Holtz Realty

Some years ago I read an article in one of the real estate journals that spoke about statistics that have been gathered for prior years from moving companies. The thrust of that article was that Iowa for many years was considered a “fly over State” when it came to the number of people moving into Iowa versus people moving out of Iowa. What was found in those most recent statistics was that the trend of people moving into Iowa has outgrown the number of people moving out of Iowa. We do know the Des Moines area as well as the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City area has shown that growth. What I have noticed these past several years is that it is happening now with Mason City, and I am happy. I continue to believe that with the Frank Lloyd Wright Hotel project being completed as well as the Streetscape Project recently finished and now the MainStreet Facade project underway, it gives visitors the sense that Mason City is on a path of upward growth. I spoke with an owner of a building downtown several days ago who told me that when it comes time to sell his building, he knows he will get a more than fair price for it due to the momentum of people wanting to do business downtown. Right now, I’m working with three different people who are living out of the borders of Iowa who are wanting to move here permanently. After reading that article several days about about the rise of confirmed cases of Valley Fever in California and Arizona as well as the nearly yearly pounding Florida and the Gulf gets with seasonal hurricanes, it’s no wonder why now there are those willing to endure our biting winters. Maybe we should consider building a bigger airport to make it easier for the “fly-ins” to get here.