However , to replace the homes that are purchased , there isn ’ t a dearth of developers looking to build more , at least not yet . It is an issue the City of Ottumwa is spending resources trying to tackle , but the costs of materials to build have increased over the last year .
“ If you were to build a house at $ 200 per square foot , you would spend $ 200,000 on a 1,000-square foot house , which doesn ’ t sound like a good investment ,” Campbell said . “ I mean , you can buy an existing home that has 1,500 square feet for $ 200,000 , and it would be a larger home .
“ So , from my viewpoint , as much as we need new housing and to broaden our tax base , the cost of new housing is high enough , and what you get for it is short enough that people are still opting for the existing home .”
Also , while Ottumwa is seeing a hot market for sellers , homes overall are older and cheaper , and need work . Studies have shown the city ’ s home values lag behind comparable cities .
“ Yes , it ’ s an older house . Yes , it needs repairs and improvements ,” Campbell said . “ But that seems to be the alternative people are opting to rather than construct new . All you have to do is look at the building permits issued by the city , and that ’ s a very clear statement there .”
An aggressive mindset
Hopkins said when it came time to buy his current home , all the pre-approval legwork was done beforehand . It made the process
simpler , but he said a lot of the success comes down to timing .
“ The market is outrageous right now . There ’ s a ton of pocket sales , meaning they were sold before they even got listed ,” he said . “ I think once we got familiar with the housing market , we saw the quality of homes .
“ The things we wanted to know were , ‘ Who was here and why were they leaving ?’” he said . “ That was important in the negotiation . We had a five-year plan to purchase a house , and originally we wanted an acreage . The one we got could be a lifelong house .”
The future housing market
Campbell said townhomes would be a “ good option ” as the housing market moves deeper into the 21st century . He said apartments and single-family homes have been the most popular in the city , but he is intrigued by new development .
“ Townhouses have yet to show up and I think they are a very viable option ,” he said . “ The way they ’ re built might help reduce costs . But I still see the traditional single-family residences still being the major option that buyers would select .
“ I think if we create a market , it has to be sustainable ,” he said . “ You can ’ t just artificially establish a market ; it has to have substance . If we have people move to the community and they need houses , that is a natural need . If we create houses and there ’ s no one to buy them , then that ’ s an artificially created situation .”
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