NEWS RELEASE
MAY 14, 2009
Contact: Caroline Ruhl, President
Office Telephone: 563-441-5200
CarolineRuhl@RuhlHomes.com
Note: See Attachments: 1.) NAR Press Release
Quad City Home Sales Bright Spot in Country
Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist for NAR (National Association of Realtors), reported on “bright spots in the first quarter”. The largest single family home price increase in the first quarter was in the Cumberland area of Maryland and West Virginia, where the median price of $114,900 rose 21.1 percent from a year ago.
Next was the Davenport-Moline-Rock Island area of Iowa and Illinois at $100,300, up 13.8 percent from the first quarter of 2008, followed by Columbia, MO, where the median price increased 6.0 percent to $152,600.
This follow a report by Forbes.com released on March 23 citing the Quad Cities as second in the nation for low cost of living expenses on their “Best Places for Business and Careers” survey.
Caroline Ruhl, President of Ruhl&Ruhl REALTORS, reports “the market is back in our region”. Ruhl&Ruhl’s pending home sales were up 32% in March 2009 compared to March 2008. Low interest rates, improving buyer confidence and first time buyer tax credits are stimulating our market.
Through May 14, 2009, 34% of our buyers have been first time buyers. This is up from last year, when 29% of our buyers were first time buyers. We are also seeing more investor buyers taking advantage of our strong rental market demand. Through May 14, 2009, 13% of our buyers have been investors, compared to 8% of our buyers in all of 2008.
A family-owned company since 1862, Ruhl&Ruhl REALTORS annually sells approximately 3,400 homes in eastern Iowa, western Illinois and southwestern Wisconsin. Caroline Ruhl is the President and owner of Ruhl&Ruhl REALTORS, and is the fourth generation of the Ruhl family to lead the residential brokerage and home services company. Headquartered in Davenport, Iowa, the company has 255 sales associates and 48 employees based in sales offices located in Bettendorf, Bellevue, Clinton, Coralville, Davenport, DeWitt, Dubuque, Maquoketa, and Muscatine, in Iowa, and in Moline, Illinois. In addition to residential sales, Ruhl&Ruhl offers services in relocation, new home sales, farm sales, senior services, and mortgage services through 1862 Mortgage. For more information on Ruhl&Ruhl, visit their website at www.RuhlHomes.com.
Click here to read the NAR Press Release relating to this topic.
