Melissa cahalan cedar rapids office

Facts & Trends Real Estate

Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors

Spring 2015

Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors Ranks as Iowa’s Largest Privately-Owned Real Estate Company Melissa Cahalan Realtor (319) 270-9854 MelissaCahalan@RuhlHomes.com

MelissaCahalan.Ruhlhomes.com

IN THIS ISSUE: page­ 2

Regional Real Estate Activity Chart

page­ 4

Iowa Farmland Value Decreases, but Demand Stays Strong

page­ 4

Regional Home Prices Continue to Appreciate

Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors has ranked once again as the largest privately-owned real estate company in Iowa. RISMedia’s 2015 Power Broker Report ranks the top 500 real estate companies in the country according to the number of transactions and sales volume.

Additionally, Ruhl&Ruhl agents have the highest per agent productivity of any large broker in the state. On average, Ruhl&Ruhl agents closed 18.3 transactions in 2014.

According to transaction rank alone, Ruhl&Ruhl places in approximately the top 1-2% of brokers nationally.

Ruhl&Ruhl’s total sales volume was $801,613,979. Including non-residential transactions, Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors closed 18.6 transactions on average, which places Ruhl&Ruhl agents among the most productive in the country.

Company Name Transactions Transactions Rank

page­ 6

Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors

(2013 – 97)

page­ 7

Mel Foster Co., Quad Cities

(2013 – 181)

Strong Spring Market is Heating Up New Home Markets Start to Thaw

Coldwell Banker Mid-America Group, Des Moines Skogman Realty, Cedar Rapids

103

191

203

(2013 – 179)

210

(2013 – 183)

5,101

The National Association of Realtors reports an average of 7 sales per agent nationally.

Additionally, NAI Ruhl Commercial Company sold over $98.6 million in commercial real estate and provided professional management services for 189 tenants in 56 properties in 2014, and Ruhl Mortgage, also a joint venture, closed $99.6 million in loan volume in 2014.

“We are excited and proud to earn this ranking,” said Caroline Ruhl, President of Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors. “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 2014 Power Broker Report, visit this link, http://rismedia.com/pdfs/2015_PB_Report.pdf.

Residential Sales Volume*

Total Total Transactions Offices Agents Per Agent

(2013 – 5,287)

(2013 – $780,711,249)

$768,181,523

12

279

(2013 – 18.4)

3,312

$506,358,283

9

196

(2013 – 15.1)

3,159

$590,752,178

6

189

3,110

$569,129,067

5

209

(2013 – 3,439) (2013 – $509,926,401)

(2013 – 3,501) (2013 – $623,653,734)

(2013 – 3,421) (2013 – $624,778,097)

18.3

16.9

16.7

(2013 – 19.6)

14.9

(2013 – 15.5)

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

2015 Regional Real Estate Activity Through March

Average 2015 Sales Price

% Change in Average Sales Price from 2014

$100,700 $175,900 $89,400 $182,500 $155,100 $169,800 $78,500 $104,700 $180,000 $199,900 $89,200 $128,000 $115,700 $98,700

+13% +12% -10% +11% +6% -12% -2% +7% 0% -5% -25% +9% -5% +6%

Burlington Area Cedar Rapids Area Clinton/Camanche/Fulton DeWitt Dubuque Area Galena & Galena Territory Galesburg Area Illinois Quad Cities Iowa Quad Cities Iowa City Area Maquoketa/Preston/Bellevue Muscatine/Wilton Area Southwest Wisconsin Washington Area

2015 Number Sold

111 732 90 19 142 21 87 379 414 457 24 108 68 26

% Change in Number Sold from 2014

+14% +23% +20% -5% +18% 0% -24% +6% +4% +51% -4% +26% -9% 0%

2015 Sales Volume

$11,178,800 $125,012,600 $8,042,800 $3,466,900 $22,055,900 $3,566,400 $6,825,900 $39,671,400 $74,506,200 $93,938,400 $2,141,800 $13,821,800 $7,869,000 $2,565,500

% Change in Sales Volume from 2014

+32% +34% +8% +6% +25% -12% -25% +12% +5% +48% -28% +37% -14% +6%

Active Listing Count 2015

164 1,668 318 41 377 355 287 817 632 1,356 64 162 352 103

% Change in Active Listings from 2014

-26% 0% +14% -13% -4% +11% N/A +3% -4% +1% -26% -21% -8% +4%

Months of Inventory

4.3 3.8 6.7 4.9 3.3 118.3 13.4 3.7 2.9 6.2 5.4 3.3 15.8 4.5

Several MLS mergers are causing some data to be suspect. The Washington MLS merged into the Iowa City MLS and data may be reflected in both markets.

