Handing Over The Keys
Iowa Realty Home Show introduces new host.
For more than 40 years, the Iowa Realty Home Show has been the first place central Iowans go for the latest real estate listings and a glimpse of the trends in new-home construction. And Mike Pace has been the face of that show since its inception in 1984.
“My first job for Iowa Realty was standing in a yard beside a for sale sign,” Pace says. “I did a 30-second commercial for their marketing company, and that led to a weekly show highlighting current listings.”
In those early years the program was an hour long and featured 35 to 40 homes. Today the show highlights 65 to 70 homes each week.
“The voice-over can be challenging, trying to choose which features to highlight in the limited time you have. But the agents always provide a wealth of information. So between the voice-over and the video, we’re able to show quite a bit,” says Pace.
Although he had nearly 10 years of radio experience before the Iowa Realty Home Show began its broadcast run, Pace says there was still a learning curve. And he remembers that first guest well. “I’d interviewed everyone from B.B. King and Alice Cooper to governors and senators, so I was comfortable interviewing. But the real estate aspect was new to me, and my first guest was former Drake coach Howard Stacey, who was general manager of one of the Iowa Realty offices at the time,” says Pace. “Even off the court, he was in coach mode, so I had to stay on my toes.”
Pace says the partnership with Iowa Realty has been “the best part-time job in my business” and helped him build a career that he’s proud of. “I’m technically just a contractor, but they’ve never treated me that way. I’ve always felt like a part of the team, and I’ve always had a voice when it came to decisions about the TV show.”
Kim Bakey, CEO of HomeServices of Iowa, says, “Mike has been the face and voice of Iowa Realty for decades, not just in hosting the show but leading company events over the years. His innate ability to relate to an audience coupled with his broadcast expertise and personality helped guide the show through its numerous evolutions.”
In fact, Pace was integral in leading the search for his replacement when he decided to step away from on-camera work.
“I did the show for 39 years—45 shows a year—without missing a taping until 2023, when I had a couple of health issues,” he says. “I’m just old enough that I think it’s time to go out, so to speak, when I’m still within sight of the top of my game.”
Bakey says, “Mike even handled his decision to reduce his role in a way that served the show and its goals. He led the search for the next host, and he found someone who will take the show into its next decade.”
After several months of transition, when the two cohosted or alternated weeks, Cassandra Halls, the new face of Iowa Realty, took over the on-camera role in July.
“Mike has been such an amazing mentor,” Halls says. “We talk every week, we share ideas, and he continues to share his creative vision for the show.”
Pace still provides voice-over for the product portion of the program, but he has handed over the keys officially to Halls. “To find someone with the business background and marketing savvy that Cassandra has is such a huge asset, on top of her on-camera skill,” he says.
Halls is the sole proprietor of 2 the Top, a consulting company, where she has worked with organizations to develop business strategy and solve their biggest challenges. For the past 17 years, she has partnered on projects like the transition of the Des Moines Social Club and the development of the inaugural business operations plan for the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services.
“Having spent nearly two decades as a trainer and facilitator, I’m comfortable with public speaking and being in front of the camera,” Halls says.
She says, like Pace in his early days with the show, her knowledge of real estate is still growing. “There are certainly aspects to this work that are new to me. But between Mike and the Iowa Realty Team, there is so much support ensuring our ongoing success. I am excited about the opportunity to grow my knowledge, but also to really lean into areas where my knowledge and expertise are an advantage, like with the community focus highlights.”
“Cassandra has a solid industry knowledge base, relates well with the show’s guests and viewers, and is just an extremely talented and genuine individual,” Bakey says. “I’m proud to have her join the Iowa Realty team.”
Hosting the longest-running real estate feature show in the country, a show that’s been led by a host as popular as Mike Pace, could be an intimidating transition. But Halls says she’s ready for the challenge.
“As the longest-running show in the country, we have to continue to take the lead,” she says, “and thinking innovatively is a key aspect of that leadership. There are so many generations of buyers with different needs and different ways of shopping. We have to adapt to leverage and engage those different buyers.”
Looking forward, Halls says she sees even more potential for growth. “We want the Iowa Realty Home Show to be the show that people watch all the time, not just when they’re thinking about buying or selling, but every week. It’s the way to keep their pulse on the community and what’s trending in the real estate market.”
Even as Halls begins to put her fingerprint on the show, she says Pace’s mark will always be there. “I want to honor his legacy. Filling those size 12 shoes is a big job. But Mike has not only supported me from the beginning, he’s encouraged me to do things in a way that reflects the best of both of us and continues to showcase Iowa Realty.”
As he moves behind the microphone and off camera, Pace says he can step back with confidence and gratitude. “This has been a fabulous job, a wonderful company to work with. I can look back on 40-plus years and feel really good about where it’s come from and where it’s going.”
Learn More.
To see past episodes of the Iowa Realty Home Show, visit: IowaRealty.com, their Facebook page, or their YouTube channel.
Check out Mike Pace’s final on air segment, including a “Closer Look” at his years on the show.