May homes sales in Iowa fell 19.8% according to the Housing Trends by the Iowa Association of REALTORS® (IAR). May’s median sale price came in 9.5 percent higher at $185,000 compared to $169,000 last year.
3,646 homes sold in May 2020 compared to 4,546 in May of last year. It’s important to note that in 2020 thus far, the number of homes sold is only -0.8 percent lower than during this period last year.
Pending home sales dropped 7.9 percent from last year. 4,301 were listed as pending, while May 2019 saw 4,672 properties as pending.
Homes sold in May were on the market for an average of 61 days which is 9 percent faster than 67 days in May 2019. The overall available number of homes on the market decreased 10.5% percent with 13,274 properties currently on the market around Iowa.
“Low interest rates coupled with the pent-up demand due to buyers sitting in their house for most of spring makes it a great time to buy a home. With most businesses opening back up, we hope June and July's real estate activity will help Iowa's economy recover. I have heard from a lot of colleagues across the state that buyers and sellers have been more active in June,” says IAR President, Scott Wendl.
“Sales completed in May reflect contract signings in March and April – during the strictest times of the pandemic lockdown and hence the cyclical low point,” said Dr. Lawrence Yun, the chief economist at the National Association of REALTORS. “Home sales will surely rise in the upcoming months with the economy reopening, and could even surpass one-year-ago figures in the second half of the year.”
VIEW DETAILS STATEWIDE MARKET REPORT FOR MAY
View detailed statewide market report
VIEW HOUSING MARKET REPORTS BASED ON AN IOWA COUNTY
View Reports on Single-family homes.
View Reports on Townhouse-Condos.
The information used to create the IAR May Housing Trends Report was current as of June 17. The information is subject to change due to the dynamic nature of the IAR’s housing statistics system, which is based on data from the 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 7,500 members and affiliates. The IAR releases a Housing Trends Report each month.
For more information, please contact Mark Gavin, Director of Communications at the Iowa Association of REALTORS® - mark@iowarealtors.com or 515-309-9345
Sources: National Association of REALTORS®, Multiple Listing Services in Iowa, ShowingTime, Inc.