Winter arrived just in time for the Winterfest in Coralville this year. Until last week it didn't look like we were going to get a winter in Iowa this year. Fortunately for all of us the weather gods  smiled down on us and it is suitably cold with a fair amount of snow for this Sunday's annual celebration of winter at the Iowa River Landing.  Coralville Winterfest celebrates it's fifth year this year with lots of fun activities scheduled both indoors and outside. This is a  Free Family Friendly event and at a time of the year when the kids are starting to get a bit restless it's a great way to spend a Sunday Afternoon. You can view a map of the area with full  schedule for this year's Winterfest in Coralville through this link. Schedule for Coralville Winterfest 2011: Sunday January 22,... 01/20/2012

Generally January is the month when I ask myself what made me think relocating to Iowa was a good idea. That's every year except this year that is! Today I took time out from my market reports and spent some time out in the sunshine. Brown Deer Golf Course in Coralville is a two minute drive from where I live and I figured I'd be sure to find some golfers out in this 50 something degree weather today. I did run into someone leaving the golf course when I took this shot, but other than that I struck out with that idea. I enjoyed the sunshine nonetheless. I'm starting to wonder whether winter is going to show up at all this year in Iowa. Although I should maybe keep my mouth shut or I could jinx it! 01/10/2012

Home sales in Coralville were down slightly in 2011, as you'll know if you read this post a couple of days ago. Surprisingly it was single family homes that took the biggest hit, with single family home sales in Coralville down 20% compared to 2010. Fortunately zero lot sales were up by 46% or the overall numbers of homes sold in Coralville in 2011 wouldn't have come out nearly as well as they did.  This is definitely one of those times the phrase "real estate is local" springs to mind. Iowa City is just a stone's throw away and yet single family home sales were up in 2011 there and and condo sales down. If you're thinking of listing your home in Coralville in the coming months the take away from this is that zero lot owners can be quite optimistic about the trend in the housing market ... 01/09/2012

Coralville didn't do quite as well as Iowa City in 2011 with home sales down a bit compared to 2010. 274 homes sold in Coralville from January through December 2011 compared to 298 in 2010. The good news is that just like Iowa City the second half of the year was stronger than the first half, as you can see in the chart below. The take away is when we look at the bigger picture that the housing market in Coralville is trending in the right direction, it's a work in progress and we just need to be patient...       If you click through to the original post on my website Iowa City Homes for Sale you'll find a table with more information about the average and median price of homes sold in Coralville in 2011.   Are you ready to make your move? Buying or selling a home in Coralville I can hel... 01/04/2012

The City Circle Acting Company of Coralville is getting into the spirit of the Holidays this weekend when they perfom the ever popular classic "A Christmas Carol" at the CCPA, (Coralville Center for the Performing Arts). What better way to get into the spirit of Christmas than to experience the transformation of Ebenezer Scrooge? A timely reminder that this is indeed the season of goodwill! The show will be running this weekend December 9 - 11 and next weekend December 16 - 18, 2011. You can find more details and order tickets online at Coralvillearts.org Schedule for A Christmas Carol at the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts Friday December 9 at 7.30pm Saturday December 10 at 7.30pm Sunday December 11 matinee performance at 2.00pm Friday December 16 at 7.30pm Saturday December ... 12/08/2011

After looking at North Liberty on Monday, it's time to look at what's up in the housing market  in Coralville today. My market reports have been woefully lacking in the last few months due to time constrictions and I missed October. I'm going for two for one today again and catching up on both October and November. November was a really good month for home sales in Coralville with 24 homes selling in November 2011 in comparison to just 9 last year. That's a major 166% increase in home sales in Coralville. That definitely passes as a successful month! Surprisingly, and in stark contrast to November, home sales took a dip in October and 10 homes sold in October 2011 compared to 14 in 2010. I say surprisingly, because on the whole home sales in the greater Iowa City area have been a lot st... 12/08/2011

After reporting on the continuing positive trend in the real estate market in Iowa City I thought it was about time that I took a look at the other areas I service. Today it's Coralville's turn. The good news is that home sales are also up in Coralville. In fact home sales in Coralville this year are more than double what they were last year in November. 22 Homes sold sold in November 2011 compared to 9 homes sold last year. There are 17 homes Sale Pending or Contingent. (Sale Pending or Contingent means they have accepted offers that may still have contingencies on them to fulfill before closing). Currently 153 homes in Coralville are showing as Active Listings. The number of active listings is down quite a bit compared to the beginning of the year when we had consistently 200+ listing... 11/30/2011

