Des Moines Weekly Real Estate Statistics 6/27/08

It’s drying up here in Central Iowa… sort of.. The photo to the right was taken last weekend as some local heavy rain cells passed through Des Moines.  When we first saw the rainbow, it was spanning the entire skyline.  Just like a curtain being draw, the wall of rain began to overtake the rainbow.

It’s just been that kind of year…       

Real Estate Statistics for the week ending Friday, June 27th, 2008 for Des Moines, Iowa and surrounding communities.

Single Family Homes
4,033 Homes Currently For Sale – Down 8 from last week.
$228,431 Average List Price

1,086 Homes Pending - Down 13 from last week.

(Offers Accepted But Not Closed Yet)
$197,537 Average List Price
78 Average Days On Market

102 Homes Closed - Up 39 from last week.
$183,404 Average Sale Price
77 Average Days On Market

Acreages
191 Homes Currently For Sale - Down 6 from last week.
$329,162 Average List Price

43 Homes Pending - Up 6 from last week
(Offers Accepted But Not Closed Yet)
$276,137 Average List Price 
71 Average Days On Market

1 Homes Closed - Up 1 from last week.
$222,500 Average Sale Price
211 Average Days On Market

Condos & Townhomes
1,730 Homes Currently For Sale - Up 3 from last week.
$190,719 Average List Price

301 Homes Pending - Up 13 from last week.
(Offers Accepted But Not Closed Yet)
$167,068 Average List Price 
119 Average Days On Market

19 Homes Closed - Up 10 from last week.
$140,142 Average Sale Price
124 Average Days On Market

If you have specific questions about real estate for sales in the Des Moines area, please feel free to contact me by Clicking Here. 
Les Sulgrove, RE/MAX Real Estate Group
Information on this blog posting is for informational purposes only and not intended as solicitation if you are already working with a REALTOR®  There is no obligation or fee for any information on this blog posting.

Data Source: Les Sulgrove, RE/MAX Real Estate Group – Des Moines Area Association of REALTORS® MLS.
Des Moines Metropolitan Area defined as: Adel, Altoona, Ankeny, Bondurant, Carlisle, Clive, Des Moines, Dallas Center, Desoto, Granger, Grimes, Indianola, Johnston, Norwalk, Pleasant Hill, Polk City, Urbandale, Van Meter ,Waukee, West Des Moines, Windsor Heights, Winterset

Des Moines Weekly Real Estate Statistics 6/20/08

A funny thing happened the week after the flood water receded.  Real estate business began to pick back up.  Homes actually closed to be more exact.  You see the Polk County recorder was at ground zero of the crest of the Des Moines river.  The photo you see in this blog is a bunker of sandbags protecting the entrance to the basement of the Polk County Administration building.      

Real Estate Statistics for the week ending Friday, June 20th, 2008 for Des Moines, Iowa and surrounding communities.

Single Family Homes
4,041 Homes Currently For Sale – Down 49 from last week.
$228,290 Average List Price

1,099 Homes Pending - Down 41 from last week.

(Offers Accepted But Not Closed Yet)
$198,410 Average List Price
77 Average Days On Market

63 Homes Closed - Up 18 from last week.
$180,024 Average Sale Price
97 Average Days On Market

Acreages
197 Homes Currently For Sale - Up 2 from last week.
$326,638 Average List Price

37 Homes Pending - No Change from last week.
(Offers Accepted But Not Closed Yet)
$271,465 Average List Price 
74 Average Days On Market

1 Homes Closed - Up 1 from last week.
$245,000 Average Sale Price
352 Average Days On Market

Condos & Townhomes
1,726 Homes Currently For Sale - Down 15 from last week.
$191,122 Average List Price

288 Homes Pending - Up 4 from last week.
(Offers Accepted But Not Closed Yet)
$165,992 Average List Price 
115 Average Days On Market

9 Homes Closed - Up 1 from last week.
$154,771 Average Sale Price
80 Average Days On Market

If you have specific questions about real estate for sales in the Des Moines area, please feel free to contact me by Clicking Here. 
Les Sulgrove, RE/MAX Real Estate Group
Information on this blog posting is for informational purposes only and not intended as solicitation if you are already working with a REALTOR®  There is no obligation or fee for any information on this blog posting.