The Clinton MLS recently merged with the Quad Cities MLS. Maquoketa MLS members are merging with either the Quad Cities MLS or the Dubuque MLS.

Summary of Regional Real Estate Activity Burlington Area

Listing Inventory: There are 164 properties for sale in Burlington, Iowa and the surrounding area, a 26% decrease from the same time last year when there were 221 properties for sale.

Properties Sold: There was an increase of 14% in the number of residential properties sold through March 2015, comparing 97 sales in 2014 to 111 sales in 2015.

Average Sales Price: The average sales price was $100,700 through March 2015, 13% higher than the average sales price of $88,900 through March 2014.

Residential Sales Volume: Sales volume was up 32% in the area, an increase from $8,495,600 in 2014 to $11,178,800 in 2015.

Cedar Rapids Area

Listing Inventory: There are currently 1,668 residential properties listed for sale, which is similar to last year when there were 1,669 properties for sale.

Properties Sold: Through March this year, 732 properties sold and closed, 23% more than the 593 that were sold through March 2014.

Average Sales Price: The average sales price was $175,900 through March 2015, 12% more than the average sales price of $157,600 through March 2014.

Residential Sales Volume: Sales 2 • RuhlHomes.com

volume increased 34% from $93,449,600 in the first quarter of 2014 to $125,012,600 in the first quarter of 2015.

Residential Sales Volume: Sales volume increased 6% from $3,277,500 in 2014 to $3,466,900 in 2015.

Listing Inventory: There was a 14% increase in properties listed for sale in Clinton, Camanche & Fulton; comparing 318 current listings to 279 properties for sale at the same time last year.

Properties Sold: 20% more properties sold and closed in the first quarter of 2015, an increase from 75 sales in 2014 to 90 sales in 2015.

Average Sales Price: The average sales price through March 2015 was $89,400, a 10% decrease from the average sales price of $99,200 through March 2014.

Residential Sales Volume: Sales volume increased 8%, from $7,443,400 in the first quarter of 2014 to $8,042,800 in the first quarter of 2015.

Listing Inventory: There are 377 residential properties listed for sale in the Dubuque area. This is a 4% decrease from the same time last year when there were 392 residential properties listed for sale.

Properties Sold: 18% more properties sold and closed in the first quarter of 2015, an increase from 120 closings in 2014 to 142 closings in 2015.

Average Sales Price: The average sales price of homes sold through March 2015 was $155,100, a 6% increase from the average sales price of $146,900 through March 2014.

Residential Sales Volume: Sales volume for the first quarter of 2015 was $22,055,900, up 25% from 2014’s first quarter sales volume of $17,626,100.

Clinton, Camanche & Fulton

DeWitt

Listing Inventory: DeWitt’s listing inventory is down 13% from 47 properties listed for sale in 2014 to 41 properties currently for sale.

Properties Sold: 19 properties sold and closed during the first quarter of 2015, compared to 20 sales in 2014, a 5% decrease.

Average Sales Price: The average sales price of homes sold through March 2015 was $182,500, 11% more than last year’s average sales price of $163,900.

Dubuque Area

Galena & Galena Territory

Listing Inventory: There are currently 355 properties for sale, an 11% increase in the number of properties for sale at the same time last year when there were 319 listings.

Properties Sold: There was no increase in the number of residential properties sold in the first quarter, comparing 21 sales in 2014 to 21 sales in 2015.

Average Sales Price: The average

Summary continued on page 3

Summary continued from page 2

sales price was $169,800 through March 2015, 12% lower than the $192,000 average sales price through March 2014.

Residential Sales Volume: Sales volume was down 12%, a decrease from $4,031,400 through March 2014 to $3,566,400 through March 2015.

Galesburg Area

Listing Inventory: There are 287 residential properties currently listed for sale in the Galesburg area. This is the first year we have tracked this data.

