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Marshalltown real estate going strong

T-R PHOTO BY THOMAS NELSON - It’s a sellers market in Marshalltown because there are more people looking for homes than buying them at the moment.

Now is a good time to sell your home.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted markets all over. The combination of economic factors have driven more people to look into buying homes.

“The real estate market is very strong,” said Jamie Bland, 1st Rate Real Estate broker and owner. “The interest rates are low and to be honest there are more buyers than there are homes.”

Homes which cost more than $200,000 are slower to move, but homes under $200,000 are selling fast.

“There’s a shortage,” Bland said.

Sellers in that range can expect multiple offers in the Marshalltown area.

“Last year we saw some of this shortage, but now in the last few weeks the market’s really increased,” Bland said. “It’s been like a feeding frenzy.”

Bland advises people to not sell homes before they get on the market.

“We’re seeing a lot of people come from out of town from Des Moines and Ames,” she said. “They’re moving back.”

For the 31 years Bland has been selling homes she has not seen anything like this.

She is surprised by the market because she thought the pandemic would not drive people to buy as much as they are right now.

“People are getting back to their jobs,” Bland said. “I think the stimulus money has helped them with down payments or closing costs.”

The lower interest rates may have helped people feel more confident in the market.

“I would say the market is good,” said Bev Espenscheid vice-president of mortgage lending at Guaranteed Rate in Marshalltown.

Espenscheid does not think the pandemic has had a negative effect on the real estate market in Marshalltown.

“Our market has been good,” she said. “I think it’s healthy. I think we have ample buyers.”

Since the 2018 tornado there have been more buyers than sellers.

“If anything’s lagging in the market it’s that we don’t have enough inventory,” Espenscheid said. “I think overall the market’s been very good. I don’t think COVID’s been an issue.”

The only limit the pandemic has put on the real estate market is in the lending process because of the need to verify jobs.

“We’ve been able to navigate and close as many loans as we normally do,” Espenscheid said. “I’m having five to six people come in a day to get pre-approved. The demand is still out there.”

Espenscheid has had to do more verification to make sure people haven’t lost their jobs during the process of buying home.

“Guidelines have tightened up a little bit,” Espenscheid said. “More for the lower end credit score categories. Rates are still really good.”

Espenscheid noted the government has played a big role in keeping the mortgage industry afloat by buying mortgage backed securities.

“The government is propping up our industry from a lending stand point,” she said.

Beyond that, houses are still being sold and people continue to buy them.

“I don’t think it’s going to change anytime soon,” Espenscheid said.

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Contact Thomas Nelson at (641)753-6611 or tnelson@timesrepublican.com

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