Gary & Melynda Wolter in their 11th Year as Realtors, won "Associates of the Year-2012" at Iowa Realty's Marion office. This was their first full year at Iowa Realty as they set a record for the most transactions compared to any of their past years. Gary became a Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) last year and says that combined with the better marketing on the internet and other marketing that Iowa Realty provides helped expand their business. They were a major reason that the Marion, Iowa office saw an increase of 20% from 2011 in total sales volume. See both their sites at www.WolterSOLD.com and www.GaryWolter.com  02/25/2013

When talking about market facts in the Cedar Rapids real estate market, one should always address good old, " Supply & Demand." Currently, we have 1601 listings in the Cedar Rapids MLS. This is the second lowest ever...only January '12 was slightly lower by just a few homes. Marion has 229 of those listings and again this is the second lowest ever!   Sellers should think very seriously about putting their house on the market as soon as possible. The cliche spring time selling time will cost you as inventories are low so you can expect more money without so much competition. Since interest rates are rising for fixed 30 year loan, this should motivate the seller as they become a buyer. We have seen more and more sellers getting multiple offers on their home when priced right and in above ... 01/29/2013

They Didn't Like the House And that was the agent commented when asked for showing feedback on my new listing.  Has giving and asking for feedback come to this type of exchange?  Am I unique in asking for feedback?  Or do agents just not think it is necessary to give feedback?  Of course the best feedback is an offer....so does lack of an offer mean there is no interest at all? When I replied back to the agent for a little more information, specifically if they did not like the location or the floor plan, (especially since this home is a four level split, I admit that it is NOT for everyone), she replied that it could have been the floor plan but she just could not remember.  Which I could understand if she showed it a week ago, but this was less than 18 hours ago. Maybe I am the only o... 01/22/2013

We have listed and sold 3 homes recently in Hiawatha, Iowa. Because of our strong internet exposure and marketing to many buyers on over 80 websites we have sold these three homes in an average of 29 days! The average time on the market in the Cedar Rapids area is 103 days and they sell at an average of 97% of the asking price! As you can see, we get you an average of 1% more...this could mean thousands of $$ dollars in your pocket. Call the Wolter Team and start packing! Gary is a CRS-Certified Residential Specialist and we are in the top 12 in sales out of 180 agents at Iowa Realty. Your number one goal, is OUR number one goal. See more information at www.WolterSOLD.com We are also ranked 6th in the state for marketing homes using internet blogging! Call us today at 319-350-7901. www.... 01/14/2013

We are entering into our 13th year of being Realtors in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and 2013 had some big roller coaster rides but when the clock hit 2014, we looked up and set many sales and listing records. We even moved to a better, larger office to Iowa Realty's Marion office. More space, parking and more tools to serve you at 777 10th St. Marion. (Right across the street from our old location.)   We finished the year with a total of 56 transactions closed and totaled 100 transactions when you add Listings Taken + Listings Sold + Buyer sales. This broke 2011's record of 40 closed transactions.   We dedicated more advertising in our home town of Marion and really had success in all the quadrants of the city.   We continue to be the most active bloggers in Linn County for Realtors and are expe... 01/07/2013

Seller Tip: Get Pre-Approved for a Replacement Home BEFORE You List!    True story!  This happened to the seller of one of the listings that I sold this summer. The house was perfect for my first time homebuyer. It had only been on the market for a few weeks, but it was already price reduced and was solid in our price range. We arranged to see the home three times in one weekend and then wrote a great offer which was immediately accepted. The only request of the seller is some additional time to close as they had not yet secured a replacement property.    The home inspection brought out a couple of electrical items but was otherwise not a problem and we prepared to wait in escrow for closing. It was all downhill from there, well for the buyer anyway. It was downhill in an uunfortunate w... 12/05/2012

  Profit occurs when preparation and experience meet opportunity. If you are thinking of selling your house soon, keep in mind that we put your house on over 80 websites! We give you maximum  internet exposure! Understand that Discount Brokers attract Discount Buyers If an agent is ready to discount their fee from the start...how well will they be at negotiating when it's YOUR MONEY?     Here are the top 10 questions you should ask your potential Realtor before listing a house with them: (OUR ANSWERS ARE WRITTEN) 1. How many years have you been a FULL TIME agent? (Over 11 YEARS) 2. How many homes in my price range have you sold over the past year? (80 TRANSACTIONS in 2012) 3. What is your average for days on the market before you get an accepted offer? (35-50 DAYS) 4. What percentage o... 11/27/2012