Properties Sold: Sales have decreased 24% from 115 properties sold through the first quarter of 2014 to 87 through March 2015.

Average Sales Price: The average sales price was $80,300 through March 2014, 2% less than the average sales price of $78,500 through March 2015.

Residential Sales Volume: Sales volume decreased 25% in the first quarter of 2015, from $9,158,800 to $6,825,900.

Illinois Quad Cities

Listing Inventory: The number of properties for sale is up 3% from the same time last year; an increase from 797 listings to 817 current listings.

Properties Sold: In the first quarter of 2015, 6% fewer properties sold, comparing 359 sales through March 2014 to 379 sales through March this year.

Average Sales Price: The average sales price increased 7% from $98,300 through March 2014 to $104,700 through March 2015.

Residential Sales Volume: Sales volume increased 12% in the first quarter of 2015, from $35,299,100 to $39,671,400.

Iowa Quad Cities

Listing Inventory: There are 632 homes and condominiums listed for sale in the Iowa Quad Cities, a 4% decrease from the same time last year when there were 659 properties for sale.

Properties Sold: 4% more properties sold and closed in the first quarter of

2015, an increase from 397 to 414.

Average Sales Price: The average sales price slightly increased from $179,200 through March 2014 to $180,000 in March 2015.

Residential Sales Volume: Sales volume went up 5%, from $71,126,600 in the first quarter of 2014 to $74,506,200 in the first quarter of 2015.

Iowa City Area

Listing Inventory: There are 1% more properties for sale in the Iowa City area, with 1,336 in 2014 compared to 1,356 homes and condominiums currently on the market.

Properties Sold: Sales have increased 51% from 303 properties sold through the first quarter of 2014 to 457 through March 2015.

Average Sales Price: There was a 5% decrease in the average sales price of homes sold in the first quarter of 2015, comparing a sales price of $209,700 in 2014 to $199,900 in 2015.

Residential Sales Volume: Sales volume increased 48%, from $63,531,400 through March 2014 to $93,938,400 through March 2015.

Maquoketa, Preston & Bellevue

Listing Inventory: The number of properties for sale is down 28% from the same time last year; from 87 listings to 64 properties currently on the market.

Properties Sold: 4% fewer properties sold during the first quarter of 2015, a decrease from 25 sales in 2014 to 24 sales in 2015.

Average Sales Price: The average sales price of homes sold through March 2015 was $89,200, 25% less than the average sales price of $119,600 through March 2014.

Residential Sales Volume: Sales volume declined 28% in the first quarter, from $2,989,400 in 2014 to $2,141,800 in 2015.

Muscatine & Wilton Area

Listing Inventory: There are 162 homes and condominiums listed for sale currently in the Muscatine & Wilton area, 21% fewer than the same time in 2014

when there were 205 properties for sale.

Properties Sold: There were 26% additional residential properties sold in the first quarter of 2015, comparing 86 sales last year to 108 sales in the first quarter of 2015.

Average Sales Price: The average sales price was $128,000 through March 2015, a 9% increase from the $117,700 average sales price in the first quarter of 2014.

Residential Sales Volume: Sales volume was up 37%, an increase from $10,123,500 through March 2014 to $13,821,800 through March 2015.

Southwest Wisconsin

Listing Inventory: There are 352 properties for sale, 8% less than the 382 properties listed for sale at the same time in 2014.

Properties Sold: 9% fewer properties sold during the first quarter of 2015, a decrease from 75 sales in 2014 to 68 sales in 2015.

Average Sales Price: The average sales price of homes sold through March 2015 was $115,700, 5% less than the average sales price of $122,200 through March 2014.

Residential Sales Volume: Sales volume decreased 14%, from $9,166,600 in the first quarter of 2014 to $7,869,000 in the first quarter of 2015.

Washington Area

Listing Inventory: There are 103 properties for sale in Washington, Iowa and the surrounding area, 4% more than the same time last year when there were 99 properties for sale.

Properties Sold: Sales remained the same from 26 properties sold through the first quarter of 2014 to 26 sales closed through March 2015.

Average Sales Price: The average sales price was $98,700 through March 2015, 6% more than the average sales price through March 2014 of $93,300.

Residential Sales Volume: Sales volume grew 6%, from $2,425,000 through March 2014 to $2,565,500 through March 2015.

