Fed inadvertently publishes staff forecast for 2015 rate hike
Staff economists at the Federal Reserve expect a quarter-point U.S. interest rate increase this year, according to forecasts the Fed mistakenly published on its website in a gaffe that drew criticism about its ability to keep secrets. The rate forecast was included with a series of bearish projections on U.S. economic growth and inflation that were presented to policymakers at their June 16-17 meeting. …
Iowa City ranks in Top 10 for livability
Iowa City is among the top 10 cities in the country in which to live, work and play, according to a new ranking by the website,Livability.com. The city also has appeared on the company’s top 10 lists of best college towns, best cities for book lovers and best cities for affordable health care. “Each of these cities is a great place to live,” Matt …
I.C. working to bring business to vacant industrial park
ANDY DAVIS – IOWA CITY PRESS-CITIZEN City officials are hopeful that an agreement with a local real estate broker will help attract business to the 420th Street Industrial Park, which has sat vacant for more than six years. The Iowa City Council on Wednesday will consider entering a one-year listing and marketing agreement with Jeff Edberg, an Iowa City commercial real estate broker with Lepic- …
The 10 best small cities for educated millennials
While big cities such as New York and Washington, DC often appeal to educated millennials, a number of small cities also have a lot to offer young people. In a new report on the top destinations for young college graduates, the American Institute for Economic Research ranks cities based on economic and quality-of-life factors that are important to young people. The top three factors include: high density of …
Inaccurate Zillow ‘Zestimates’ a source of conflict over home prices
When “CBS This Morning” co-host Norah O’Donnell asked the chief executive of Zillow recently about the accuracy of the website’s automated property value estimates — known as Zestimates — she touched on one of the most sensitive perception gaps in American real estate. Zillow is the most popular online real estate information site, with 73 million unique visitors in December. Along with active listings …
Lucky’s Market replaces Von Maur at Sycamore Mall
IOWA CITY, Iowa – A new natural food grocery store chain could breathe life into Iowa City’s former Sycamore Mall, which faced a dubious future with the loss of its most prominent tenant, Von Maur, to Coralville and foreclosure within the last two years. Boulder, Colo.-based Lucky’s Market signed a lease last week to open in spring 2015 a 34,000 square-foot grocery store taking up …
North Liberty Iowa Improvement Projects 2015
Eastside Utilities Project description: The utilities project involves the instillation of a trunk sanitary sewer and water mains to serve land annexed into North Liberty near Dubuque Street and North Liberty Road, including new Liberty High School. The sewer portion will cost an estimated $3.5 million; the water main portion will cost an estimated $2.5 million. Engineers began to assess possible routes for 2.3 …
New Closing Rules and HUD-1 / RESPA Forms to Take Effect August 1
While August 1 may still be six months away, now is the time to start thinking about the RESPA/TILA changes that will go into effect on that date. There will no longer be Good Faith Estimates (GFEs) or Truth in Lending disclosures. Those two forms have been combined into a single “Loan Estimate” or “LE.” However, this new form is not really an estimate …
Matt Hektoen, esq informed Commercial Round Table about new 1031 exchange law
Matt Hektoen, a real estate lawyer at Simmons Perrine Moyer Bergman PLC address the Iowa City Area Association of Realtors Commercial Round Table, and presented a timely, valuable and complete update for the 1031 tax deferred property exchange law. The basic idea is that a property seller may elect to exchange his property via the Internal Revenue Code 1031. By performing some basic protocol …