Posts from May 2017
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31
Five Reasons Iowa is SO Much Better than New York City
A guest post by Director of Marketing - Jenny Parvin
1. You can afford a home - a real one with a nice backyard.
Look! Here's mine! All of my friends have houses too - and we've had ours for awhile. You don't have to wait until you are mid-career to own here. Plus, my commute is 10 minutes! (10 minutes! Sometimes I ride my bike!)
2. The people are kind and nice. Really, the best.
To my NYC friends - I love you! You know I do. It's just that people in Iowa are really special - super special people. They care and focus on being as kind and caring as possible. It's kind of amazing.
3. Iowa loves families!
We work hard here. We...
26
Iowa Cropland Values Up in Last Six Months
The Land Trends and Value Survey, presented by the Iowa Farm and Land Chapter #2 REALTORS Land Institute, reported a statewide average increase of 0.9% for tillable cropland values from September 2016 to March 2017 period. Combining this increase with the 3.7% decrease reported in September 2016 indicates a statewide average decrease of 2.8% for the year from March 1, 2016 to March 1, 2017.
In our east central district, high quality cropland is selling at $9,568 per acre. Timber is selling at $2,137 per acre. This district had a 1.1% increase and was one of seven districts that showed an increase in values from September 2016 to March 2017.
Three districts had decreases, including north central at -0.5%, southwest at -3.0% and west central at -2.0%. The highest increase was northwest district at 3.2%.
"It is positive to see land prices stabilizing," said Eric Schlutz, ALC, Realtor and manager of the Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors Muscatine Office. "We look forward to seeing additional growth in the coming months."
"I am not surprised by the increase. Land is currently tightly held as reflected by the small number of listings at this time," said Ken Paper, ALC. "There is still a lot of interest in land investment by investors and farmers, because land is a secure place for money."
For the survey, participants are asked to estimate the average value of farmland as of March 1, 2017. These estimates are for bare, unimproved land with a sale price on a cash basis.
Ruhl Farm&Land, a division of Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors, is focused on the sale, purchase and marketing of land, farms and acreages. For more information, and the price per acre of cropland in all nine Iowa districts, visit http://www.ruhlland.com/en/WebLand_LandValueSurveys.aspx
| Part of Iowa | High-Quality Crop Land | Medium-Quality Crop Land | Low-Quality Crop Land | Timber Per Acre |
| East Central | 9,568 | 7,026 | 4,285 | 2,137 |
| Northeast | 8,997 | 6,834 | 4,278 | 2,498 |
| Southeast | 9,305 | 6,058 | 3,675 | 2,253 |
23
Ruhl 2017 Blood Drive
Ruhl is once again hosting our annual blood drive on Thursday, June 8 th at our Bettendorf Office to help save the lives of people like Andy Yohe. Andy Yohe received 22 pints of blood after he was struck by a train as a teenager. He lost his legs, but his life was saved thanks to generous blood donors.
Today, Andy is a Ruhl&Ruhl Realtor® at our Bettendorf Office and earned a silver medal in the 2017 Para Sled Hockey World Championship.
In 2016, 30 agents and staff were able to donate, but our goal is to get 10% more!
Unsure if you are able to donate? Check your eligibility here! And view more amazing facts about donating blood below!
17
First-Time Homebuyers Savings Program and What it Means for You
Beginning January 1 of 2018, those looking to become first-time homebuyers in Iowa will have a new resource available to them. Governor Terry Branstad signed the legislation to make the First Time Homebuyers Savings Program official. This program authorizes tax-preferred First Time Homebuyer Savings Accounts.
This account has to be in the name of a sole individual who is a first-time homebuyer. According to the code, you are a "first-time homebuyer" if you have not owned a single-family or multifamily residence for the prior three years. You must also meet this criteria when named as a beneficiary of an account and when applying the money towards a qualifying purchase. This definition means this program will benefit those who do not currently own a home, but for people who are looking to be first-time homebuyers.
An individual can be named as the beneficiary of mult...
15
Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors Opens Office in Galena
Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors is pleased to announce that they have joined forces with McCoy Real Estate Inc. Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors will be opening a new office in Galena located at 412 S Main Street, formerly the office of McCoy Real Estate.
Mike and Shelly McCoy are now brokers with Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors, as are Joan Murray, Kevin Knautz and Nanette Glasgow. Jeff Hefel, Ruhl's Dubuque manager, will be the managing broker for the office.
"Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors is excited to have an office in the Galena area and to continue the tradition of exceptional customer service shared by both Ruhl and McCoy," said Caroline Ruhl, President of Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors. "We look forward to working with the talented agents of McCoy Real Estate to enhance their services and tools in Galena and the Territory."
"We...
