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Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors Celebrates Best Year Ever!

January 30, 2018

Contacts: Chris Beason, President
Office: 563-441-5032
Cell Phone: 563-340-2763
ChrisBeason@RuhlHomes.com

Contact: Jeff Hefel, Manager                                                                         
Office Telephone: 563-583-4550
JeffHefel@RuhlHomes.com

Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors celebrated a strong 2017, with company sales volume of $885,559,275, making 2017 their best year ever.  In addition, Ruhl Mortgage closed $126,438,295 in loan volume.  “We are blessed to have you as part of our Ruhl&Ruhl family. It takes a great team working together to provide our clients their best real estate experiences ever! Thank you for your caring and professional service.” Ruhl told her team.

Chris Beason, President, and Caroline Ruhl, CEO, honored 223 award winners for their 2017 achievements at the Waterfront Convention Center on January 26, 2018.  Over 300 agents, staff and affiliated business partners cheered on their co-workers.  Top awards were awarded to:

Dubuque Office Award Winners
Top Office awards in the Dubuque Office were presented to:

  • Aaron Healey received the Top Lister Award and the Top Sales Award.
  • Harry Blewett was honored with the Excellence in Service Award, for receiving the highest client service rating in the Dubuque office.
  • Julie and Arnold Flater Team received the Top Ruhl Mortgage Award and the Top Referral Associate Award.
  • Kelly Kohlhaas received the Top Nelson Brothers Award and the Top Community Service Award.  
  • Karl Dolter received the Top AHS Home Warranty Award.
  • Beth Kunnert received the New Associate of the Year Award.

Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors 2017 Results
Ruhl shared with her team the company’s results in 2017:

  1. Number of Properties Sold – Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors sold 5,323 properties in 2017, as either listing agent or selling agent.
  2. Residential Sales Volume – Ruhl’s sales volume in 2017 was $885,559,275, up 4.8% from 2016’s sales volume.
  3. Revenue – Revenue in a real estate company is primarily gross commission income (GCI). Ruhl’s 2017 GCI was $26,187,726 or 4.0% up from 2016 revenue.
  4. New Listings Taken – Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors listed 3,071 properties for sale in 2017.
  5. Nationally Ranked Per Agent Productivity –On average our agents closed 16.1 transactions in 2017. This is more than double the national average for per agent productivity.
  6. Great Agents and Staff – We ended 2017 with 331 residential agents. In addition, 53 employees work for Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors.
  7. Ruhl Mortgage – Ruhl Mortgage closed $126,438,295 in loan volume, which was generated by 758 loans. 91% were purchase loans and 9% were refinances. Ruhl Mortgage employs 24 staff members.
  8. New Construction Sales Volume – Ruhl&Ruhl agents sold 212 new construction homes or condos in 2017. The average sales price was $393,210, up from $378,804 last year, resulting in sales volume of $83,360,471.
  9. Insurance Referrals Sold – Ruhl agents referred clients resulting in 400 policies being sold by the Nelson Brothers Agency, Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors’ affiliated insurance company.
  10. Commercial Sales Volume – NAI Ruhl Commercial Company, a joint venture with Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors, sold $133,044,502 in commercial real estate in 2017. They have 18 commercial agents and 14 staff members. NAI Ruhl Property Management manages just under two million square feet of space.

Regional Forecast for 2018
Ruhl told her team she expects the improving economy and corresponding job growth and buyer confidence to fuel sales in 2018. We expect home values to continue to appreciate. “Last year homes appreciated from 2% - 4.7% in our region, depending on your market.”

We know mortgage rates will trend upward in 2018. Experts expect rates to be around 4.5% at year end with some predicting 5%.                                                  

As of January 29, 2018 mortgage rates with no points were:

15-year Conventional Fixed...........3.700%
30-year Conventional Fixed...........4.200%
FHA/VA 30-year Fixed...................4.000%
5/1 ARM.........................................3.875%

The projected increase falls well below the perceived threshold of approximately 6%, at which potential buyers may exit the market. “Of course, I remember when the threshold was 12% and we still sold a lot of houses,” Ruhl commented.

A family-owned company since 1862, Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors has grown to 331 sales associates, 53 employees and eleven offices, selling more than 5,300 homes in eastern Iowa, western Illinois and southwest Wisconsin. The company has residential sales offices in Bettendorf, Burlington, Cedar Rapids, Clinton, Davenport, DeWitt, Dubuque, Iowa City, Maquoketa, Muscatine, Iowa; and Galena and Moline, Illinois. In addition to residential sales, the company offers services in relocation, property management, real estate investments, new home sales, land development, farm and land sales, senior services, home vendor services, insurance services through the Nelson Brothers Agency, mortgage services through Ruhl Mortgage, and commercial services through NAI Ruhl Commercial Company. For more information on Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors, visit their websites at www.RuhlHomes.com and www.RuhlLand.com.

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