Quad Cities MLS Statistics - Iowa & Illinois Combined Through March

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

Current MLS Listings Average Sales Price Total Sales Volume Total # of Sales YTD

1,869 $120,400 $75,259,800 625

1,666 $136,500 $100,903,800 739

1,456 $135,200 $113,063,400 836

1,456 $140,800 $106,425,700 756

1,449 $144,000 $114,177,600 793

% Change 2014 vs. 2015 -0.5% +2.3% +7.3% +4.9%

RuhlHomes.com • 3

Iowa Farmland Value Decreases, but Demand Stays Strong Despite a decrease in the value of cropland across the state of Iowa, there continues to be a high demand for certain types of land.

In our east central district, high quality cropland is selling at $10,425 per acre.

Timber is selling at $2,180 per acre.

The Land Trends and Value Survey, presented by the Iowa Farm and Land Chapter #2 REALTORS Land Institute, reported a statewide average decrease of cropland values of 11% for the year from March 1, 2014 to March 1, 2015.

The results show a statewide average decrease of 7.6% for the September 2014 to March 2015 period.

This follows an average decrease of 4.2% for the year from March 1, 2013 to March 1, 2014; and an average increase of 17.1% for the year from March 2012 to March 2013.

“Although we are seeing declines across the board on tillable land because of weakening commodity prices, there is still a lot of buyer strength for high quality tillable, pasture land, and recreational land,” said Eric Schlutz, ALC, Realtor and Manager

of the Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors Muscatine Office.

The nine Iowa crop reporting districts all showed a decrease in value. The survey attributed the current land values to lower commodity prices, limited amount of land on the market, lack of stable alternative investments, cash on hand, and increasing interest rates.

For the survey, participants are asked to estimate the average value of farmland as of March 1, 2015. These estimates are for bare, unimproved land with a sale price on a cash basis.

Pasture and timberland values were also requested as supplemental information.

For local experts, the survey results don’t necessarily show the whole picture, stating that land will always be a hot commodity.

Ruhl Farm&Land, a division of Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors, is focused on the sale, purchase and marketing of land, farms and acreages, including auctioning services.

For price per acre of cropland in all nine Iowa districts, visit RuhlLand.com/Value.

Reg Through March Burlington Area (Burlington Board of Realtors)

Cedar Rapids Area (Cedar Rapids Area Assoc. of R Southeast Cedar Rapids Northeast Cedar Rapids Southwest Cedar Rapids Northwest Cedar Rapids Hiawatha & Robins Marion

East of I-380: Mechanicsville, Anamosa, Mt. Vernon, L West of I-380: Walford, Fairfax, Atkins, etc.

Corridor Area: Solon, Ely, Swisher Condominiums

Clinton, Camanche & Fulton (Clinton Board of Rea DeWitt (Quad City Area Realtor Assoc.)

Dubuque Area (Dubuque Board of Realtors) Dubuque North, South and West Dubuque Illinois Wisconsin

Galena & Galena Territory (Realtor Assoc. of North

Galesburg Area (W. Central IL Association of Realto

Illinois Quad Cities (Quad City Area Realtor Assoc.

Rock Island Milan & Rural Rock Island County Moline Coal Valley, Rural Moline, Miscellaneous East Moline & Silvis Port Byron, Upper Rock Island County Mercer County Henry County

Regional Home Prices Continue to Appreciate The eastern Iowa and northwest Illinois region continues its steady climb in home price appreciation with the majority of our local markets showing positive gains.

In the Quad Cities region, home prices are up 1.56% in the past year. Cedar Rapids prices appreciated 2.22%, Dubuque is up 1.86% and Iowa City has seen a slight decrease of 0.04%.

This data is provided by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) for Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs)

Cedar Rapids, IA Davenport-MolineRock Island, IA-IL Des MoinesWest Des Moines, IA Dubuque, IA Iowa City, IA USA

Condominiums Iowa Quad Cities (Quad City Area Realtor Assoc.)

Davenport

the 4th quarter of 2014.

Nationally, home prices have increased 4.91% in 2014 with the fiveyear rate at a 4.99% increase.

Our local gains, while not as large compared to the national average, continue to be positive and have made a stable market for our region.

