Ruhl&Ruhl News & Events

New Home Sales Show Modest Increase Under Harsh Conditions

noreply@blogger.com (Ruhl & Ruhl REALTORS) — Mon, 09 Jun 2014 16:36:00 +0000

Even record cold, snow and frost depths were unable to dampen the spirits and efforts of some buyers and builders this winter. Despite many weather related schedule delays, overall regional new home sales managed a 1% increase over the same period last year, accounting for 1 in every 9.4 home sales during the first quarter. New home starts for the same period are detailed in the chart below.

There was a 13% increase in regional inventory compared with the same time last year. Houses represent 74% of new home sales for the period and 57% of current inventory, while condos comprise 26% of sales and 43% of inventory.

New house prices continued a steady rise during the quarter, as shown below:
Below $300,000 = 44% of house sales
$300,000 – $400,000 = 35% of house sales
Above $400,000 = 21% of house sales

These figures differ greatly from the 60% of house sales below $300,000 and the 15% above $400,000 reported in the first quarter last year, as ranch style homes remained the strong regional preference. In new condo sales, over 74% of sales fell below $200,000.

DUBUQUE: The Dubuque area reported 14% more new house sales than 2013, but condo sales remained non-existent in the market. Dubuque saw a small increase in new house inventory, but available condo inventory has nearly tripled since the same time last year.

CEDAR RAPIDS: While overall unit sales totals were down 13% vs. 2013, house sales were the main cause – dropping 20%, while condo sales remained unchanged. Area inventories of available new houses are down 1% vs. last year, while condo inventory is up 8%.

IOWA CITY: Area sales were up 13% over the first quarter last year, with strong house sales showing an 82% increase, from 17 to 31 units. Unfortunately, condo sales for the period dropped by 43% compared with last year. Both house and condo inventories in the market are 20% above this time in 2013, reflecting the confidence of builders and buyers.

QUAD CITIES: As Scott County unit sales grew by 10%, increases were reported in both house and condo sales. Rock Island County sales remained unchanged, at 1, from the first quarter of 2013 continuing to reflect a stagnant new homes market for that area. In Scott County, the new house inventory increased by 28% and condo inventory increased by 22% compared to this time last year. Conversely, Rock Island County inventories are down by a combined 70% vs. last year, helping to perpetuate a lack of sales for that segment of the market. It is noteworthy that less than 40% of all sales in the QCA metro area were ranch style houses.

On a very positive note, coming out of one of the most extreme winters in recent memory, it is obvious that a number of market segments did not experience a complete loss of momentum. Overall, we have both increased sales and increased available inventory, when compared with the same time in 2013. We look for the overall confidence in our region to remain consistent and activity to pick-up as we head into the “normal” building/selling cycle.

25 Years and Lots of Flowers

noreply@blogger.com (Ruhl & Ruhl REALTORS) — Fri, 24 May 2013 14:42:00 +0000

The 2013 Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Mississippi Valley Annual Plant Sale was a great success! All 1,400 hanging baskets were sold at the Bettendorf location, which was at Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors, 1228 Middle Road, Bettendorf. Over 2,600 flats of annuals were sold over the course of 9 days.

All proceeds from this event benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters to support one-to-one mentoring programs in our communities. This is the second year that Ruhl&Ruhl hosted a plant sale location. “It’s always a fun event,” said Caroline Ruhl, President of Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors. “We love that we can host this incredible organization and help raise funds for such an important cause.”

“We had much more traffic and outstanding efforts by everyone,” said Kayla Kiesey, Director of Events and Community Partnerships for Big Brothers Big Sisters.

This year marks the 25^th anniversary of Big Brothers serving eastern Iowa and western Illinois. Over that time, the organization has helped over 30,000 children achieve academic and social success through the support of a caring adult mentor. Big Brothers Big Sisters makes meaningful, monitored matches between adult volunteers (“Bigs”) and children (“Littles”), ages 6 through 18, in communities across the country.

A family-owned company since 1862, Ruhl&Ruhl REALTORS has grown to more than 301 sales associates, 58 employees and twelve offices, selling nearly 5,000 homes in eastern Iowa, western Illinois and southwest Wisconsin. The company has residential sales offices in Bettendorf, Burlington, Cedar Rapids, Clinton, Davenport, DeWitt, Dubuque, Iowa City, Maquoketa, Muscatine and Washington, Iowa; and in Moline, Illinois. In addition to residential sales, the company offers services in relocation, property management, real estate investments, new home sales, land development, farm sales, senior services, home vendor services, insurance services through the Nelson Brothers Agency and mortgage services through Shelter Mortgage. For more information on Ruhl&Ruhl REALTORS, visit their website at www.RuhlHomes.com.

The History of Ruhl&Ruhl REALTORS – 151 Years of Service

noreply@blogger.com (Ruhl & Ruhl REALTORS) — Thu, 16 May 2013 21:28:00 +0000

It all started in a little German grocery store in west Davenport, from which insurance and real estate also were sold. Five generations and thousands of homes later, Caroline Ruhl leads Ruhl&Ruhl REALTORS today. Ruhl&Ruhl REALTORS has grown to more than 300 sales associates in 12 offices, serving 29 counties, yet our commitment to providing service with quality, value and integrity remains firmly rooted.

Ruhl&Ruhl REALTORS traces its origins back to 1862 when an ambitious entrepreneur established a sole proprietorship. As the business grew and prospered, it became a partnership, changing hands a number of times over the next thirty or so years. In 1899, the then successful insurance agency came under the control of John G. Ruhl. One year after assuming control, John added real estate brokerage to the firm's growing list of services. John Ruhl was joined by his sons, Edward Ruhl in1919 and C. Arthur Ruhl in 1920. Although the boys were encouraged to work in all areas of the business, Edward gravitated to real estate and Arthur to insurance.

