Big Little City for Your Housing Investment

Moving to a new city is a life changing decision. Whether it’s for a new career opportunity or to move closer to family, investing in a home can be a big risk. The Cedar Rapids Metro area is an attractive real estate market for buyers that can mitigate that risk and ensure a return on investment.

Compared to the national price growth average of 275.1%, Iowa has seen a price growth average of 215.5% from first quarter 1991 to first quarter 2022.* In Cedar Rapids, first quarter pricing saw a 6.5% increase and a second quarter increase of just 4.57%.**

“What all that tells me is that there are markets around the country that are increasing their staggering numbers and Iowa is always pretty steady,” says Sheila King, Board President of the Cedar Rapids Realtors Association and a realtor for Skogman Realty. “Even though prices have gone up, when you look at the whole residential market, it hasn’t gone up as much as one would think. So I think that shows why it’s valuable for people to buy a home here.”

Investing in a home is only part of the big decision to move. Community vitality, recreational opportunities and the educational system also play a part.

“I think people have preconceived notions about Iowa before they come to visit. I’ll frequently be giving tours to people when they’re considering moving here from out of state and most of the time they’re pleasantly surprised by what they find in the Cedar Rapids metro area. They think we’re all rural corn fields. I think people are surprised that we have cultural opportunities with Theatre Cedar Rapids (TCR) and other community theatres, museums, and a great trail system.”

Economic development is also a vital piece to attracting businesses and residents to our metro area. “What has happened with our revitalization of downtown since the flood has been inspirational. It could have gone a completely different way. Also the growth in Marion and industrial parks around the airport, offering things that businesses are going to need is a huge selling point.”

Many of King’s client’s see the metro area as a temporary stop off point before they move on to their next opportunity. “It’s interesting how many people end up staying here because of the overall cost of living, quality of life and educational systems. I think it surprises people.”

King and her family are prime examples. “Our kids were just starting school and we had opportunities to move to big cities a few times. But we decided to stay because we liked their schools, the ability to raise our kids in a safe environment and have plenty of things to do. So I think that people are pleasantly surprised once they get here. I think the economic development that we’ve done here makes us feel like a big little city.”

To find out more about our big little city, and the wonderful areas that surround us, check us out at https://icriowa.org/people/neighborhoods/.

*House Price Series** Cedar Rapids Realtors Association