating to Iowa City.  For relocating buyers time is of the essence. You can’t “pop over” to see a home anytime it suits you. When you’re Relocating to Iowa City you’re typically in town for a couple of days. You want to hit the ground running looking at (viable) options of homes to buy. For you, the first two steps of the home buying process,  Getting Pre-approved and your Wants, Needs & Wishes List are even more important than for regular buyers who live in Iowa City.

Questions to Start Out With for Your Wants, Needs & Wishes List

How near/far do you want to be from workplace/school?

Do you want an older or a newer home?

What type/style home would you like?  (Single Family,  Condo, Ranch, Two Story, etc)

How many bedrooms and bathrooms do you need?

Is a garage a “must-have?” If yes, how many stalls?

Are children older or younger? In the case of younger children you’ll probably want the bedrooms on one level. In the case of older, quite the opposite.

Are there any pets? Is a fenced-in yard a high priority?

Why a Buyer’s Agent is a “Must Have” When You’re Relocating to Iowa City

So what’s next? You’ve looked at lots of homes online and now comes the fun part. Getting out there and looking at homes “in person.” Of course you’ve picked out a buyer’s agent to work with. If you’re Relocating to Iowa City this is an absolute necessity for you to maximize the use of your time here. There are MANY reasons why working with a (good) buyer’s agent is a good idea. For buyers Relocating to Iowa City there is one over-riding logistical reason. It’s simply not feasible to coordinate your day properly if you have to rely on the schedules of a dozen different listing agents. Having one agent coordinate the whole shebang is simply more efficient.

Finding the right home is the name of the game. This is where your Wants, Needs and Wishes List will come in handy. This is also a time when the value of a good agent will become apparent. Good buyer’s agents aren’t just door openers. Especially when you’re relocating you need an ally, someone to keep you on track by looking at the bigger picture. After all, you’ve got a lot on your mind, plus you don’t know the area. It may seem like a quiet neighborhood now, but what about on Game Day? It says in the listing the owners charge parking on Game Days… In this case I pointed out there was a good indicator it would be a zoo on game days. This might be a deal maker or a deal breaker for you. For my clients it was a deal breaker and we moved onto the next house.

Different agents have different approaches when it comes to viewing homes. In my case,  when I’m out with buyers viewing homes I like to use what I call an “elimination process” to come up with the right home. When viewing homes I ask clients  if it’s a keeper or if we can kick it out of the running. To figure that out it becomes a question of referring back to that oh so famous Wants Needs & Wishes List. What do you absolutely have to have? And what can you live without? By eliminating homes as you go, you’ll  naturally end up with a couple that make the cut and become viable options. Of course they’re only viable until they get kicked off the list, but at some point in time the winner will rise to the surface! And that’s when we start talking about the subject of my next post – Making An Offer.

By now I’m sure you’ve realized that I’m all about streamlining the home buying process and making it as efficient as possible. Whenever you’re ready to take the next step towards buying a home in Iowa City I’d love to hear from you!

Step One: Buying a Home in Iowa City – Getting Pre-approved by a Lender

Step 2: Buying a Home in Iowa City – Your Wants Needs & Wishes List

Lately I’ve been thinking about how I can step up my market reports for Iowa City to make them more useful. It seems for them to be really useful to buyers and sellers they need to show Home sales more specific to Iowa City neighborhoods. Access to the Iowa City MLS means I have lots of data to pull from and through experience I’ve found he most efficient way to search is by elementary school district. Iowa City has a population of almost 70,000 and has 12* elementary schools. Some elementary schools are bigger than others so logically they also service a bigger area. The Iowa City School District includes schools in Coralville and North Liberty. For the purpose of establishing Home sales in Iowa City, I’ve only included schools in Iowa City.

Home sales were up by 2% in 2011, as I shared with you in my market report at the beginning of the month. Considering what a slow start we had with home sales down in the first half of the year, the fact that home sales in Iowa City are up at all for the year is very encouraging.

***Clicking on the chart will take you to the full size version for easier reading

Shimek & Lincoln Neighborhoods – Lowest Number of Homes Sold – Highest Prices

There are a couple of takeaways from this chart. The first thing is that the areas where the lowest number of Homes sold also achieved the Highest prices. When you think about it, that’s in line with economics 101 and the principles of supply and demand. Less Homes sold in the Shimek and Lincoln neighborhoods. Since less Homes sold it’s also probable there weren’t as many available for sale. Generally speaking, if there is less inventory available for sale the price is likely to be higher. That’s simplifying it a bit of course. Buyers are very discerning in this market. If you’re thinking of selling your home in the Shimek or Lincoln neighborhoods you will still need to prepare your home properly for sale, you just won’t have quite as much competition. By the same token, buyers looking for a home in these neighborhoods should keep in mind there may not be as many choices as in other neighborhoods. In other words, if something you like comes on the market, don’t hang around waiting for something better. You might be in for a long wait!