It is A Friendly Ghost....I Swear! This is a unique situation, I haven't had it before.  Yes, I have sold estate properties where the person had passed away in the house, but nothing like this.....not where a child had died in the house. Here is the story: There was a little girl that had cancer.  She battled it for over a year....in that house.  And she tragically passed in the house just shy of her 10th birthday.  About 2 years later, her parents decided that they needed to move and get a fresh start...too many memories. Cute ranch, nicely updated....no disclosure about the death.  No reason to do so right?  Well, my buyer purchased the home and moved in.  A few months later, he calls me in a panic.  He tells me that there is a problem with the tv in the living room.  It gave me chill... 11/11/2012

Become a Friend with Benefits....              to the NewBo City Market!  For just $50 per year, you can become a friend with benefits to the NewBo City Market.  What are the "benefits"? NewBo Dough:  Weekly specials and discounts from NewBo City Market anchor merchants Discounts on ticketed events Special rental rates for private events including the Kirkwood Kitchen Honorary Rooster-Wrangler Preferred bike and automobile parking  See more information at www.NewBoCityMarket.com and become a friend of the NewBo Market today! This weekend is the first holiday weekend at the market.  Don't miss out! Keep smiling! Karen     11/01/2012

40 Clive Drive NW Open House Sunday October 28th, 2012 12:00-1:30!     Now priced at $143,000, this great split level home in a fabulous NW neighborhood behind the St. Judes Church and schools.  Step into the front living room with a vaulted ceiling, Pergo flooring and opening to the kitchen and dining room areas.  The lower level features a sunken family room with a gas fireplace with remote and lights that are on a dimmer switch, another bath, and the laundry room.  There are 3 spacious bedrooms upstairs, all with great closets for storage.  The yard is fenced and there is a great patio area for your backyard barbecues.  New landscaping and mature trees too!  Home warranty included for one year after closing for the buyer.  Convenient location close to shopping, downtown, restaurants ... 10/26/2012

Grand opening of the NewBo City Market this weekend October 27th-28th, 2012! Located at: At the corner of 12th Avenue and 3rd Street SE in the Heart of New Bohemia 1100 3rd Street SE Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401   The highly anticipated grand opening of the year round farmers market will happen this weekend in the New Bohemia district in downtown Cedar Rapids!  There will be many activities available for all with visits from Santa Claus, cooking demonstrations, classes, local vendors and much more.  Come and see all that this area of the city has to offer this weekend.  For more information, click here! Photo courtesy of www.newbocitymarket.com I hope that we all embrace this great new location to gather and share our local talent, food and gift items.  Check it out this weekend or next wee... 10/24/2012

Go ahead and Google: "Cedar Rapids Real Estate" or "Cedar Rapids Homes for sale" not many Realtors can say they have direct links to your house on page one when buyers search these key phrases. Your listing is on over 80 websites too.    If your house has been on the market for more than 3 weeks we turn to marketing efforts geared towards Realtors and willing and able buyers who actually have a Realtor.  Most of these marketing efforts are internal and you don't see them.  Please understand that extra signs, open houses, newspaper ads etc. expose your house to the masses and are most important mainly in the first few weeks. Think of a Bentley car dealer using institutional advertising in rural North Dakota. It wouldn't matter how much they advertised. They wouldn't get many qualified bu... 10/07/2012

Who would have thought fantasy football could help me sell homes?  Not this girl.  I didn't even consider it a possibility.  Until an open house opened my eyes literally to the possibilities.  Think about it....how many guys are glued to their tv on Sunday to watch their NFL teams.  How many of them want to be out looking at houses?  I will tell you what happened to me.  At a rather uneventful open house, other than the crickets, I only had one visitor and it was a neighbor couple.  And the man was wearing a Vikings jersey.  Score points for me for knowing that the Vikings had won earlier in the day, so he was in a good mood.  Enough to let his wife convince him to take the walk three houses down to the open house. So I talked a little bit about the games and he noticed that I had my fa... 09/24/2012

