The Ruhl Blog

2013 QCBR Spring Parade of Homes

Please join us for the upcoming Spring Parade of Homes event.  The parade will be held April 20th - 21st, 24th and 27th - 28th from 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday and 5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Wednesday. As always, the parade of homes is free to the public.   Many of the top builders in the Quad Cities participate in this...

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8 Reasons to List or Extend your Listing During the Holidays

As the holidays approach, sellers often wonder if they should list their property or extend their current listing already on the market. People used to say that potential buyers were too preoccupied with holiday activities to engage in home buying. Caroline Ruhl declares, “holiday buyers are serious buyers.” With the internet, smartphones,...

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Blue Skies Ahead in our Local Real Estate Markets

DAVENPORT – The real estate market is back in our region. Sales volume is up in most of our markets for the first 6 months of the year compared to 2012 (see Regional Real Estate Activity Chart attached): Burlington Area                                 +11% Cedar Rapids Area                         ...

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Catch a Buyers’ Eye – Top Rated Exterior Improvement Projects

For the homeowner who has not seen a great deal of traffic on their listed property, start to evaluate your curb appeal.  Real estate professionals nationwide have evaluated some time and cost effective exterior projects to catch a buyers’ eye and give you, the seller the best turnaround time on investment. When homebuyers are searching for...

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Congratulations to Sam Rollins

Sam Rollins, a Realtor with the Davenport Office, successfully completed a demanding Public Affairs Officer Course in late July. Rollins is a seven year Iowa Army National Guard veteran, graduated with honors in the top 10 percent of his class, who were commissioned officers from the Army, Navy and Air Force. Sam Rollins currently serves with...

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Davenport NOW Tax Incentive Extended

Davenport NOW, a city established tax incentive program that launched in July of 2009, provides a 50% rebate of the City’s share of property taxes for 10 years to people who build a home or renovate an existing property in Davenport, Iowa. The program has now been extended to June of 2014! Davenport NOW was passed to improve economic development,...

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Despite Old Man Winter, Cedar Rapids Real Estate Market Warming

CEDAR RAPIDS – Even with Jack Frost nipping at our nose – the Cedar Rapids real estate market is still warming up. Homes pending in November, meaning those real estate transactions that have a contract signed but have not closed, are up 3% this month compared to November 2011. Pending sales are a good predictor of the market one or two months...

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Dubuque Iowa Listed Within Top 10 Great Cities

  Dubuque is a great place to live! Of course we always knew that but Kiplingers Personal Finance Magazine thinks it too. According to Kiplinger, what makes a city great is: “good jobs, reasonably priced homes, decent schools, great health care and manageable size are all a part of the mix.” Dubuque, rated #10 on Kiplinger’s recent list of Great Cities That Have It All.  Kiplingers started with the metro areas that have a population...

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Flood Insurance Rates May Rise for Homeowners

There are 5.6 million property owners in over 20,000 communities across the country that depend on the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) for flood insurance. In July 2012, the U.S. Congress passed the Biggert – Water Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 (BW-12). This calls on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other agencies...

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From Residential Investments to Real Estate Wealth

Financial freedom occurs when your income from investments exceed your expenses. This can be accomplished in a variety of ways, from the stock market to investing in rare coins, but none have the benefits that investing in real estate can provide. Join Greg Rand, CEO of OwnAmerica and host of the Fox Business Network’s “Where to Invest Now,”...

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Home Prices Continue to Rise in Local Markets

Our eastern Iowa markets continue to have steady and stable growth in home price appreciation. Nationally home prices have increased only.15% in the last five years, larger increases are found in all of our local markets’ with home prices up: 9.71% in Dubuque; 5.32% in Iowa City; 1.33% in Cedar Rapids; and 3.93% in the Quad Cities. This compares...

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Home Prices Steadily Rising in our Local Markets

DAVENPORT – Slow and steady wins the race! Our eastern Iowa markets continue to have steady and stable growth in home price appreciation. Nationally home prices have fallen 9.15% in the last five years, but all of our markets’ home prices are up: 7.01% in Dubuque; 1.95% in Iowa City; 1.48% in the Quad Cities; and 0.74% in Cedar Rapids. This...

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Home Prices Steady in our Markets

Our local markets continue to have stable growth in home price appreciation, ranking in the top 39% in the country. Information courtesy of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) for fourth quarter 2012. FHFA stats always run one quarter behind. Their full report is available at www.fhfa.gov. *Rankings based on annual percentage change in...

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Kristin Mayo Receives Community Betterment Grant

An organization in eastern Iowa will have a little extra money in their pockets soon, due to the efforts of local resident Kristen Mayo! Kristin Mayo, loan officer with Ruhl Mortgage – Dubuque, received the most votes for her clients’ entry, in the Under Construction Homeownership Contest sponsored by the Iowa Finance Authority.  With...