The Coralville Center for the Performing Arts has become one of my favorite places to write about when it comes to my posts about what to do in the Iowa City area at the weekends. There is so much variation in their program that I end up introducing something new almost every week. Flavors: A Feast of Dance and Music from India is the program that caught my eye for this week. This is a chance to learn a little about India and support a good cause too as proceeds will benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association.The performance will showcase major classical dance and music forms of India, including songs from Bollywood. And if you're like me and have no idea what Bollywood is, let me save you googling it and tell you it's the popular term used for the Hindi language film industry. (You're ... 11/11/2011

Right after we spend a month filled with scariness and spookiness we move right into the Holiday Season. Funny how that happens, don't you think? You only need to switch on your TV to see what I mean. Talk about what a difference a day makes, or in the case of local events, a week! Last week Rocky Horror, this week Pinocchio. That's what we call diametrically different directions... This weekend we have quite a treat for the kids with the The Old Creamery Theatre Company coming to town to perform Pinocchio at The Coralville Center for the Performing Arts. That's happening on Saturday morning, (November 5) at 10.00am. There's more going on in the evening of November 5 at The CCPA with an evening of contemporary dance. "In the Axis," is hosted by The Poetic Rebound Performance Company, Io... 11/04/2011

It's that time of year again. Time to get a head start on shopping for the Holidays at the Fall Art and Crafts Show in Coralville this weekend. You'll have lots of choices with 150+ vendors tempting you with their wares. This is one of two major craft shows we have in the area in the run up to the Holidays. The other one is the Holiday Thieves Market coming up in December. I'll remind you about that nearer the date. Details for the 2011 Fall Arts and Crafts Show at the Marriott Conference Center, Coralville: When? Sunday, November 6, 2011- 9.00am – 4.00pm Where? Marriott Conference Center, Coralville. Just off I-80 by Exit 242 (The Link is to a map of the location). The organizers of this event are Callahan Promotions, Inc. Tel: 563-652-4529 Originally posted @ Iowa City Homes For Sale 11/04/2011

The North Ridge Neighborhood unsurprisingly borders on North Ridge Park. It's North of I-80 and on the North West side of Coralville. We're having beautiful Autumn weather in Iowa this year and last week I took a trip out to my favorite park in Coralville to take some photos of the park and the surrounding neighborhood with the wonderful Fall colors. The North Ridge Neighborhood is close to the University of Iowa Oakdale Campus to the north and Coral Ridge Mall to the south. It's also just minutes away from exit/entrance 240 for I-80. I've helped several clients buy homes in the North of Coralville this year and one thing they all agree on is that they love the rolling hills. I'm not sure the photos do them justice. You'll have to come visit and see for yourself! Coralville is relativel... 10/31/2011

With September behind us it's been a great month to take a look at the first three quarters of the year to figure out what's going on in the real estate market in our area. Last week I looked at Iowa City. Today I'm looking at Coralville. I put together two graphs to show home sales and prices for both 2011 and 2010. And if you're wondering why I didn't put all the data in one graph, I tried that and it was nothing but confusing so I split it up into 2 again. If you have trouble reading the data on the chart, just click on it and you'll be directed to the original, larger version. The biggest takeway from the data is that the median price of homes sold has gone down quite significantly in the last few months. Just to clarify, the median price is when half the homes sold are below that n... 10/27/2011

The Rocky Horror Show is a Halloween favorite. This weekend you can choose to see the freaked out musical performed at the CCPA in Coralville or go the more standard route and take in the cult movie at the Englert or the Bijou Theatre in Iowa City. (Although I'm not sure the word standard has any place in a blog post about the Rocky Horror Show). First let's look at the CCPA. They opened just a few months ago and have already become a "go to" venue in Coralville. This week as we head towards Halloween weekend theCity Circle Acting Company has 5 performances of the Rocky Horror Show lined up at the CCPA. They start with a preview onThursday October 27, 2011 at 6.00pm and shows at 7.30pm and 10.30pm on Friday and Saturday this week. Not only will you get a chance to see a special producti... 10/27/2011