“Since the market has remained steady overall,” said Caroline Ruhl, President of Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors. “This makes real estate a great long-term investment.”

Percent Change in House Prices 1 Year 5 Year

2014 4th Quarter National Ranking of 275 MSA’s*

Blue Grass, Buffalo, Durant & Walcott LeClaire, Pleasant Valley & Princeton North Scott County Miscellaneous Condominiums Iowa City Area (Iowa City Area Assoc. of Realtors) Iowa City Coralville Northwest Iowa City Northeast Iowa City Southeast Iowa City Southwest Iowa City Corridor Area Miscellaneous

+2.22%

+2.64%

213

+1.56%

+4.99%

241

Maquoketa, Preston & Bellevue (Jackson County M

+4.06%

+5.16%

144

Muscatine

+1.86% -0.04% +4.91%

+8.38% +4.98% +11.59%

230 265

Muscatine Outlying

Information courtesy of Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) for fourth quarter 2014. FHFA stats always run one quarter behind. Their full report is accessible at www.fhfa.gov. *Rankings based on annual percentage change in house prices.

4 • RuhlHomes.com

Bettendorf & Riverdale

Condominiums

Muscatine & Wilton Area (Muscatine Board of Real Wilton Condominiums

Washington Area (Iowa City Area Assoc. of Realtor Wisconsin - Grant & Lafayette Co. (S. Central Wisc

This representation is based in part on data supplied by the REALTOR Associations or Several MLS mergers are causing some data to be suspect. The Washington MLS me

gional Residential Real Estate Activity Current MLS Listings

Realtors)

Lisbon, etc.

altors)

% of Active Listings

2015 Avg. Sales Price

2015 Sales Volume

2015 # Sold

% of Unit Sales

Sales/ List

2014 # Sold

2014 Avg. Sales Price

2014 Sales Volume

164

$100,700

$11,178,800

111

93%

97

$88,900

$8,495,600

1,668

$175,900

$125,012,600

732

98%

593

$157,600

$93,449,600

162

10%

147,300

8,394,300

57

8%

96%

65

153,400

9,972,900

191

11%

186,700

24,082,400

129

17%

97%

78

148,700

11,599,600

144

9%

128,800

8,886,000

69

9%

97%

70

145,600

10,188,700

121

7%

185,100

9,808,200

53

7%

98%

57

143,000

8,149,100

33

2%

250,400

3,756,600

15

2%

98%

9

234,000

2,106,300

167

10%

195,200

16,786,500

86

12%

98%

75

198,200

14,863,700

180

11%

156,400

10,167,000

65

9%

96%

54

121,700

6,569,700

196

12%

130,200

8,591,200

66

9%

96%

41

108,000

4,427,500

127

7%

276,700

13,558,300

49

7%

97%

42

283,900

11,924,400

347

21%

146,700

20,982,100

143

20%

100%

102

133,800

13,647,800

318

$89,400

$8,042,800

90

94%

75

$99,200

$7,443,400

41

$182,500

$3,466,900

19

96%

20

$163,900

$3,277,500

377

$155,100

$22,055,900

142

93%

120

$146,900

$17,626,100

260

69%

159,600

17,391,700

109

77%

94%

97

145,500

14,112,300

105

28%

131,000

2,751,500

21

15%

91%

17

159,600

2,713,900

2

1%

149,500

1,495,200

10

7%

95%

4

136,300

544,900

10

2%

196,300

417,500

2

1%

94%

2

127,500

255,000

355

$169,800

$3,566,400

21

85%

21

$192,000

$4,031,400

ors)

287

$78,500

$6,825,900

87

90%

115

$80,300

$9,158,800

.)