Data Source: Les Sulgrove, RE/MAX Real Estate Group – Des Moines Area Association of REALTORS® MLS.
Des Moines Metropolitan Area defined as: Adel, Altoona, Ankeny, Bondurant, Carlisle, Clive, Des Moines, Dallas Center, Desoto, Granger, Grimes, Indianola, Johnston, Norwalk, Pleasant Hill, Polk City, Urbandale, Van Meter ,Waukee, West Des Moines, Windsor Heights, Winterset

Des Moines Weekly Real Estate Statistics 6/13/08

In 1993, the city of Des Moines experienced a 100 year flood that took out the cities water supply for 12 days and crippled the city.  This week we have experienced a 500 year flood.  Heavy rain in western, northwestern & north central Iowa during the last week have caused the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers to overflow.  Yes, there is property damage & losses in the flooded areas, but thanks to the lessons learned in 1993 and new levees built around the city, it appears that we will come through this flood better off than we did 15 years ago.  Cedar Rapids took a worse hit than Des Moines due to a levee breach causing the entire downtown area of Cedar Rapids to go under water.  It seems as though Mother Nature is trying to tell us something with all the floods and tornados this year.  Perhaps she’s reminding us that there are worse things in life than a slow real estate market.  Amen to that.   

Real Estate Statistics for the week ending Friday, June 13th, 2008 for Des Moines, Iowa and surrounding communities.

Single Family Homes
4,090 Homes Currently For Sale – Down 1 from last week.
$229,003 Average List Price

1,140 Homes Pending - Down 8 from last week.
(Offers Accepted But Not Closed Yet)
$198,999 Average List Price
78 Average Days On Market

45 Homes Closed - Down 7 from last week.
$212,763 Average Sale Price
79 Average Days On Market

Acreages
195 Homes Currently For Sale - Up 3 from last week.
$327,297 Average List Price

37 Homes Pending - Up 1 from last week.
(Offers Accepted But Not Closed Yet)
$279,332 Average List Price 
87 Average Days On Market

0 Homes Closed - Down 2 from last week.
$0 Average Sale Price
0 Average Days On Market

Condos & Townhomes
1,741 Homes Currently For Sale - Up 17 from last week.
$190,318 Average List Price

 

284 Homes Pending - Down 22 from last week.
(Offers Accepted But Not Closed Yet)
$167,789 Average List Price 
118 Average Days On Market

8 Homes Closed - Down 4 from last week.
$146,994 Average Sale Price
105 Average Days On Market

If you have specific questions about real estate for sales in the Des Moines area, please feel free to contact me by Clicking Here. 
Les Sulgrove, RE/MAX Real Estate Group
Information on this blog posting is for informational purposes only and not intended as solicitation if you are already working with a REALTOR®  There is no obligation or fee for any information on this blog posting.

Data Source: Les Sulgrove, RE/MAX Real Estate Group – Des Moines Area Association of REALTORS® MLS.
Des Moines Metropolitan Area defined as: Adel, Altoona, Ankeny, Bondurant, Carlisle, Clive, Des Moines, Dallas Center, Desoto, Granger, Grimes, Indianola, Johnston, Norwalk, Pleasant Hill, Polk City, Urbandale, Van Meter ,Waukee, West Des Moines, Windsor Heights, Winterset

Some days it’s cheaper to stay in bed!

Once upon a time there was a tree. 

It was a nice tree.  All spring and summer long it provided shade for our back yard.  Birds and squirrels call the tree home. 

This spring our tree has taken a beating by a series of thunderstorms along with high winds.  Earlier this week during a morning storm our tree lost a pretty good sized branch.  Being a good tree, it dropped the branch precisely on the deck I built last year.  The deck did not sustain any damage fortunately.  The felled branch was in a perfect position to be cut up to be disposed of.

