July Brings More Homes & Steady Prices to Iowa’s Housing Market

Iowa’s housing market continued to show strength and stability in July, according to the latest statewide data from Iowa REALTORS®. 

“We’re seeing more encouraging signs of a balanced and sustainable market,” said Travis Bushaw, 2025 President of Iowa REALTORS®. “Increased inventory means more choices for buyers, and a slow down in appreciation will ideally price fewer buyers out of their respective market.”

Single-Family Homes
New listings continued to live up to the typical summer market, increasing in both yearly and monthly measurements. New inventory jumped 13.4% in July with 4,456 homes on the market compared to the 3,929 homes listed one year ago. Compared to June, inventory increased 2.3%, providing more options for homebuyers looking to make a late summer purchase. 

Active inventory also increased in July. With 9,079 homes on the market, the month exhibited the stereotypical busy summer housing market. In all, July saw an 18.2% increase from the 7,684 homes on the market last year. The increase was a bit less dramatic monthly, increasing 7.5% from the 8,449 homes listed in June. 

July saw 3,265 sales, a slowdown from both yearly and monthly metrics. Sales dropped 1.5% compared to the 3,315 closed sales of July 2024, and 11.7% from the 3,702 closed sales of June. While the lower sales metrics may appear out-of-touch for our summer market, the number of homes on the market and the stability of late summer - with school starting and vacations waning - brings optimism that the market will continue to thrive in August and September. 

Median sales price inched upward to $255,000, a 2.4% increase compared to one year ago. Conversely, the median sales price saw a 1.9% decline from the $260,000 of June. 

Days on the market remained unchanged in July, matching the 15 days reported last year. However, they accounted for a 7.1% increase from the 14 days on market the previous month. 

“Prices are rising steadily when looking at year-over-year statistics, buyers have more homes to choose from, and the pace of sales—while slightly slower than the spring rush—is still very strong by historical standards,” said Les Sulgrove, Iowa REALTORS® statewide housing analyst. “While this summer market doesn’t follow the usual script, the fundamentals remain solid.”

Condo & Townhomes
The condo and townhome market continued to buck the typical summer housing market troupe, seeing decreases in nearly every metric tracked by Iowa REALTORS®, with the exception of inventory. 

New listings jumped 17.4% to 608 properties in July compared to the 518 properties that joined the market in July 2024. Monthly, the increase was slimmer, jumping 0.7% from the 604 new listings of June. 

Active inventory also saw positive growth,  increasing 16.6% from 1,581 active listings of last July to 1,843 active listings. July recorded a 1.7% increase from June when there were 1,813 active listings on the market. 

Closed sales dropped to 428 in July, a decrease of 6.3% from the 457 closed sales of July 2024, and a 9.7% decrease from the 474 closed sales of last month. 

Median days on the market came to 24 days, an increase of 11.9% from the 21 median days of a year ago. However, it marked a 6% decrease from the 25 median days of June. The median price came to $234,950 last month, a 2.1% decrease from the $239,900 of a year ago. 

A Closer Look
A look at overall county statistics found that larger metro areas continue to gain in inventory. Polk County, Linn and other metros are seeing steady increases. 

Outside of larger counties, areas like Cerro Gordo county also saw listings of nearly 250 single-family homes.