No really, there WERE crickets. I had an open house yesterday.  I know, silly me. Should have rethought that one with the annual builder Parade of Homes going on, but oh well. I can always catch up with deleting emails, organizing pictures, check in with friends on Facebook, and maybe making a few calls. Until the unthinkable happened....   I started to hear crickets...actual crickets in the middle of the afternoon...in the house, somewhere. Have you ever tried to play hide and seek with a cricket?  It is about as elusive as that beeping smoke alarm that needs it battery replaced. You hear it, go over to stand under the one you THINK it is, wait for it to beep again, only to find it isn't the right one. Crickets are the same. I swear there had to be more than one. Or he was a magician. ... 09/24/2012

      "During the sale of our home in Des Moines we became aware of the Homes for Heroes program. We decided to submit our contact information online to be connected with a Homes for Heroes realtor for the purchase of a home in the Corridor area. We were contacted within a few short hours by Maria White, with Exit Hawk Realty. Maria was flexible, honest, fun and easy to work with. And we can't forget that the Homes for Heroes program provided us with over $2,000 back in our pocket. That doesn't happen too often when you purchase a home with just any realtor"  David and Karen Finn Read more here 09/20/2012

The overall market's closed sales were up +0.5% versus August 2011. Pending sales were also up +7.3% over the same month last year. The average sales price in August 2012 was $167,000 up from about $10,000 from last year. Homes sold in August took 96 days to receive an accepted offer. For expert real estate consultation in the Cedar Rapids market call Gary & Melynda Wolter at 319-350-7901 or visit www.GaryWolter.com or www.WolterSOLD.com Gary is a Certified  Residential Specialist and together with wife Melynda are in their 12th year selling real estate from the Iowa Realty, Marion office.     09/19/2012

  Recently, their seems to be a misguided perception of how a willing and abled buyer most likely finds your house in order to view it in person and then ultimately makes an offer. The internet and all of its marketing glory has helped distort a Sellers idea of how to get their house sold. Here are the three types of "buyers." (Some really aren't but pose to be.)   1. THE SHOPPER... This person pretends to be a buyer. He looks at his or her favorite website....Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com, etc. Maybe attends a few open houses but is NOT approved and may even have a house to sell first before they can buy.   2. The UNMOTIVATED APPROVED BUYER...This person still is not working with a Realtor yet or if they are they pretend to be motivated and says to their Realtor if they have one..."Let m... 09/18/2012

We were recently given some Cedar Rapids area statistics that proved a point that most agents try to convey to their sellers. This data makes the argument very clear about what happens when you price your home correctly, versus pricing it high and bring the price down over time (a fairly popular way to do things) I believe this data should be the first thing a seller looks at during a listing presentation. The data is THAT VALUABLE! Two sets of homes were compared for this analysis. Group 1 was homes that sold in the past 365 days that did not drop their price. In other words, somebody came and bought the home before the owners had a chance to do that. The owners "priced the home to sell." Group two is the group of homes that sold in the past 365 days after having at least one price dro... 09/02/2012

And then there were two...what is a seller to do?  We have all been there....either with a buyer or a seller.  You are the listng agent and you are calling for feedback on the showing and the buyer's agent tells you that you are in the TOP TWO!  Elated, you hang up the phone and carefully decide IF you are going to relay this information to the seller.  Why, you may ask?  Well, depending on the seller, it could be disasterous.  Or it could be beneficial.  Example of disasterous:  You tell your seller that the buyer has narrowed the choices for their new home to the seller's home or another comparable home.  Depending on the time on the market and their attachment to their home, or lack of commitment to sell, the seller may dig in their heels and claim that their home is the best and if ... 08/29/2012

I will be the first one to admit that our pets are truly our furry children.  We love them so much, so of course we expect you to bristle when an agent tells you that your beloved furry family member needs to be removed for showings.  We have our reasons and I will list a few for you here: 1.  Yes, your pet LOVES LOVES LOVES people.  We get it....but the problem is that they love people when YOU are there.  Strangers are a completely different story.  As lovely as our pets are in front of us, we know that they can be scared or territorial with strangers in their home.  Case in point:  Very nice couple lists their home with me.....2 kitties....said kitties never had an issue with not using the litter box...until the open house and showings, with strangers in their home...they got even by... 08/28/2012