Until today, I did not own a chainsaw.  My wife said after the branch fell “Fathers day is coming up, we should get a chainsaw!”.  I love gadgets and tools, so the idea of getting a chainsaw perked me up.  But what to get… I so rarely ever need a chainsaw, it seemed silly to spend a lot of money on one…  I ended up at a True Value Hardware store.  The sales clerk was very helpful.  I first looked at the rentals.. it really would make sense I thought to rent one.  At $65 a day, I quickly decided that I’d be better off buying one. 

After discussing my “chainsaw needs” with my personal shopper life coach it was determined that all I needed was the basic electric chainsaw for $49.95.  Yes, Electric.. ok.. all your wood cutting purists.. you’re snubbing your nose at me.. ELECTRIC… Ha!

I arrived at home and my son and I “assembled” the Electric chainsaw.  This process took approximately 30 minutes.  I began to cut up the branch and then it happened.  The chainsaw kicked as it hit one of the larger branches.  I was reaching to pull the extension cord out of the way when my hand ended up between the branch and the chainsaw.

Well, fortunately for me it was a brand new chainsaw.  The blade was EXTREMELY SHARP.  What felt like a scratch I quickly realized was a deep cut at the base of my small finger on my left hand.  Fortunately I did not sustain a serious injury, only a few stitches.  Heck I can even type without much discomfort.  Lesson Learned!

Electric Chainsaw – $49.95Emergency Room Visit - Stitches in my hand $300.00

The cost to have a branch removed from my deck – $100.00

A New Blog Topic – Priceless!

Des Moines Weekly Real Estate Statistics 6/6/08

Several nights of spring storms have kept Iowans up late this week.  It seems as though everything is running about a month behind this year.  I wondered if spring would ever get here.. now we are experiencing our April showers all the way into June!  Now we have flooding to deal with in Des Moines.  Stay alert and DRY this week! 

Real Estate Statistics for the week ending Friday, June 6th, 2008 for Des Moines, Iowa and surrounding communities.

Single Family Homes
4,091 Homes Currently For Sale – Down 21 from last week.
$229,048 Average List Price

1,148 Homes Pending - Up 1 from last week.
(Offers Accepted But Not Closed Yet)
$199,156 Average List Price
79 Average Days On Market

52 Homes Closed - Down 67 from last week.
$179,903 Average Sale Price
63 Average Days On Market

Acreages
192 Homes Currently For Sale – Down 1 from last week.
$329,916 Average List Price

36 Homes Pending - Down 1 from last week.
(Offers Accepted But Not Closed Yet)
$263,506 Average List Price 
86 Average Days On Market

3 Homes Closed - Up 2 from last week.
$338,000 Average Sale Price
78 Average Days On Market

Condos & Townhomes
1,724 Homes Currently For Sale – Down 63 from last week.
$190,614 Average List Price

 

306 Homes Pending - No Change from last week.
(Offers Accepted But Not Closed Yet)
$166,303 Average List Price 
121 Average Days On Market

12 Homes Closed - Down 13 from last week.
$165,309 Average Sale Price
196 Average Days On Market

If you have specific questions about real estate for sales in the Des Moines area, please feel free to contact me by Clicking Here. 
Les Sulgrove, RE/MAX Real Estate Group
Information on this blog posting is for informational purposes only and not intended as solicitation if you are already working with a REALTOR®  There is no obligation or fee for any information on this blog posting.

Data Source: Les Sulgrove, RE/MAX Real Estate Group – Des Moines Area Association of REALTORS® MLS.
Des Moines Metropolitan Area defined as: Adel, Altoona, Ankeny, Bondurant, Carlisle, Clive, Des Moines, Dallas Center, Desoto, Granger, Grimes, Indianola, Johnston, Norwalk, Pleasant Hill, Polk City, Urbandale, Van Meter ,Waukee, West Des Moines, Windsor Heights, Winterset