It was a beautiful Fall day in Coralville today. Went over to my listing on Oakleaf St to check everything was in order for the showings tomorrow. (Yes, plural, more than one showing. Things are definitely picking up around here lately). While I was there I couldn't resist taking a shot of this most magnificent tree. This zero lot on Oakleaf has the best yard on the block and the tree knocks spots off all the others in the neighborhood too, especially on a day as nice as today! 10/22/2011

Coralville IA Real Estate Market: Home Sales in the 2nd and 3rd Quarter 2011 Yesterday I looked at home sales in Iowa City, today its Coralville's turn. The data is from the Iowa City MLS and shows home sales in Coralville in the 2nd and 3rd quarter. This year it makes sense to look at data from the previous quarter to look for a trend in the housing market. Usually the more accurate way to gauge housing trends is to compare to the previous year. That's not working as well for us this year with the first time home buyer tax credit last year skewing the numbers of homes sold low as long as the credit was available and skewing them high when it wasn't. 88 homes sold in Coralville in the 2nd quarter 2011 compared to 160 homes sold in the 2nd Quarter 2010  -  That's a 46% decrease in home s... 10/13/2011

The CCPA had it's open house on Saturday celebrating the National Arts & Humanities Month. It was about time I visited the place I drive past daily and blog about all the time. And with them having an open house in the luxury condominiums above the Theater I knew it would be worth my while to make time to go there this weekend. It was a beautifully sunny day and it was certainly worth my while. The Theater was very impressive with a well thought out layout. There's even close circuit TV in a reception area if you need to pop out for some reason during the performance you can be sure not to miss anything. Two of the luxury condominiums were open for viewing. They too were very impressive with beautiful views of downtown Coralville. These photos were taken from the 4th Floor. I would imag... 10/04/2011

If you haven't checked out the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts yet then this coming Saturday is your opportunity to catch up on that. In celebration of  the National Arts & Humanities Month the CCPA is holding an open house Saturday October 1, from 1.00pm - 5.00pm. It will be a great opportunity to visit this impressive new theater in Coralville and to meet some of the artists scheduled to perform there in the future. And if you're curious about the luxury condominiums at Plaza on Fifth, which of course are in the same building above the theater, they also have an open house scheduled. Same time too from 1.00pm - 5.00pm. I was there with clients a while back when they were still under construction. There wasn't a lot to see at the time. It will be interesting to see the "finis... 09/29/2011

We have a lot of parks in Coralville and Iowa City. So many that you'll never have far to go before you bump into the next one. My photos today are of S.T. Morrison Park in downtown Coralville. You can access Morrison Park from 5th St, although technically it's on 7th St. On 5th St is where you'll find City Hall, Coralville Library and the newly opened Coralville Center for the Performing Arts - Along with the Police Station and the Fire Station - And all of these are within real easy walking distance of Morrison Park.The amenities at Morrison Park include a playground, tennis courts, ball fields, fishing pond and picnic shelters. The Coralville Community Aquatic Center is also on the grounds. In the summer months Morrison Park is also home to the Music in the Park Concert Series and Fa... 09/27/2011

There's always lots going on in Coralville in the summer months. 4th Fest, with the big 4th of July Parade was a huge success, as it is every year. The word is out and year to year we have more folks travel quite a ways to be part of the big July 4th celebration with us here in Coralville. At the end of July Coralville hosted two major events that got lots of attention. Ragbrai, the annual great bicycle ride across Iowa overnighted in Coralville and on that very same weekend young folks from all over the US got together at the Marriott in Coralville for their annual convention celebrating the world of animation at Anime Iowa. That was in interesting weekend. Talk about polar opposites! Coralville finished off the summer in style with FryFest, celebrating all things Hawkeye. A fitting wa... 09/25/2011

The face of Coralville is changing in a big way. Yesterday I visited the show and tell walking tour on the Iowa River Landing and was amazed at all the changes in the pipeline. No signs of a struggling economy here!  This right on the heels of the opening of the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Coralville a few weeks ago. It seems the CCPA has really hit the ground running too. Most of the performances for Hairspray last week were sold out and they ended up adding an additional performance. This weekend the Steinway Extravaganza is already underway. Tonight at 8.00pm there is a free performance by University of Iowa Faculty. Tomorrow, September 24 is the highlight of the weekend with a concert scheduled with Lola Astanova. Here's a full schedule of what's going on t... 09/23/2011