Iowa Housing Market Gains Inventory, Boosting Outlook for 2025

The Iowa housing market continued to experience end-of-year gains in metrics tracked by Iowa REALTORS®, bucking the long-held belief that the end of year creates a slumping housing market.

“Iowa’s housing market is drawing toward year-end on a positive note, with increased inventory and sales in many sectors,” said Shaner Magalhães, Iowa REALTORS® president. “A drop in interest rates and a steady increase in listings provide buyers and sellers with a promising outlook as we head into 2025."

The number of homes joining the market across the state grew in November. The 2,911 homes joining the market last month represented an 8.7% increase from the 2,677 homes that hit the market in November 2023. The opposite was true month-over-month, with new home listings decreasing 25% in November from the 3,925 new listings in October. 

Overall inventory shined in November, increasing 18.7% with 8,491 homes on the market across the state compared to the 7,155 of one year ago. Monthly, the metric experienced a decrease of 3.7% from the 8,891 homes listed last month. 

Single-family home sales increased 6.1% in November with 2,668 sales compared to the 2,172 of a year ago. Continuing a trend with monthly metrics, sales slipped 10.3% from the 2,973 homes sold in October. 

Pending sales experienced a minuscule increase of 1.7% year-over-year with 2,209 pending sales recorded versus the 2,172 of November 2023. Monthly, the decrease was more stark; pending sales fell 17.7% from the 2,685 of last month. 

Days on the market increased 9.8% to 45 days compared to the 41 days of last year. Median sales price also increased by 8.5% to $230,000 from the $212,000 of a year ago. 

“As we begin to anticipate 2025, the Iowa housing market offers a wealth of possibilities, with increased inventory providing homebuyers plenty of options to explore,” said Les Sulgrove, statewide housing analyst. “More listings mean more opportunities to find the ideal home, creating a bright outlook for the year ahead.” 

Townhouses and Condos
The townhouse and condo market continued to ride the positive sentiment unleashed by interest rate drops, albeit a bit less than the single-family market. 

Overall inventory increased 15.3% in November with 1,635 properties listed compared to the 1,418 of a year ago. Monthly, properties listed grew on a smaller scale, increasing 2.3% compared to the 1,598 properties listed in October. 

New listings remained in the positive, jumping 5.3% with 436 listings compared to the 414 of November 2023. Month-over-month, the change was drastically different, falling 24.3% from the 576 condo and townhomes that joined the market in October. 

November saw 389 closed sales, an increase of 15.4% from the 337 closed sales of last year. Again, the monthly metrics showed the opposite, dropping 6.7% from the 426 sales of last month. 

Pending sales dropped in November, a sign that the winter months are upon us. The 270 pending sales for the month represent a 2.5% decrease from the 277 pending sales of one year ago. The decrease was wider monthly; dropping 21.3% compared to 343 pending sales of October. 

Days on the market increased 5.6% in November to 57 days compared to the 54 days of one year ago. The  media sales price dropped 2% in November to $240,000 from the $245,000 of November 2023.