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Matt Schwind Recognized as Iowa Realtor of the Year

BETTENDORF, IA – Caroline Ruhl, President of Ruhl&Ruhl REALTORS, is pleased to announce that Matt Schwind was recognized by the Quad City Area Realtor Association as the 2012 Iowa REALTOR® of the Year. This is the highest honor the Association bestows upon a member and recognizes a REALTOR who is an industry leader, active in the Association,...

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New Commercial Real Estate Company Opens in Quad Cities!

Caroline Ruhl and John G. Ruhl have joined forces to create a new commercial real estate company.  Premier Partners, the 3rd largest firm in the region, is also merging in with the new company. The new company has acquired the assets of NAI Ruhl&Ruhl Commercial Company from Chuck Ruhl, Jr., who is not associated with the new company. ...

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New Home Sales Rebound in 2012

2012 brought modest growth to new home sales results in the Cedar Rapids area markets.   The Multiple Listing Service reported an increase in overall new home unit sales of 3% over the totals for 2011, as shown on an attached table.  House sales dropped 2% while condo sales rose 13% for the year.  Broken down by market segment;  the Marion/Hiawatha/Robbins...

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Quad Cities at Lowest Housing Inventory since 2000

DAVENPORT – The Quad Cities inventory of homes for sale is at a 13-year low with 1,636 properties listed for sale. Inventory has been declining steadily over the past few years as the market has picked up and investors began a buying spree before prices went up.   There is uneven demand based on price ranges and neighborhoods. There are...

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Quad Cities at Lowest Housing Inventory since 2001

The latest hang up for the Quad Cities housing market isn’t a shortage of qualified buyers; it’s a shortage of homes for sale. In many local areas, we are seeing multiple offers and not enough homes for sale to fill the need for the number of buyers currently looking. In fact, the current number of homes for sale in the Quad Cities area, according...

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Revision of FHA Mortgage Policies

(Moline, IL) – If you’re in the market for a home loan and you are considering an FHA loan, be prepared for some changes.   As of April 1, 2013, if you are purchasing a home and hope to use an FHA (Federal Housing Authority) loan for your financing, you will notice an increase in the annual mortgage insurance premium charged. Depending...

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Ruhl Mortgage – New Name for Local Mortgage Company

  Ruhl Mortgage, formally Shelter Mortgage and 1862 Mortgage, announced today that, effective immediately, Shelter Mortgage has finalized changes and its corporate name to Ruhl Mortgage. Ruhl Mortgage, based out of Moline, Illinois with offices in Bettendorf, Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Dubuque, Iowa City, Clinton and Muscatine, Iowa, provides...

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Ruhl Premier Access – FREE Super Suite of Tools

Along with the launch of Ruhl&Ruhl REALTORS’ new and improved website, RuhlHomes.com, came Ruhl Premier Access.  Ruhl Premier Access is a free suite of tools to make a real estate transaction simpler and more informative to our clients. Ruhl Premier Access now allows consumers to: Search properties that have recently sold in a neighborhood....

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Ruhl&Ruhl Announced as Iowa Top Workplace

Our real estate agents and employees have done it again! Their rave reviews of Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors has ranked us as one of the 2013 "Iowa Top Workplaces," a list of the best places to work in the state of Iowa. The evaluation for the Top Workplaces program is based upon feedback from an employee survey. Ruhl&Ruhl had over...

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Ruhl&Ruhl has launched its brand new app mobileRuhl!

Growing with Mobile, mobileRuhl that is Mobile is where it’s at. And Ruhl&Ruhl REALTORS is leading the way. Searching for properties in eastern Iowa just got a little easier with a brand new app launched by Ruhl&Ruhl REALTORS, mobileRuhl. Ruhl&Ruhl REALTORS, a family-owned and operated real estate company headquartered in Davenport,...

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Ruhl&Ruhl hits 300!

Ruhl&Ruhl REALTORS has grown to 300 agents – the largest number of agents we have ever had in our company! This is just more great agents to serve you! With the hot market and real estate being such a great profession, many more are considering a real estate career. In fact, according to a recent CareerBliss.com survey, real estate agents...

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Ruhl&Ruhl Leads Quad Cities Real Estate Market

In all major categories in the Quad Cities, Ruhl & Ruhl Realtors served more clients than any other company in 2012.  Ruhl agents accounted for 39% of the closed market share of residential and condo sales in the Quad Cities Area (IAQC/ILQC).  That is bolstered by our New Construction Market Share that accounts for nearly half of all dollars...

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Ruhl&Ruhl Realtor’s is more than Real Estate – We’re Family!

