Real Estate in Des Moines: A Tale of THREE Markets
Real Estate in Des Moines: A Tale of THREE Markets Truly, this quarter, I was excited to dig into the recent home sales and try to figure out what was…
We know moving is emotional. We’ve been there.
We know moving is emotional. We’ve been there. Buying and selling a home can be one of the most significant transactions in a person's life. It is a process that…
Market Update
Finally, real estate is slowing down, just a smidge! If you’ve been looking for a home this spring, you may not feel like real estate has slowed down at all,…
Coffee Shops in the Des Moines Area
Hey, hey! It’s time for our annual coffee shop update. If you’ve met with Jessica, Tawnia, or me to discuss real estate, kids, families, houses, and/or life, you’ve probably noticed…
Finding a Realtor® Part 2
You might remember our post on Finding a REALTOR – Part 1, from November 2022. That article really focused on what’s key in your real estate agent when you’re buying…
Market Update for 2022
How was Real Estate in 2022 in Des Moines? It has been such a rollercoaster ride in the Des Moines real estate market in the past few years. If…
Hmm….. is housing hot or not?
If you’ve been looking around AT ALL, you’ve probably realized that the housing market is changing. This is happening nationally, and we’re seeing the first signs here in the Des…
Oh, hello housing inventory! We’ve missed you!
Oh, hello housing inventory! We’ve missed you! It seems you can’t turn on any news programs without hearing about the incipient “housing slowdown”. Are we having déjà vu? Is this…
Please… Tell me this housing market is calming down?
Please… Tell me this housing market is calming down? So far in the first quarter of 2022, we’ve had more of the same trends from 2020 and 2021, but more…
Ask the Lenders
As agents we have worked with many different lenders here in Des Moines. We also have some preferred lenders that have proven to us that they will go the extra mile…
Our Favorite Des Moines Coffee Shops
If you’ve met with us to discuss real estate, life, kids, or anything really, you probably know that we love our coffees and teas. One of the questions we get…
2021 Des Moines Home Sales in Review
How was Real Estate in 2021 in Des Moines? If you thought 2020 was a crazy real estate year… you may not have buckled up from the insanity that was…
Is the market starting to calm down?
Maybe! If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you know that the last few market updates have been talking about an extreme seller’s market (see July’s update here). …
Extra Market Update… Coming in Hot!
Normally, I run a detailed market update once a quarter. But I can feel the market shifting… as can most of the other REALTOR®s with whom we talk regularly. Given…
Buying a home this year? Be prepared to compete!
Buying a home this year? Be prepared to compete! You might remember from last quarter’s update that 2021’s real estate market started with a bang. This second quarter has proven…
Budget-Conscious Cleaning Tips for Pet Owners
The following article is a guest writer for Home Sweet Des Moines, Ted James. Ted writes for tedknowsmoney.com Ted shares money tips and help people take control of their life.…
What’s Wrong with Love Letters?
In this increasingly competitive market for homes, you hear of buyers doing some crazy things to get their offers accepted. Some of what we’ve heard have included: ordering pizzas or…
How to Increase Your Home’s Resale Value and Your Bottom Line
The following post is from the guest, Curtis Fisher from TradesBright.org. Tradesbright highlights the many stories of tradespeople who’ve gone above and beyond by using their skills to better their communities…
Buying a home this year? Be prepared to compete!
Buying a home this year? Be prepared to compete! So far, 2021 has proven to be a year of competition for buyers. I’d like to share a story: Last week,…
Lynn’s Top 10 Exterior Things to Do Before Listing Your Home
The following post is from a guest writer and friend of Home Sweet Des Moines, Lynn Kuhn. Lynn is the founder of Outdoors Transformations here in the Des Moines area.…
How was Real Estate in 2020 in Des Moines?
How was Real Estate in 2020 in Des Moines? 2020 will live on in our minds as the year no one predicted. And the Des Moines real estate market was…
2020: Be kind to your realtor friends: We are still busy!
And the real estate market here in Des Moines is still hopping. While fall has brought cooler temperatures to our lives, it hasn’t appreciably cooled the real estate market yet.…
Fall Maintenance
Summer months are finishing up, so this is the perfect season to get our homes ready for the cooler weather in our future. Contractors and service industries are busier than…
Best Practices for Packing Up and Moving
Best Practices for Packing Up and Moving
The following is a guest blog submitted by Mark Zappia. He writes for Clearskymoving.com, an online moving resource. Putting your life or business in a box can be a stressful…
Des Moines Area Housing Report 2020: “And that house is under contract”
I doubt anyone saw how 2020 would go back in January. Despite coronavirus, the real estate market is in full swing here in Des Moines; in fact, we have been…
2020 Des Moines Housing Market Update – 1st Quarter
How’s 2020 going? You know we love checking out the numbers behind the real estate here at Home Sweet Des Moines (for past market updates, click here: 2019 Update, 2018…
Ready, Set, Stage!
Every person selling home wants their home to sell quickly for a large profit, but it takes more than luck to make this happen. It involves some upfront work, so let’s…
Des Moines Housing Market 2019 Update
How did we do in 2019? My favorite part of real estate: the numbers! You may remember the analyses I’ve put together throughout 2019: January 2019, April 2019, July 2019,…
Fall 2019 Housing Report
Hello! This month, I’m presenting numbers, but I’m also speaking anecdotally. Bear with me. (If you’re not familiar with our quarterly updates, feel free to check them out here: 2019…
Tips to Prepare Your Home for Sale
Jeannie Crosby here. I see quite a few homes as they are getting ready to hit the market, and in general, I have similar comments for each home. With housing…