Reg
Home Prices Appreciating in our Region Home prices are going up! This is being caused primarily by pent up buyer demand and rapid absorption of our listing inventory. According to the Federal Housing Finance Authority (FHFA), in 2013 home prices increased 0.46% in the Cedar Rapids MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area), in the Quad Cities prices went up 1.13%, in Dubuque they were up 0.92% and in Iowa City they increased by 3.60%. The chart below Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs)
Cedar Rapids, IA Davenport-MolineRock Island, IA-IL Des MoinesWest Des Moines, IA Dubuque, IA Iowa City, IA USA
also shows the change in home prices over the past 5 years. The appreciation in our region is less than the 7.69% change nationally. This is because home prices in our markets didn’t fall nearly as much as they did in many other parts of the country. We continue to enjoy a modest but steady gain locally. “I, for one, prefer less drama and more stability,” said Caroline Ruhl, President of Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors.
Percent Change in House Prices 1 Year 5 Year
2013 4th Quarter National Ranking of 283 MSA’s*
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, Li West of I-380: Walford, Fairfax, Atkins, etc. Corridor Area: Solon, Ely, Swisher Condominiums
+0.46%
+0.69%
204
Clinton, Camanche & Fulton (Clinton Board of Real
+1.13%
+2.89%
180
Dubuque Area (Dubuque Board of Realtors)
+2.38%
-0.87%
135
+0.92% +3.60% +7.69%
+6.78% +5.27% +4.18%
186 113
Information courtesy of Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) for fourth quarter 2013. 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.
DeWitt (Quad City Area Realtor Assoc.) Dubuque North, South and West Dubuque Illinois Wisconsin
Galena & Surrounding Area (Realtor Assoc. of Nort
Illinois Quad Cities (Quad City Area Realtor Assoc. Rock Island Milan & Rural Rock Island County
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 high demand for certain types of land. In our east central district, high quality cropland is selling at $11,283 per acre. Timber is selling at $2,372 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 4.2% for the year from March 1, 2013 to March 1, 2014. This follows an increase of 17.1% for the year from March 2012 to March 2013; and an average increase of 23.7% for the year from March 2011 to March 2012. This is the first reported statewide decrease since March 2008 through March 2009. “Although lower commodity prices have put some downward pressure on low and medium quality farms, we are still seeing strong demand for high quality farms and have seen renewed interest in non-tillable land,” said Eric Schlutz, Accredited Land Consultant with Ruhl Farm&Land and Muscatine Manager for Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors. “Strong beef prices have increased 4 • RuhlHomes.com
demand for pasture land along with the strong investor demand for recreational parcels.” The survey attributed the current decrease in land values to higher input costs, increasing interest rates, government regulation uncertainty, and uncertainty of the U.S. and world economy. For the survey, participants are asked to estimate the average value of farmland as of March 1, 2014. 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. “I see no movement in high quality tillable land,” said Ken Paper, Accredited Land Consultant with Ruhl Farm&Land and Realtor with Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors. “Many farmers are in a good cash position coming out of a strong commodity market. There will probably be some stress on the low quality parcels, but all in all I think it is too soon to make any judgments on the land market.” For price per acre of cropland in all nine Iowa districts, visit RuhlLand.com/Value.
Moline Coal Valley, Rural Moline, Miscellaneous East Moline & Silvis Port Byron, Upper Rock Island County Mercer County Henry County Condominiums Iowa Quad Cities (Quad City Area Realtor Assoc.) Davenport Bettendorf & Riverdale 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
Condominiums Maquoketa, Preston & Bellevue (Jackson County M
Muscatine & Wilton Area (Muscatine Board of Realt Muscatine Wilton Muscatine Outlying Condominiums Washington Area* (English River MLS)
Wisconsin - Grant & Lafayette Co. (S. Central Wisc
(This representation is based in part on data supplied by the REALT MLS) responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by the Boards or their