817

hwest IL)

$104,700

$39,671,400

379

96%

359

$98,300

$35,299,100

143

18%

87,300

6,283,500

72

19%

96%

70

77,100

5,396,300

46

6%

133,300

4,265,200

32

8%

95%

31

100,800

3,125,800

165

20%

109,200

10,045,000

92

24%

95%

80

99,100

7,930,500

45

6%

82,200

986,300

12

3%

95%

12

96,100

1,153,500

65

8%

93,900

4,039,000

43

11%

95%

56

97,800

5,478,900

48

6%

105,700

1,057,300

10

3%

98%

16

150,700

2,410,500

59

7%

115,000

2,645,600

23

6%

97%

21

99,300

2,084,900

179

21%

99,400

7,557,900

76

20%

95%

55

85,000

5,294,300

67

8%

146,900

2,791,600

19

6%

96%

18

134,700

2,424,400

$180,000

$74,506,200

414

98%

397

$179,200

$71,126,600

632 294

47%

134,900

29,821,400

221

53%

97%

199

126,700

25,221,500

114

18%

334,800

27,453,600

82

20%

98%

83

301,700

25,042,500

25

4%

150,300

2,104,000

14

3%

99%

10

186,300

1,863,500

45

7%

180,000

3,959,200

22

5%

98%

26

266,600

6,932,000

23

4%

182,600

4,016,300

22

5%

97%

20

222,400

4,448,400

43

7%

91,400

1,005,100

11

3%

95%

14

76,400

1,069,300

88

13%

146,300

6,146,600

42

11%

98%

45

145,500

6,549,400

$199,900

$93,938,400

457

97%

303

$209,700

$63,531,400 18,088,800

1,356 347

25%

258,400

26,099,000

101

22%

98%

76

238,000

86

6%

310,000

8,370,800

27

6%

96%

15

334,000

5,009,300

158

12%

253,400

11,149,400

44

10%

98%

37

285,100

10,549,600

27

2%

181,400

1,995,000

11

3%

96%

6

157,600

945,400

35

3%

124,900

749,500

6

1%

94%

4

115,100

460,300

77

6%

158,800

3,969,900

25

5%

95%

23

147,700

3,396,400 3,962,200

51

4%

293,300

3,813,100

13

3%

97%

10

396,200

169

12%

173,100

15,750,000

91

20%

97%

50

171,800

8,591,600

406

30%

158,600

22,041,700

139

30%

98%

82

152,800

12,527,800

$89,200

$2,141,800

24

95%

25

$119,600

$2,989,400

MLS)

64

ltors)

162

$128,000

$13,821,800

108

96%

86

$117,700

$10,123,500

96

60%

133,700

10,293,600

77

71%

95%

59

120,900

7,133,100

7

4%

168,900

506,800

3

3%

100%

8

126,600

1,013,100

54

33%

100,600

2,616,700

26

24%

95%

12

83,900

1,007,300

5

3%

202,400

404,700

2

2%

114%

7

138,600

970,000

rs)

103

$98,700

$2,565,500

26

92%

26

$93,300

$2,425,000

consin)

352

$115,700

$7,869,000

68

86%

75

$122,200

$9,166,600

r their Multiple List­ing Services. Neither the Boards nor their MLS guarantee or is in any way responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by the Boards or their MLS may not reflect all real estate activity in the market. erged into the Iowa City MLS & data may be reflected in both markets. The Clinton MLS recently merged with the Quad Cities MLS. Maquoketa MLS members are merging with either the Quad Cities MLS or Dubuque MLS.

RuhlHomes.com • 5

Regional New Construction Home Sales Through March Cedar Rapids Area Houses Condos/Villas Dubuque Area Houses Condos/Villas Illinois Quad Cities (Rock Island County) Houses Condos/Villas Iowa Quad Cities (Scott County) Houses Condos/Villas Iowa City Area Houses Condos/Villas Total Regional Combined

Active Inventory 3/31/13

Active Inventory 3/31/14

Active Inventory 3/31/15

% Change in Inventory from 2014

Sales 2014

Sales 2015

161 102 59 42 34 8 20 4 16 91 50 41 274 151 123 588

160 96 64 58 36 22 6 1 5 114 64 50 329 181 148 667

146 91 55 61 43 18 5 2 3 113 73 40 361 195 166 686

Sales 2013

-9% -5% -14% +5% +19% -18% -17% +100% -40% -1% +14% -20% +10% +8% +12% +3%

71 46 25 14 14 0 1 1 0 39 34 5 38 17 21 163

62 37 25 16 16 0 1 1 0 43 37 6 43 31 12 165

59 31 28 12 12 0 3 2 1 45 36 9 55 28 27 174

% Change in Sales from 2014

-5% -16% +12% -25% -25% 0% +200% +100% +100% +5% -3% +50% +28% -10% +125% +5%

Strong Spring Market is Heating Up Wow – what fun it is to be in a good real estate market again! So many good things are happening in our region: 1. Average Prices of Homes Sold is Up in Most of Our Markets: See the Regional Real Estate Activity Chart on page 2 for details. The best performers are Burlington up 13% and Cedar Rapids up 12% compared to 1st quarter average sales prices in 2014.