A curious Quad Cities citizen noticed something familiar on the latest Real Estate Today TV show that airs on WQAD. Outstanding service is not the only attribute gaining attention. People are noticing the resemblance between Caroline Ruhl and Chris Beason! Quad City Times “Ask the Times” writer, Roy Booker, was asked by a curious Quad Cities...

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Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors Announced Top Real Estate Company by Community

Thank you to all the locals that love us! Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors was recently announced the top real estate company by community votes in the “Locals Love Us” competition.  Ruhl&Ruhl would also like to show some love to Brent Scogland of our Bettendorf Office and Jon Loquist of our Moline Office for being recognized as some of the Quad...

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Ruhl&Ruhl REALTORS presents the Big Brothers Big Sisters Annual Plant Sale

Ruhl&Ruhl REALTORS is proud to be a sponsor of the 2013 Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Mississippi Valley Annual Plant Sale. Since 1990, the Plant Sale has been a Quad Cities tradition for many families and businesses. The Plant Sale is held every year the week prior to Mother's Day.  All proceeds from this event benefit Big Brothers Big...

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Ruhl&Ruhl Sponsors Toy Tree at the 2013 Festival of Trees

For the second year in a row Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors will be supporting the Festival of Trees through sponsorship of the event’s Toy Tree. Standing over 20-feet tall, the Toy Tree takes new toy donations for displaying during the Festival and then all toys are delivered to Toys for Tots at the end of the Festival for distribution in the Quad...

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Ruhl&Ruhl Stays Hot Leading the Real Estate Market Again!

Ruhl&Ruhl has more great new to share! From Ruhl&Ruhls big gain in market share to now having 49% of Ruhl agents closing over $2 million in 2012! This puts Ruhl&Ruhl agents 18% higher next to our next nearest competitor. Also, those agents within the Quad Cities have eclipsed over the $3 million dollar mark in closing putting Ruhl...

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RuhlHomes.com Ranked #5 Website in Nation

Ruhl&Ruhl Realtor’s website, RuhlHomes.com, was ranked the fifth top performing residential real estate website in the country for 2013. REAL Trends, a communications and consulting company considered to be the leading source of analysis and information on the residential brokerage and housing industry, completed the rankings based on 12...

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Santa’s Secret

As most people know, gift distribution via chimney is the easiest and most efficient way for Santa to deliver presents. By using the chimney, he usually ends up right by the Christmas tree! His big problem is slowing down before he gets to the bottom. After all, if he lands with a "thud" he'll wake up everyone in the house. Santa prefers the fireplace...

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Sharon Tahere Nominated for Good Neighbor Award

Congratulations to Sharon Tahere, a Realtor in the Ruhl&Ruhl REALTORS Bettendorf Office, for her nomination for the Good Neighbor Award by the Realtor® Foundation of Iowa (RFI). The RFI recognizes the Iowa Association of Realtors® members that are making positive changes in their communities by helping others.  Tahere, who is a member of...

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Should You Buy that Fixer-Upper?

Investing in real estate can be a challenge, but from a monetary standpoint, it could be a great payoff.  When searching for real estate – don’t leave out the fixer-uppers. Fixer-upper properties will give you more purchasing power when looking for a new home.  Just think: you can get a property below market price, invest time and money...

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The Best Industry to work in? Real Estate!

Real estate is the best industry to work in nationwide, according to the 2013 Top National Workplaces rankings by WorkplaceDynamics. Despite real estate professionals facing a “down market for the past five years, they continue to love their jobs and the companies they work for,” according to a press release announcing the results. “REALTORS®...

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The TRUTH about How Real Estate Agents Get Paid

Most home buyers enlist the services of a real estate professional when buying a house. It only makes sense – agents have experience in dealing with multiple issues surrounding the process, and they usually have the homes listed for sale as well as hold the most knowledge on the homes currently listed in their respective markets. But the question...

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User Guide – Mobile Real Estate Solution

User Guide    We are excited to share our brand NEW app, mobileRuhl, with you! It’s for iPhones, iPads and all Android devices and it’s FREE! Here’s a quick glimpse on how to best use all the features of mobileRuhl. Or start to play with it yourself by downloading it today with the links below! Available in the App Store Available...

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What If I Don’t Currently Qualify For a New Mortgage

When the initial dream of homeownership and beginning your process starts to form in your mind, bets are - the question stated above is not included in your initial thoughts.   And while this type of situation is unbelievably frustrating, keep in mind that you do have options. Let’s start from the beginning, say you have began your home search...

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Carla Werning

Licensed In IA
  • C.
Cedar Rapids Office

5805 Council St. NE, Suite A
Cedar Rapids, IA 52402