In 1949 John G. Ruhl, the oldest son of C. Arthur Ruhl, joined the firm and was followed a year later by his brother Charles A. Ruhl. The firm had by then four full time real estate salesmen and was flourishing in both the real estate and insurance areas. The boys were told to learn both sides of the business and did, although it was soon obvious that John preferred insurance and Chuck favored real estate. The untimely death of Edward Ruhl in 1956 created an unfortunate necessity for Chuck and John to pursue their specialty on a permanent basis.

In January of 1982, a major reorganization took place and the real estate and insurance companies separated. A fourth generation of the Ruhl family was added to the firm with the association in 1976 of Charles A. Ruhl, Jr., in 1980 of Caroline Ruhl, and in 1991 of John G. Ruhl.

In 1997, another reorganization took effect. Caroline Ruhl took sole ownership of Ruhl&Ruhl REALTORS, the residential company, and Chuck Ruhl, Jr. opened a new company, NAI Ruhl&Ruhl Commercial Company, and was joined by his brother John Ruhl. In 2001, Ruhl&Ruhl REALTORS acquired the McCarthy Bush real estate company, whose parent company is one of the largest residential developers in the region. As a result of this merger, the McCarthy Bush principals became acquired small minority interest in Ruhl&Ruhl REALTORS.

In 2012, Chris Beason, Caroline’s son, became the 5th generation of family leaders. Today, Chris is an owner, along with Caroline Ruhl and a family trust. There is no overlapping ownership between Ruhl&Ruhl REALTORS and NAI Ruhl&Ruhl Commercial Company.

Today, Ruhl&Ruhl REALTORS, the residential company, has 300 sales associates, 58 employees and 12 residential offices serving eastern Iowa, western Illinois and southwest Wisconsin, along with its corporate office in Davenport, Iowa. The residential sales offices are located in Bettendorf, Burlington, Cedar Rapids, Clinton, Coralville, Davenport, DeWitt, Dubuque, Maquoketa, Muscatine, and Washington, Iowa and in Moline, Illinois. In addition to residential sales, the company offers services in relocation, property management, real estate investments, new home sales, land development, farm and land sales, senior services, home vendor services, insurance services through the Nelson Brothers Agency and mortgage services through Shelter Mortgage.

Ruhl&Ruhl REALTORS seven core values - integrity; caring and challenging; commitment to client satisfaction; embracing change and continuous learning; loyalty; extraordinary quality; and community involvement – serve as the glue that holds company together. These shared values provide all sales associates and staff a common bond and focus that will carry the company forward…for at least another 150 years.

For more information please visit RuhlHomes.com or to download our app, visit MobileRuhl.

Ruhl&Ruhl Ranked Iowa's Largest Privately Owned Real Estate Company

noreply@blogger.com (Ruhl & Ruhl REALTORS) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 16:57:00 +0000

Ruhl&Ruhl REALTORS was once again ranked the largest privately-owned real estate company in Iowa, according to RISMedia’s 2013 Power Broker Report.

The report ranks the top 500 real estate companies in the country according to the number of transactions and sales volume. Ruhl&Ruhl ranked 82nd in the country for the number of home sale transactions closed, which was 5,049 in 2012.

Other Iowa Companies Ranked as follows.

Company Name	Transactions Rank	Transactions	Sales Volume	Total Offices	Total Agents	Transactions per Agent
Ruhl&Ruhl REALTORS	82	5,049	$749,811,624	11	286	17.7
Skogman Realty, Cedar Rapids	128	3,780	$626,111,380	5	219	17.3
Mel Foster Co., Quad Cities	152	3,225	$472,597,438	9	224	14.4
Coldwell Banker Mid-America Group, REALTORS, Des Moines	183	2,900	$482,936,760	8	192	15.1

*The RIS ranking is based on residential sales only. It excludes farms, land, commercial and other non-residential properties.

Ruhl&Ruhl’s all-inclusive sales volume was $807,533,527. Including non-residential transactions, Ruhl&Ruhl REALTORS closed 5,168 deals or 18.1 transactions per agent which places Ruhl&Ruhl agents among the most productive in the country. The National Association of Realtors reports an average of 7 sales per agent nationally.

“2012 was a wonderful year for Ruhl&Ruhl REALTORS - our sales volume grew by 36.2% and we had 24.5% more transactions than the prior year,” said Caroline Ruhl, President of Ruhl&Ruhl REALTORS. “And it looks like 2013 will be even better!”

“We are excited and proud to earn this ranking,” Ruhl said. “I have been blessed to be surrounded by the best people in our business. At the end of the day, it always comes down to having the right people.”

To view the 2013 Power Broker Report, visit this link, http://remag.rismedia.com/i/118999.

Ruhl&Ruhl Grows to 300 Agents!

noreply@blogger.com (Ruhl & Ruhl REALTORS) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 16:32:00 +0000

Ruhl&Ruhl REALTORS has grown to 300 agents – the largest number of agents we have ever had in our company! This is just more great agents to serve you! With the hot market and real estate being such a great profession, many more are considering a real estate career. In fact, according to a recent CareerBliss.com survey, real estate agents actually have the happiest job in America. Find out more about a career in real estate with Ruhl&Ruhl or take our quiz at www.JoinTheRuhlTeam.com.