2. First Quarter Sales Volume is Up Significantly in Most of Our Markets: % Change in Sales Volume Burlington Area +32% Cedar Rapids Area +34% Dubuque Area +25% Iowa City Area +48% Muscatine/Wilton Area +37% 3. Pending Sales, Not Yet Closed, are Also Up: At Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors, our pendings for March and the first two weeks of April were up 10.2% in sales volume.

4. Homes are Appreciating in Our Region: As shown by market on page 4, homes have appreciated slowly but steadily over the past 5 years: Metropolitan % Change Statistical Areas in Price Cedar Rapids +2.64% Dubuque Area +8.38% Iowa City +4.98% Quad Cities +4.99% 6 • RuhlHomes.com

Interest Rates Lower than Last Spring

Amazingly low rates are fueling our market. As of April 14, conventional 30-year fixed rate mortgages with no points are around 3.625%. This compares to 4.375% last April 17.

Conventional 15-year fixed rate

“For sellers waiting for the ‘best time to list their properties,’ the time is right.” mortgages are still a great value at 2.99%, with no points. FHA and VA 30year rates are hovering around 3.375%.

FHA has lower up-front mortgage insurance costs than last year, dropping from 1.35% to 0.85%, which makes it a much more attractive option. Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARM) are back – with the 5/1 ARM running at about 3%.

Refinancing activity is also vibrant – up significantly from 2014. Ruhl Mortgage experienced 25% of their first quarter loans from clients refinancing prior loans, compared to 12.5% in the first quarter of 2014.

Great Time to Sell

Buyers are active and eager to buy before interest rates go up. Activity in some of our markets is being held back by a shortage of listing inventory.

We consider a buyer’s market to be more than 6 months of inventory, a seller’s market to be up to 3 months of inventory and a balanced market to be 4 – 6 months of inventory. The following is a sampling of our markets’ months of inventory, which we show for all markets in the Regional Real Estate Activity Chart on page 2.

Months of Inventory Burlington Area 4.3 months Cedar Rapids Area 3.8 months Dubuque Area 3.3 months Illinois Quad Cities 3.7 months Iowa Quad Cities 2.9 months Iowa City Area 6.2 months Muscatine/Wilton Area 3.3 months Homes are selling faster than they are coming on the market. So for sellers waiting for the “best time to list their properties,” the time is right.

The way to

buy sell and

.

Search all properties for sale and get information on sold properties in eastern Iowa, northwestern Illinois and southwestern Wisconsin.

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New Housing Starts Through March

2012 2008

2013

2014

2015

Burlington Area Burlington West Burlington Cedar Rapids Area Cedar Rapids Marion Rural Linn County Hiawatha & Mechanicsville Areas Dubuque Area Dubuque East Dubuque Galena Jo Daviess County Peosta Surrounding Dubuque Area Illinois Quad Cities Moline & Coal Valley Rock Island East Moline & Hampton Colona Port Byron Geneseo Rural Rock Island County & Milan Silvis Whiteside County Iowa Quad Cities Davenport Bettendorf Rural Scott County Eldridge & Long Grove LeClaire & Princeton Blue Grass - city of Iowa City Area Iowa City Coralville North Liberty Rural Johnson County West Branch Williamsburg, Wellman & Kalona West Liberty Muscatine Area Muscatine Muscatine County Wilton Other Areas Clinton DeWitt Maquoketa, Preston & Bellevue Washington Area* Total Regional Starts

2 2 0 79 44 26 7 2 55 15 0 0 4 0 36 28 5 10 1 0 0 1 5 1 5 74 20 27 12 6 9 0 95 35 10 39 6 2 3 0 3 2 0 1 4 1 1 2 N/A 340

3 3 0 69 33 22 11 3 60 16 0 0 4 3 37 16 0 3 3 5 1 1 1 0 2 78 12 28 15 7 15 1 73 25 2 33 10 1 2 0 7 1 6 0 4 2 2 0 0 310