Where Are the Lowest Priced Homes in Iowa City?

So now let’s look at the other end of the spectrum. Where are the Lowest  priced homes in Iowa City?  The Lowest priced homes can be found in the Twain and Grantwood neighborhoods. The data for the Roosevelt neighborhood jumps out at you of course. Here’s the reason for that. Roosevelt is in a neighborhood close to the UI Hospitals. It’s also an area where there are A LOT of condos – a hot commodity for Residents relocating to Iowa City. In the case of the number of homes sold in the Roosevelt neighborhood, the number of condos sold totally skews Home prices to the low side as typically condos are less expensive than single family homes.  This skewing of the numbers also holds true for the Horn and Mann neighborhoods where there are also a large number of condos. I guess the takeaway for me next time is to split out condos and single family homes into separate posts….

Getting back to my original comments in that last paragraph. The Lowest priced homes were in the Grantwood and Twain neighborhoods in 2011. In both neighborhoods home sales were up. If you saw my market reports for Iowa City earlier this month you’ll know that home sales were up for the year in 2011 compared to 2010. As you can see in this chart, despite good data for many neighborhoods, the fact that condo sales were down had a big impact on a few neighborhoods.

That about wraps up my look at housing trends in Iowa City by school district. I’m all about providing as much information as possible to buyers and sellers in Iowa City. If you have any questions for me, please be sure to drop me an email or leave a comment.

*Roosevelt Elementary will close this year and the new Borlaug Elementary will open after completion. You can find more information about that and other school information on the new Iowa City Community School District Website.

Data for this market report pulled from the Iowa City MLS January 24, 2011

This is the second part of a series directed at new buyers thinking of buying a home in Iowa City. You may be Relocating to Iowa City or a first time home buyer. You might even be both! My last post covered the importance of talking to a lender to get pre-approved before you go looking at homes. Today I want to look at your Wants, Needs and Wishes List. This list will contain factors about your new home that are absolutely necessary and others you can compromise on.

Before you start looking at homes you should at least have some idea of what you’re looking for. The alternative is viewing any and all homes and even though that might sound exciting, it gets old really quick! I guarantee that after looking at 10 homes that are of zero interest to you that you’ll feel like packing the whole idea in and staying put!

So How do you go about Compiling a Wants Needs and Wishes List?

The first thing you want to address is the factors that are set in stone and absolutely necessary to your quality of life when you buy a home. Location is top of the list on this one. If you’re Relocating to Iowa City I know you don’t know the area, but you do know where you will be spending your days and where you need to commute to. I’ve helped dozens of relocating buyers in the last few years and haven’t met anyone yet who wants a long commute to work!

Staying on the topic of deciding a location for your new home. If you have young children this may play a major role in where you want buy a home. In fact when it comes to deciding on a location for your new home you should consider all the amenities you need to be near to on a daily basis. Schools, parks, grocery stores, fitness centers. Whatever is important to you. I for instance live in Coralville. When I relocated to the US my husband worked in Cedar Rapids and my sons were students at the University of Iowa. This was a perfect location, close to the Interstate for the commute to Cedar Rapids and a real easy 10 minute commute to downtown Iowa City and the UIOWA.

At the same time you’re thinking about WHERE you want to be you should be looking at what amenities you need in a home itself. Condos and low maintenance living are popular choices for Residents Relocating to Iowa City. Not surprising considering their busy work schedules. If you have children you’ll probably want a yard and the condo idea falls flat. In fact if you have children the bedrooms become a much bigger issue too. Where do they need to be? If you have small children you’ll want them on the same level. If they’re older they may want to weigh in on the decision and having their own space may be more of a factor.

As I’m writing this post predominantly for folks relocating to Iowa City, I want to touch briefly on home prices in Iowa City. Just like any other area, school districts have a big impact on home prices in Iowa City and can vary greatly from neighborhood to neighborhood.  Add the UIOWA and the UI Hospitals to the mix and you have two additional factors that impact pricing in a big way. To make my point, you will have a really hard time finding a 3 bedroom 2 bath home for $150,000 within walking distance of  the UIOWA or UI Hospitals. The chances are slim to none. When you make your list you need to be aware of the reality on the ground and adjust and tweak it accordingly. It’s a list. You can change it any time. What it does is get you thinking about what’s REALLY important to you and what isn’t.

