RE/MAX River Cities releases 2007 figures
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By Doug Schorpp | Wednesday, January 23, 2008 |
Despite a sluggish fourth quarter, RE/MAX River Cities reported $148,979,000 in homes sales in 2007. That compares to the $145.83 million in home sales in 2006 and $135 million in sales in 2005 for the Bettendorf company.
“River Cities has increased sales every year since 1999 when partner Susie Banks came on board as a partner,” owner Tom Swanwick said. “We feel very fortunate to have set another record this year as the fourth quarter was very slow across the board. We look forward to 2008 as there are many signs that 2008 could be a strong year for real estate professionals.”
Swanwick pointed to these factors to support his contention:
-- Interest rates for home mortgages are good.
-- Customers who previously might have attempted to sell their own properties are becoming more aware how important Realtors are.
-- Many part-time real estate agents are expected to leave the industry.
-- After a slow fourth quarter, sellers will be anxious to have their product sold.
“The fourth quarter was pretty bad,” Swanwick said. “But we think it will be a strong year. We think the first quarter will be a pretty strong quarter. There is a lot of pent-up demand.
He said despite evidence of decreased home sales nationally, the Quad-City market remains somewhat steady.
He said the local housing market does not have the large ups and downs seen in other areas, such as the East and West coasts. “We are trying to show people that is not the end of the world in terms of the real estate market.”
River Cities is part of the RE/MAX International network. It has more than 7,000 offices and 117,000 associates in 65 countries.
Doug Schorpp can be contacted at (563) 383-2292 or dschorpp@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.
Q-C real estate numbers down for 2007
The Quad-City real estate market suffered through a difficult last three months of 2007.
And that fact is reflected in year-end numbers released Wednesday by Gene Holst, Quad-City Area Realtor Association chief executive officer.
The Quad-City market includes Scott, Rock Island and Mercer counties and portions of Henry County.
But despite decreases in sales volume and number of homes sold, the bright spot was that the average price of residences sold increased this past year, he said.
“The average sales price of a home in the Quad-City market was $141,129, which is up 2.37 percent” from 2006,” Holst said.
A total of 4,527 single-family residential and condos were sold in 2007, which is down 5.81 percent from 2006, he said. The total volume of home sales for 2007 was $638,890,983, which Holst said is the third-highest year ever recorded by the association.
But 2007 figures also reflect a two-year drop in sales volume. The second-best year was 2006, when sales volume was $662,583,996. In 2005, the best-ever in this market, the volume of sales was $685,028,100, Holst said.
That means sales volume has dropped more than $46 million in two years.
Holst said while the fourth quarter of 2007 was slow, the Quad-City market was not hit as hard as some other areas of the country.
“The fact that total sales were up, interest rates are still low, unemployment in the Quad-Cities is still low, the local economy appears to be relatively strong. Everybody I have talked to is looking for 2008 to be a very solid year in real estate.”
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