Navigating homeownership

 

Navigating homeownership panel (L to R):
Jennifer Pratt, Stephanie Schumacher, Matt Skogman,
Ann Roushar, Zach Kucharski

(9/23/2026) Prospective homebuyers, both first-timers and "right-sizers," heard a lot to ponder Tuesday morning at the latest edition of the Cedar Rapids Gazette's Business Breakfast Series, held at the NewBo City Market. Realty, finance, and community development were represented on a panel hosted by the Gazette's Zach Kucharski. 

The owner-occupied housing market has not been impacted by the surge in data center construction workers the way the rental market has. Nevertheless, there are not enough houses available to meet demand, said Matt Skogman, vice president of sales at Skogman Homes. He estimated the currently available supply at 400 or 500 houses, about one-third of the number available 15 years ago. Average prices have jumped at the same time, so that today's new construction is smaller and on smaller lots, and need appealing features to compete with slightly older houses. It's a sellers' market: Houses may stay on the market a long time if there are issues with the specific property, said Ann Roushar of Keller-Williams realty, who is president-elect of the Cedar Rapids Area Association of Realtors. Even so, people are buying if the house is "ready to go."

You could just buy this house. But if you mention this blog to your agent,]
we'll have you over for dinner

Interest rates just went up, but they represent only one factor in the cost of purchasing a home, said Stephanie Schumacher, senior vice president of mortgage lending at Hills Bank. Taxes, insurance, and utilities are not included in the purchase price; moreover, the costs of transportation and groceries affect the buyer's day-to-day cost of living in a given place. (See the Center for Neighborhood Technology's interactive Housing and Transportation Index map.) She advised getting pre-approved for financing before beginning the search, and keeping the lender informed of any changes. Matt Skogman noted maintenance and utilities costs are typically higher for older homes, but they can be larger and/or located closer to the center of town, if those are important to a buyer.

City housing policy considers the entire housing "ecosystem," not just the affordability of starter homes, said Jennifer Pratt, community development and planning director for the City of Cedar Rapids. She noted any "pinch points" farther up the housing ladder create backups throughout the system, so that people can't move out of starter homes. City programs for homebuyers or developers include first-time homebuyer grants, 0% construction loans for smaller developers, tax-increment financing to help with new construction, and forgivable loans for renovations. (See a complete list here.) Our zoning ordinance now allows accessory dwelling units by right anywhere in the city. She said the city consults regularly with home builders in order to plan future utility infrastructure, trails and parks construction.

Prairie Landing subdivision, on 80 acres in NE Cedar Rapids:
Matt Skogman estimated Skogman will build it out over ten years
(Source: skogmanhomes.com)

Buying a house is a big step, particularly with increasing costs of purchasing, financing, and maintenance, even in relatively low-cost Iowa. In a small city like Cedar Rapids, an edge-of-town development like Skogman's Prairie Landing is only six miles from the NewBo City Market. In a fluid housing market, we can envision moving as our needs change. (I've owned three houses, sequentially, during my time here.) 

Even so, it's worth thinking about the long-term maintenance costs of city infrastructure as we continue building outwards, and the cumulative financial and social costs of the energy needed for all of us to get all the places we are going to need to go. There's also at events like these the unspoken assumption that everyone should be in a freestanding house. I'm not sure that's true, or should be true, that we'll manage the future without significant investment in multifamily housing.

The next event in this series will be on Tuesday, December 8, at Merge in Iowa City. Topic and panel tba.

SEE ALSO:

City housing study (October 2025)

"Metro Housing Update," 7 February 2024

"Housing Policy," 1 July 2021

Notice the new tables and chairs at the Market!