Deciding to buy a home in Iowa City is a major commitment under any circumstances. And when you’re relocating you need all the help you can get. I’m all about streamlining the process and making it as efficient as possible. Prior planning will go a long way to making you more comfortable about the decisions you make on the way to homeownership. I’m also a big believer in Buyer Agency. If you’re looking for an agent to represent you in what is one of the biggest transactions of your life, drop me a line or give me a call. I’m here to help!

Step One: Why Getting Pre-approved is the important first step when you’re buying a home in Iowa City

Spring is just around the corner and that means we can expect a big shift in the Iowa City real estate market soon. This is the time when we see a surge of home buyers enter the market place. We have the folks relocating to the Iowa City area for the Fall semester at the UIOWA and the UI Hospitals AND we have lots of first time home buyers deciding to make the transition from renting to homeownership. Often times the two overlap and folks relocating to Iowa City are first time home buyers, making this post all the more apt!

In the last 6 years I’ve fielded LOTS of emails asking questions about the process from folks buying a home in Iowa City for the first time. I figured now would be the perfect time to start a series to serve as a guideline for new buyers as they contemplate buying a home in Iowa City this Spring.

Why You Should Visit with a Lender Before Picking out a Home

Step One unfortunately is probably the least exciting (and most underestimated) step in the process. Step One requires that you go see a lender to figure out how much house you can afford. (I know it ranks right up there with a visit to the dentist, but take my word for it, just like the dentist, it’s worth the visit!) You may think this step is unnecessary as you know what you can afford to pay for a house. You know what you pay in rent and you’ve looked at one of those online calculators so you figure you’ve got a ballpark idea. You might be close, but on the other hand you may be way off. Lenders look at a lot more than just what you’re paying for rent before they pre-approve you for a loan. And there are multiple variables involved when it comes to the different loan programs. The last thing you want to happen is that you go out looking at homes in a certain price range to find out later you  qualify for less.  That’s setting yourself up for disappointment and you don’t want to do that.

Choosing the Right Lender

Choosing a lender of course is not the easiest thing in the world. There are many choices and your best plan is to have a ballpark idea of what you’re looking for before you go visit with one. Just as Realtors have their speciality areas, so do lenders. Iowa City still has lenders that offer 100% financing options. (If you’re moving to North Liberty it still qualifies for a USDA loan, which is also 100% financing). Or you may be looking for a low down payment option with an FHA loan. If you’re a Vet, and I helped a few of those last year, you may qualify for a VA loan. As you can see, there are lots of loan options and knowing what type of loan programs the different lenders specialize in is not easy if you’re not dealing with it on a daily basis.

This is where I share with you that visiting with a lender is technically the first step in the home buying process. That said, talking  to a (good) Realtor before you do that will be of major benefit and end up saving you time and in all likelihood will keep your stress levels down too.  Buying a home is not a walk in the park. And neither should it be. It’s a major financial transaction. Having someone to turn to who knows the ins and outs of the process of buying a home in Iowa City will make life a whole lot easier on you in the long run. That’s what Buyer’s Agents are good for. They can point you in the right direction when it comes to finding the right lender for you.

How to get Pre-Approved by a Local Lender if You’re Relocating to Iowa City

Right about now if you’re relocating to Iowa City you’re probably wondering how you can go about getting pre-approved by a local lender when you’re not here. Well, that’s an easy question to answer. Phone and email is how you do it.  Of course you may run trial and error finding a lender to respond to emails or answer calls. For that I’ll refer you back to the last paragraph. A Realtor should be able to help you with that. I personally know several lenders who are willing to combine electronic communication with phone calls to pre-approve clients. (I’d have a tough time referring them if they didn’t since I’m all about using all the latest technologies and streamlining the process as much as possible). If you do decide to go this route there will still be documents you will need to provide at some point. Below is a list of the most common documents needed by lenders. (There may be more depending on the loan program).

Documents Required by Lenders to secure financing:

2 years of tax returns or W2 forms
Paycheck stubs for most current 30-day period
Monthly debt (who with, how much, loan number)
2 months recent bank statements to verify cash to close
Address of mortgage company or landlord for past 2 years
Drivers license (Legal aliens will also be required to provide visa or alien registration card)

Comparing Lenders: It’s always a good idea to compare lenders. Particularly closing costs vary greatly from lender to lender and you want to be sure you get the best deal. Making sure you get a GFE (Good Faith Estimate) is the only way to easily compare quotes, so make sure you get one from every lender you speak with.

