January Housing Trends: Iowa Home Prices Continue to Rise

WASHINGTON, D.C. – February 19, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — The Iowa Association of REALTORS® (IAR) reported that January home prices are up, homes are selling faster and number of sales dipped slightly when compared to January of last year.

According to the IAR’s Housing Trends Report, the median sale price increased by 4.5 percent. The median sale price rose from $119,500 in January of 2014 to $124,900 last month.

Sales across the state saw a slight decrease of 1.6 percent from last year at this time. There were 1,898 homes sold in January 2014, while 1,868 were sold last month. In contrast, four out of the five largest real estate boards and associations in Iowa reported an increase in the number of sales when compared to January of last year.

While home sales in the winter typically slow down, there was a 12 percent increase in active listings from January 2014. In addition, pending sales are up 12.7 percent from January of last year. This bodes well for sales in late winter and early spring.

Homes are selling faster when compared to last year. The days on market was 95 in January 2014 and dropped to 89 days last month.

“With new listings and pending listings trending upward, we expect this will lead to more sales in the late winter and early spring period. The new 3 percent down payment programs from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should help boost home sales. The statewide inventory of homes on the market is still relatively low. This is a great time to put your home on the market before the usual spike in the spring!” stated Jon Yocum, President of the Iowa Association of REALTORS®.

The information used to create the IAR January 2015 Housing Trends Report was current as of January 18 at 8:40 a.m. The information is subject to change due to the dynamic nature of the IAR’s housing statistics system, which is updated hourly based on information present in local participating MLS (multiple listing service) systems.

The term Realtor® is a registered trademark, which identifies real estate professionals who follow a strict Code of Ethics as members of the National Association of Realtors®.

The Iowa Association of Realtors® is the state’s largest real estate professional organization representing over 6,600 members and affiliates. The IAR releases a Housing Trends Report each month. Data is collected from local Realtor® boards through their multiple listing service (MLS), which tracks sales activities in the board area. IAR compiles all the local board data into the statewide report each month. Reports are available online to IAR members and affiliates with a login and password. Anyone is eligible to become an IAR affiliate. For membership information, visit www.iowarealtors.com.

For additional information please contact Mark Gavin, Director of Communications & Events at mark (at) iowarealtors (dot) com