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Real Estate and Development

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Home contracts down, prices up

The Des Moines Area Association of Realtors said today that though the number of contracts signed by local home buyers was down to 7,677 in 2010 from 8,522 the prior year, the Des Moines housing …

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Chicago No. 2 in foreclosures last year

In 2010, lenders repossessed more homes in and around Chicago than they did in all but one other U.S. metropolitan area, Crain’s Chicago Business reported. According to a report released Thursday by RealtyTrac Inc., an …

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Planning a tax protest


Tom Knapp is preparing for spring, the season of property tax protests.

Knapp is a property manager for NAI Ruhl & Ruhl Commercial Co. in West Des Moines. He is a former property appraiser with …

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Farmland – they aren’t making any more of it


The good times for corn and soybean farmers are here. That means their business planning should mimic hard times.

So said Jim Knuth, a senior vice president with Farm Credit Service of America. He is …

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Entering a Crossroads


Laying out the strengths and weaknesses of Greater Des Moines and the surrounding region is far from a quick description.

Such was the basis for a 184-page Competitive Capacity Assessment release last week by Market …

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Pending home sales increase in December

The National Association of Realtors’ Pending Home Sales Index, which measures signed purchase contracts but not closed sales, rose 2 percent nationwide in December.

The group forecasts mortgage rates will rise only modestly in the …

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Hubbell to convert factory into lofts

Hubbell Realty Co. announced today that the development of RiverPoint Lofts downtown will begin this month.

The former Schmitt and Henry Manufacturing Co. factory, located at 309 S.W. Eighth St. will be converted into 55 …

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Iowa firms to lead hiring charge as construction market stabilizes

Forty-five percent of construction firms in Iowa – more than any other state – plan to increase their payrolls in 2011 as the U.S. construction market begins to stabilize and some contractors adjust their bids …

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Despite challenges, local CRE professionals optimistic

Presenters at the Institute of Real Estate Management’s and Certified Commercial Investment Member Institute’s Annual Market Survey Update in Des Moines on Tuesday showed cautious optimism about the state of the U.S. commercial real estate …

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COSC schedules commercial development luncheons

Center on Sustainable Communities, or COSC, and the Greater Des Moines Partnership announced a new luncheon series aimed at addressing ways in which sustainable building practices can help lessen the impact on the environment, promote …