4 3 1 58 35 15 5 3 45 11 6 0 4 4 20 8 1 1 0 2 0 0 4 0 0 84 16 31 17 7 11 2 65 32 4 20 7 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 12 2 2 8 0 277

3 3 0 89 45 31 12 1 41 10 0 0 1 2 28 10 3 0 0 0 1 1 3 1 1 46 6 30 7 2 0 1 57 21 7 16 11 0 2 0 4 1 3 0 6 1 1 4 0 256

Des Moines Area**

299

350

310

477

% Change 2014 vs. 2015 -25% 0% -100% +53% +29% +107% +140% -66% -9% -9% -100% 0% -75% -50% +40% +25% +200% -100% 0% -100% +100% +100% -25% +100% +100% -45% -63% -3% -59% -71% -100% -50% -12% -34% +75% -20% +57% 0% 0% 0% +300% +100% +200% 0% -50% -50% -50% -50% 0% -8% +54%

Source: Municipal offices. There may be additional new homes built which are not included with this data. *Washington Area was recently added and only some past data is available. **Des Moines Area is comprised of Adel, Altoona, Ankeny, Clive, Des Moines, Indianola, Johnston, Pleasant Hill, Polk City, Urbandale, Waukee, & West Des Moines.

New Home Markets Start to Thaw As reported by our regional Multiple Listing Services (MLSs), the first quarter of this year saw modest increases in overall new home sales, when compared with the same period in 2014. Condo sales jumped 51%, while house sales dropped 11%, creating an overall 5% increase in sales. Inventory levels rose 3%. This occurred as condo inventory dipped by 2% and house inventory increased by 7%. Details of sales and inventory figures for regional markets are available on page 6. The price breakdown for 2015 sales follows, revealing trends in average sales prices - upward in houses and downward in condos.

Houses: Condos: Below $300K = 43% Below $200K = 69% $300-$400K = 32% $200-$300K = 28% Above $400K = 25% Above $300K = 3% The surge in condo sales increased their market share to 37%, with the largest gain in the market below $200K. Ranch style houses were preferred by 73% of regional buyers, with 2-story houses comprising 19% of sales. Nearly 60% of all 2-story houses in the region were sold in Scott County.

New homes represented about 1 of every 8 home purchases. While new home sales and inventory are higher than this time last year, market conditions vary widely across the region. A detailed look at housing starts, by market, is available on the chart to the left.

Following is a brief summary of activity in each of the major market areas: CEDAR RAPIDS: Overall new sales were down 5%, with houses down 16% while condo sales increased 12%. Condo sales below $200K led the way. With fewer houses and condos on the market, overall inventory dropped by 9%.

DUBUQUE: House sales were the whole story in Dubuque, with no condo sales reported. However, house sales were down by 25%. A 19% increase in house inventory may help drive future sales. Even with the healthy increase in inventory, there is still less than four months supply of new houses. All new house sales fell below $300K. IOWA CITY: An increase in condo sales of 125% over 2014 fueled a 28% overall sales increase and offset a 10% decrease Markets Start to Thaw continued on page 8 RuhlHomes.com • 7

Corporate Relocation Center 5403 Victoria Avenue, Suite 100 Davenport, IA 52807 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Markets Start to Thaw continued from page 7

in house sales. Area inventory is up 10%.

Iowa City continues as the region’s most active new home market with 1 in 6 home sales being new construction. North Liberty regained its position as the top producing market segment in the Iowa

City area with a 54% market share.

QUAD CITIES: With house sales stable and a modest increase in condos, the area posted a 9% overall increase in new home sales. Area inventories also remained stable. Houses from $300-$500K made up 58% of sales, while condos under

$300K represented 90% of condo sales.

The Quad Cities displayed the area’s lowest preference for ranch style homes at 58% of the market, while 2-story homes comprised 33% of all new house sales.

Most conditions point to a more positive result for the new homes market in 2015.

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For further information or to be added to our mailing list, contact Caroline Ruhl or Veronica Pianca • 563.355.7474 5403 Victoria Avenue, Suite 100 • Davenport, Iowa 52807-3925 • CarolineRuhl@RuhlHomes.com or VeronicaPianca@RuhlHomes.com 8 • RuhlHomes.com