February Brings Early Signs of Spring With Listings, Sales

February brought early signs of spring to the housing market, with new listings and pending sales showing notable growth, creating momentum as we head toward the busy spring season.

"February shows encouraging momentum as we move into spring," said Erik Melloy, Iowa REALTORS® president. "With more homes hitting the market and pending sales on the rise, buyers have more options, and sellers can feel confident that the right property is finding the right buyer."

The housing market showed small glimpses of spring in February when it came to new listings. February recorded 3,351 new listings, an increase of 17.9% compared to the 2,843 new listings of February 2025, and a 7.8% jump compared to the 3,109 new listings recorded in January.

Overall inventory proved a mixed bag, the 8,227 active listings of February came to a 14.2% increase from 7,204 active listings of one year prior. However, the metric represented a very slight 0.5% decrease from last month’s 8,271 active listings. 

Closed sales remained steady, inching slightly upward: the 1,980 closed sales of February translated to a 1% increase from the 1,993 closed sales of February 2025. Monthly sales jumped 5.9% from the 1,870 closed sales of January. 

Pending sales provide an optimistic look at the soon-to-bloom spring market. The 2,776 pending sales of February were a 11.3% increase over 2,495 pending sales of one year prior. Similarly, pending sales increased 13.1% from the 2,455 pending sales of January. 

Median sales price came to $235,000 in February, a 6.8% increase from the previous year’s $220,000 and flat compared to January. 

Days on market decreased across the board to 20 days, a 9.1% drop from February 2025’s 22 days and a 48.7% drop from January’s 39 median days on market. 

"The housing market is clearly gaining traction as we approach spring," said Les Sulgrove, Iowa REALTORS® statewide housing analyst. "Rising new listings and pending sales suggest increased buyer activity, while stable inventory levels and moderate price growth indicate the market is maintaining equilibrium. If current trends continue, we can expect steady activity and a competitive but balanced market heading into the next quarter."

Condo & Townhomes
The condo and townhome market continued a more seasonably responsive market last month. 

New listings began to sprout in February, increasing to 648 condos and townhomes on the market, a 44.3% increase from the 449 properties that joined the market in February 2025. Month-over-month, new listings decreased 2.6% from the 665 listed in January. 

Overall inventory remained steady in February with 1,964 condos and townhomes listed, a 13.1% increase from the 1,737 listings of the prior year, and a 6.4% increase from 1,845 of one month ago. 

Closed sales metrics proved varied in February, but largely remained stable. The 253 closed sales represented a 3.4% decrease from the 263 closed sales of February 2025. Conversely, they represented a 5.9% increase from the 239 closed sales of one month ago. 

Pending sales provided a hopeful estimate of the upcoming spring market: the 404 pending sales of February came to a 31.2% increase from the 308 pending sales of a year ago, and a 16.8% increase from the 346 pending sales of January. 

Median days landed at 30 days in February from the 25 days of February 2025 and from the 50 days on market in January. Median sales price came to $239,500 in February, a 16.7% increase from the $225,000 of one year ago, and a 3.2% increase from the $232,500 median sales price of January.