November Housing Market Shows Steady Conditions & Positive Outlook for 2026

Iowa’s housing market remained steady in November, maintaining strong inventory levels despite a predictable seasonal slowdown in new listings and closed sales. 

“We saw somewhat normal seasonal activity in the Iowa housing market in November, with slightly lower active residential inventory than October and significantly fewer new listings than October as well,” said Travis Bushaw, 2025 Iowa REALTORS® president. “But that’s not necessarily a bad thing, as the last two months have taken us to available housing levels that we haven’t seen since before 2020. Given our median sales price seems to have slowed down a bit after an impressive year over year increase across the state, Q1 of 2026 could make for a stronger start to the year than we saw at the beginning of 2025..  

New listings once again eclipsed the traditional winter market projections. With 2,982 new listings joining the market in November, the figure represented a 1.9% increase from 2024’s 2,925 new listings. Monthly, the metric decreased 33.5% from October’s 4,487 new listings. Though the month-over-month decrease may appear significant, it’s reflective of the housing market’s seasonal cycle and the market stabilizing itself for colder winter months.  

Active inventory followed suit, increasing 13% to 9,489 single-family homes for sale from the 8,395 listings of one year ago. The 2.9% decrease month-over-month is another sign of the market following traditional slowdown cycles. 

Closed sales dipped 8.9% to 2,509 transactions compared to the 2,756 single-family sales recorded in November 2024. Following several months of robust sales, the monthly metrics once again began to level out for this time of year, decreasing  20.8% from the 3,169 sales of October.

Median sales price increased 7% to $244,950 in November from the $229,000 of a year ago. The single-family median sales price dipped 2% monthly from October’s $250,000. 

Conversely, days on the market increased 18.2% to 26 days on market in both yearly and monthly comparisons.  

“The Iowa housing market is still enjoying the build up of inventory we’ve seen over the past several months," Les Sulgrove, Iowa REALTORS® statewide housing analyst, said. “This sets us up for a nice start to 2026. Coupled with slight decreases in mortgage interest rates, we could continue to see unseasonably warm market trends as we delve deeper into Iowa’s winter tundra.” 

Condo & Townhomes
The condo and townhome market settled into a more seasonably typical market in November with cooling inventory and sales. 

New listings decreased 8.6% to 405 properties, compared to the 443 listings of a year ago. The drop was more significant, 31.8%, analyzed monthly from the 594 new listings that entered the market in October. 

Active inventory saw growth in November, an 8.3% increase, with 1,852 condo and townhomes on the market compared to the 1,710 listings of November 2024. Monthly, inventory faltered 5.2% from the 1,954 listings a month ago. 

Closed sales experienced the most dramatic declines in November, dropping 29.6% to 276 closed transactions, compared to the 392 closed sales recorded 12 months prior. The decline continued month-over-month, marking a 34.8% drop in sales from October’s 423 condo and townhome sales. 

Median days on market increased to 36 days in November, a 24.1% increase from the 29 median days on market of the prior year. Days on market increased 33.3% from 27 days last month. Median sales price decreased 2.1% to $230,000 year-over-year, and 4.7% monthly from the $241,250 median sales price of October. 

A Closer Look 

The drop in mortgage rates throughout 2025 provides an encouraging trend as Iowa approaches the 2026 housing market. 

Rates that once hovered near 8% earlier in 2025 have ever so gradually eased, settling into a more stable range in the latter half of the year, notes Sulgrove. 

“Rates are slowly but noticeably normalizing,” he said. “All indicators suggest a more stable environment in 2026. That’s creating renewed confidence for both buyers and sellers, even in cooler months.”

Additionally, expected Federal Reserve actions could further support affordability in early 2026. With Iowa’s inventory levels holding strong, these financial indicators may set the stage for increased buyer activity and a more robust market.