View Larger Map

June home sales in the Cedar Rapids set a new record for the month, while Iowa City were up 31 percent from a year ago.
The improvement was credited to low interest rates and the federal home buyers tax credits.
“Prior to Congress extending the deadline, June 30th was the original date in which loans had to be closed in order to take advantage of the tax credit,” said Kevin Platz, association executive for the Cedar Rapids Area Association of Realtors. “I believe this was the driving force although the low interest rates then and now continue to play a significant role.”
The number of homes sold by Realtors in the Cedar Rapids area multiple listing service rose to 636 from 423 in June 2009.
The number of of homes sold in the Iowa City area multiple listings service climbed to 512, an increase of 31 percent from 391 in June 2009.
More Cedar Rapids area home sales were completed last month than in June 2009, but pending home sales were down, according to data from Iowa Realty.

The overall Cedar Rapids market’s closed sales were up 50.5 percent over last June. Pending sales were down 23.2 percent from June 2009.

The average sale price in Cedar Rapids was equal to last June’s $159,000. Homes sold in June spent an average of 76 days on the market.

By market segment, closed existing home sales were up 44.5 percent over completed sales in June 2009. Pending existing home sales were down 15.9 percent from June 2009.

The average sale price of an existing home was $151,000, unchanged from last June. The average time on market for a resale home in June was 65 days, down five days from May.

Completed sales of new homes were up 84.1 percent from June 2009, but pending sales were down 47.1 percent. Inventory declined by 2.6 percent or 10 units from May.

The average sale price of a new home was $194,000, down $11,000 from last June’s average price of $205,000. The average square foot price for the month of June was $130.60 per square foot, compared with $141.50 per square foot in June 2009.

A new home spend an average of 123 days on the market.

General Growth Properties, owner of Coral Ridge Mall in Coralville, filed a reorganization plan Tuesday to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The Chicago-based second-largest U.S. mall owner said it expects to emerge from bankruptcy in October.

The reorganization plan calls for Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management, Fairholme Funds and Pershing Square Capital Management to provide $8.55 billion of capital, including $6.3 billion of equity and $250 million to fund a spinoff of some properties into a new publicly-traded company.

On Monday, the Teacher Retirement System of Texas pension fund agreed to make an additional $500 million equity investment.

General Growth, which also owns Jordan Creek Town Center in West Des Moines, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April 2009 after tight credit conditions left the company unable to refinance maturing debt.

In the Tuesday court filing, General Growth said most classes of creditors would be paid in full. It said common stockholders would obtain stock in a reorganized General Growth and the spinoff, resulting in a “substantial” recovery.

The reorganization plan must be approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan.

The reorganized General Growth Properties would own and operate 183 properties in 43 states, with more than 68.9 million square feet of retail space.

The company said it had already restructured close to $15 billion of mortgage debt.

With about $29.6 billion of assets at the time of the filing, General Growth’s bankruptcy is one of the 15 largest in U.S. history.