I was privileged to be interviewed yesterday by Becca Habegger from KWWL to comment on the state of the real estate market in Dubuque and for Iowa overall (see yesterday’s post for my 2011 round-up of sales figures for Dubuque’s real estate market) . There’s nice two-minute video that aired several times on the KWWL’s news shows since then and I thought I’d post it here for keeping it archived.
Compliments also to Mel Graves of Brissey Realty for his included participation in Becca’s report. Mel’s one of the really good guys in the business, in fact when I started in real estate waaaaayyy back in 2004, Mel was an office mate of mine. To the video…
There’s a more elaborate article posted on KWWL’s website (click here) that digs further than the two-minute video can. Some highlights…
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DUBUQUE (KWWL) – The Iowa Association of Realtors is reporting a glimmer of positive news in its annual 2011 Housing Trends Report, out this month. It says home sales were up statewide in December, for the fifth consecutive month, and steady throughout 2011.
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Rob Cook is a realtor for Ruhl and Ruhl in Dubuque, a real estate blogger and self-proclaimed “numbers guy.” He pulled statistics from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), showing Dubuque is number two in the nation when it comes to high rates of house appreciation. Those numbers show the average home in Dubuque appreciated 2.46 percent in one year, through Sept. 2011, and 8.06 percent over the course of five years. Bismark, N.D., by the way, took top marks, with a 15.99 percent five-year average appreciation.
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Mel Graves is a realtor with Brissey in Dubuque and secretary and treasurer of the Dubuque Board of Realtors. He pointed out 2011 was the first year without any tax credit incentives for home buyers, “so this is a pure year, this is just market-driven,” he said. Graves said he has noticed a slight increase in consumer confidence.
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Regardless of state or national housing market numbers, however, Cook suggests buyers and sellers look at their own particular market. “They need to be fully aware of what’s going on in their market and not pay attention so much to the national news, you know, as far as, you know, both real estate thing and the economy overall,” Cook said. “It’s a factor, but, you know, it’s kind of like what they say with the realtor ads, you know, ‘All real estate is local.’”
I said completely too many “you know’s” in that last quote…must…not…you know…..