That just about covers the first step of the process of buying a home in Iowa City. (A pretty long post by any standards). No-one said it was easy, the trick is not to let it overwhelm you. One thing’s for sure – Being prepared will make the process a whole lot easier. Particularly when you’re relocating to Iowa City time is of the essence. The more preparation you take care of upfront, the more time you will have later for the fun part –  Touring homes.   Watch out for Step Two – Your Wants, Needs & Wishes List

Looks like I picked a good day to do a market update for Iowa City. 16 homes sold in Iowa City in the first 16 days of 2012. Gotta love those numbers – A great kick off to the year, especially considering only 13 homes sold in all of January in 2011.

42 homes are listed as pending or contingent and 282 homes are currently showing as Active Listings on the Iowa City MLS. That’s not a lot of inventory. It’s possible sellers took their homes off the market for the Holidays. Now would be a REALLY good time to list again – I know buyers are looking for fresh listings!

282 Active Listings
42 Homes Pending or Contingent
16 Homes Sold in Iowa City in January to date -  14 Single Family Homes, 2 Condos

The Absorption Rate is at 4.2 months. That’s an average of 126 days on market, (and technically a sellers market). If you follow the link you’ll find out more about how the absorption rate is calculated. The number of active listings is part of that calculation and since that number is low we can’t really pay too much attention to the absorption rate.

That said, the low inventory is a good sign. (At least from a sellers’s perspective). It looks like the pendulum may be swinging back towards sellers again. For the longest time we’ve had more houses than buyers to buy them. With less houses on the market in Iowa City that dynamic may change soon. What happens in the next few months is key to that so check back for updates – If you’re a regular reader anyway you know this is the go-to destination for information on what’s happening in the Iowa City real estate market.  I’m a bit of a data freak and like to keep tabs on housing trends in Iowa City!

Home Sales in Iowa City January through December 2011

A Closer Look at Home Sales in Iowa City 2011

Where are the best neighborhoods in Iowa City? I get asked this a lot and yet there’s no point in me answering that question since it would be totally subjective. What I can do to help is introduce you to neighborhoods in Iowa City. Today I’m looking at homes and neighborhoods in the  Shimek Elementary School District. Looking at neighborhoods by school district is the most efficient way to look at neighborhoods. Schools affect the desireability of an area and ultimately that will impact the price of real estate. This is universal, not just in Iowa City. Houses close or within walking distance of the University of Iowa are a prime example of how that works. Location is still king and you will pay to be close to the UIOWA!

This page is has a slideshow that uses Javascript. Your browser either doesn't support Javascript or you have it turned off. To see this page as it is meant to appear please use a Javascript enabled browser.

Housing Trends in the Shimek Neighborhood

28 homes sold in the Shimek School District in 2011 (and that was up compared to 2010 when only 23 sold). This is the lowest number of homes sold in all the Iowa City school districts, although of course a contributing factor to that is that Shimek is also a smaller school district. Nonetheless, it’s still one of the areas in Iowa City with a lower turn over rate of homes. In other words there are generally less homes for sale in the Shimek neighborhoods than in some other neighborhoods in Iowa City. The lower east side for instance or the west side in the Weber school district have a much higher turn over rate of homes with folks moving much more frequently. The takeaway from that is if you see a house in the Shimek neighborhood you like you should jump on it. No waiting for something better to come on the market – You might be in for a long wait!

This link takes you to listings of homes for sale in the Shimek School District where the Broker participates in IDX. (Not all Brokers do. Beats me why that is. I can’t think of a single reason why Brokers wouldn’t want more exposure for their sellers!) The lowest priced home on the list is $156,500, (there are only two listed under 200k). Median price for single family homes currently listed is $339,000.  The highest priced home listed is $650,000.

Amenities in the Shimek Neighborhood

A big plus of living in the north of Iowa City is that I-80 Exits 244 and 246 are close by. (Access to the Interstate is missing on the east side and something you should factor in if it’s important to you). Downtown Iowa City is less than 10 minutes away via N Dodge St. As is the case with all neighborhoods in Iowa City, there’s a park close by. (Iowa City has 41 parks at the last count so regardless of where you live there will always be a park close by). In this case it’s Hickory Hill Park. Iowa City is very “Green.” And I’m not just talking about parks, the City also has a strong focus on taking care of the environment.  ECO Iowa City for instance is an initiative to improve environmental sustainability in Iowa City. The University of Iowa participates in a big way too.

If you’re relocating to Iowa City and need a Buyer’s Agent to help you find the right home in the right neighborhood to fit your lifestyle give me a call. As you can see, we have some very fine neighborhoods to choose from!

While I’m here, let me share with you a couple of links to other neighborhoods I visited with clients recently. Watch out for more. I often stay behind after clients leave to take photos.  I’ll cover as many neighborhoods as time permits in future posts.

Stunning Pond Views in the Wellington Neighborhood

A Sunny Day in the Goosetown Neighborhood