Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors celebrated 2022 at their annual awards event on January 27th. Chris Beason, President, and Caroline Ruhl, CEO, honored 205 award winners for their 2022 achievements.  Over 300 agents, staff, and affiliated business partners cheered on their co-workers during the celebration.

"The real estate market is in the spotlight right now. And even though the year-over-year market comparisons will appear negative, we have a lot of reasons to celebrate some long-lost normalcy returning to the market. With longer days on the market, fewer bidding wars, and more competition, clients will place a higher value on caring, competent, and skilled agents. We have the opportunity to show our local knowledge and expertise, and do what we do best - serve as the proactive, trusted, real estate advisors our clients need.  We are positioned to thrive because we have a great team in place; we work harder; we work smarter; and most importantly, we work together. You all have a tremendous influence on who we become, and move our company forward by what you think, say, and do each day. Thank you all for having such a positive impact on our company and on the lives of all the clients you serve." Beason told his team.

Top awards were awarded to:

Top Excellence in Service Award: Laura Custis - Muscatine Office

Top Associate of the Year: Kurt Johnson, Bettendorf Office

Top Team of the Year: The Healey Group, Dubuque Office 

New Associate of the Year: Melissa Zell, Muscatine Office

Top Associate of the Year – Farm & Land: Dennis Stolk, Davenport Office

Top Ruhl Mortgage Associate of the Year: Ray McDevitt, Bettendorf Office

Top Nelson Brothers Associate of the Year: Ray McDevitt, Bettendorf Office

Top Community Involvement of the Year: Kendra Mulcahy, Davenport Office

Top Referral Staff Member: Alyssa Condit, Customer Service, Corporate Office 

Employees of the Year: Lynn Heiar, MLS Administrator, DeWitt Office.

Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors 2022 Results

Ruhl shared with her team the company's results in 2022, and

1. Residential Sales Volume: Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors sales volume in 2022 was $1,157,223,540, down 2.4% from 2021.
2. Number of Properties Sold: Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors sold 5,257 properties in 2022, as either listing agent or selling agent. This was 9.9% fewer transactions than in 2021.
3. Revenue: Revenue in a real estate company is primarily gross commission income (GCI). Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors 2022 GCI was $33,543,387 down 2.4% from 2021.
4. New Listings Taken: Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors listed 2,765 properties for sale in 2022.
5. Nationally Ranked Per Agent Productivity: On average our agents closed 16.8 transactions in 2022, which is more than double the national average for per agent productivity.
6. Great Agents and Staff: Ruhl&Ruhl ended 2022 with 313 residential agents. In addition, 63 employees work for the company. Midwest Referral, an affiliated company, has 74 agents who refer business to Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors. 
7. Ruhl Property Management: Ruhl Property Management manages 405 properties (492 units) and 3 HOA's (91 units). They acquired 145 new properties in 2022: 91 for property management and 54 for tenant placement. They executed 113 lease agreements and received 64 agent referrals for owners or tenants.
8. Ruhl Mortgage: Ruhl Mortgage closed $151,162,863 in loan volume, which was generated by 729 loans. 90% were purchase loans and 10% were refinances. Ruhl Mortgage employs 20 staff members, including 4 loan officers, 2 loan officer assistants, 2 in-house underwriters, and 2 processors, plus other management and staff. 
9. Insurance Referrals Sold: Ruhl&Ruhl agents referred clients resulting in 511 policies being sold by the Nelson Brothers Agency, Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors' affiliated insurance company has 20 sales agents and 18 staff members.
10. Commercial Sales Volume: NAI Ruhl Commercial Company, a joint venture with Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors, sold $105 million in commercial real estate in 2022. They have 16 commercial agents and 15 staff members. NAI Ruhl Property Management manages 1.748 million square feet of space, 330 HOA units, and 80 acres of land.

Regional Real Estate Forecast for 2022

1. Inventory will grow

We started 2023 with 12% more active listings than last January. The increase in active listings is due in part to homes taking longer to sell. There is considerable pent-up seller demand to sell their properties and make a move. The frenzied conditions of last year with multiple offers and confusing escalation clauses have abated. Most sellers will be pleasantly surprised at the amount of equity they have in their homes, as properties have appreciated significantly over the past 5 years. Some sellers are reluctant to sell and give up their low-interest-rate mortgages. This may lead to sellers who are able, keeping their residences as rentals.           "... Sellers can have success in this market as long as they approach with reasonable expectations that are very different from what was the norm less than a year ago." - Danielle Hale, Chief Economist, Realtor.com

2 . Buyers will return to the market

According to Lawrence Yun, the Chief Economist at NAR: "The upcoming months should see a return of buyers, as mortgage rates appear to have already peaked and have been coming down since mid-November."  People are getting married, divorced, passing away, moving to care for aging family members, relocating for career opportunities, having babies and outgrowing their current homes, getting tired of wasting their money on rent instead of building equity, etc. And for those people, it is less about the mortgage interest rates and more about their present situation and whether they can afford a house that fits their needs. We are optimistic that 2023's spring selling season will be a bright spot as inflation gets more under control. Demographics are spurring demand. According to a recent survey, 84% of Gen Z, 79% of Millennials, and 61% of survey respondents 77 or older plan to buy a house or condo in the next few years.

"Long term homeowners should view the market ...right now ... as a unique buying opportunity ... This may be the one and only window for the next few years to get into a buyers market and remember ... as the Federal Reserve data shows ... home prices only go up and always recover from recessions no matter how mild or severe." - David Stevens, Former Assistant Secretary of Housing.

3. Home appreciation will continue over the long run 

"After years of high-flying tech cities dominating real estate who's-who lists, this year's top performers are expected to be modest, mid-sized domestic, industry hubs in the Northeast, South, and Midwest. The slow and steady real estate markets in these areas continue to be affordable and will be the stars in 2023, better weathering the affordability challenges that loom ahead." - Danielle Hale, Chief Economist, Realtor.com. Experts forecast that nationally home prices will go anywhere from 5% depreciation to 5% appreciation in 2023. See the forecast chart by source and regional appreciation below. The average of seven forecasts is 0.1% appreciation. Markets seeing the most significant drops will be those where home values grew the most rapidly, so even with prices dropping, home values will probably still be up year over year.

4. Mortgage rates may trend down slightly but will be volatile 

Mortgage interest rates are now more than a point below the high of 7.37% we saw in October and the market seems to have found some stability between 5.625% and the low 6's. Current rates at the time of this report, January 23, 2023, are:

• 15-year Conventional Fixed.......................5.000%
• 30-Year Conventional Fixed.......................5.750%
• FHA/VA 30-Year Fixed.................................5.375%
• 5/1 ARM (Adjustable Rate Mortgage)........5.125%

See the chart below for mortgage rate projections. We consider these rates to be attractive considering the average mortgage rates over prior decades:

• 1970's - 8.86%
• 1980's -  12.70%
• 1990's -  8.12%
• 2000's -  6.29%

As home values continue to increase, a mortgage now between 5% - 6.30% would be a smart investment. One option that sellers can offer or buyers may wish to consider is a short-term mortgage rate buydown. A temporary buydown reduces the homebuyer's monthly payments in the first two or three years. The homebuyer will make discounted payments during that time. Most temporary buydowns are paid for by home builders and sellers as closing costs equal to the buyer's interest savings.