Mason City Home For Sale By Owner

SOLD!!

We have another darling home for sale by owner. This one has great curb appeal and many improvements. See all the pictures and details at http://www.northiowafsbo.com/property_for_sale/707_2nd_street_sw.html

Mason City Home For Sale

SOLD!!!

We have another great house for sale in Mason City. This charming brick bungalow-style home would make a great starter home. Located in a wonderful neighborhood. Super housing opportunity. Come see it at http://www.northiowafsbo.com/property_for_sale/310_south_tennessee_place/index.html

Ranch Home For Sale

SOLD!!

We've just listed another ranch home for sale by owner. This one is located on a very quiet street in Britt. Small town living at its best with a new elementary and an aquatic center set to open in 2009. It's very, very nice and in turnkey condition. See more at http://www.northiowafsbo.com/property_for_sale/726_2nd_avenue_sw/index.html

NorthIowaHOBO.com is now NorthIowaFSBO.com

I wanted customers, past and present, to be the first to know about some exciting changes that are happening on our website. As you may have noticed, northiowahobo.com is currently changing its name to northiowafsbo.com. While we’ve had a lot of success with the ‘hobo’ name, ‘fsbo’ is a much more broadly=used term in the ‘for sale by owner’ market. We already perform well in the Internet Search Engines, but I anticipate even higher placings under ‘fsbo’. Plus, northiowafsbo will soon be offering space for other ‘fsbo’ items, such as automobiles, campers, furniture, etc.
If you have a ‘hobo’ sign in your yard, I will have it replaced with the new name in the coming days. And don’t worry about visitors who are familiar with the ‘hobo’ name not being able to access the site. Even if they type in northiowahobo.com, they will be re-routed to the new address!

With the name change comes a change in e-mail. I can be contacted at the following..
stephanie@northiowafsbo.com
newlistings@northiowafsbo.com

Thank you for your business, past and present! If you are encountering any problems please contact me right away. Stephanie Scholl, Owner

Another Reason to Sell/Buy FSBO

Several local homeowners are no doubt disappointed by the lack of potential buyers in the market. According to the following article in USA Today, existing home sales fell 1% in April compared to one year ago... the midwest saw a 6% decline. Meanwhile, the number of homes for sale on the market is 'surging'.

Find the details in the following USA Today article. There is a little bit of a rosy outlook (for homebuyers), but you have to read all the way to the end!

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2008-05-23-existing-home-sales_N.htm

In my opinion, there is no better time to consider selling fsbo. After getting a professional appraisal of your home, you can be much more flexible with your price- knowing you won't have to pay a six percent realtor commission.

More on Mortgages

A few days ago I blogged about my conversations with some local mortgage lenders discussing a decline in applications this spring. Today, I see this related article at USAToday.com

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/closetohome/2008-05-21-mortgage-demand_N.htm

Mason City Housing Market

While the housing market in Mason City and North Iowa isn't experiencing a severe value decline as in other parts of the country, the market is definitely soft.

I've spoken to several mortgage lenders in the past few weeks. All of them agree that fewer people in general are applying for mortgages locally compared to one year ago. No longer do buyers enjoy 100% loan programs. They're needing more money down.

According to one mortgage lender "The market is definitely softening. Values are not as high so owners are hanging on to their current homes."

The good news for buyers with good credit, interest rates are still under 6%. A great time to buy if you have your ducks in good order!