February brought continued cold weather to Iowa and another interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve, resulting in another decrease in year-over-year housing market metrics tracked by the Iowa Association of REALTORS. Yet, the onset of spring, longer daylight hours, and incentives from sellers brings optimism that the housing market in Iowa will once again flourish like a well-tended garden.
“The eighth recent hike by the Federal Reserve has potential homebuyers taking their time as they examine the housing market in Iowa. This has allowed homebuyers to give more thought to their needs rather than having to make split-second decisions on purchases as they did the last few years,” Krista Clark, IAR president, said. “Additionally, in an attempt to attract cautious buyers, sellers have been increasingly cutting prices and offering sales incentives. While a previous dip in mortgage rates has evaporated, we have no reason to not expect a typical spring market blooming with new listings and buyers taking advantage of warm-weather showings.”
Single-Family Homes
Affordability challenges once again led to a decrease in sales and listings for single-family homes in Iowa in February compared to the same time last year.
With a total of 2,310 new listings in February, the Iowa market saw a decrease of 21.9% compared to the same month in 2022 when 2,957 homes were listed. Month-over-month the decrease was microscopic, with just eight fewer homes listed than January 2023.
Likewise, Iowa saw a drop in sales for February, with just 1,647 single-family home sales closed, a 24.9% decrease from the 2,193 sold in February 2022. Month-over-month, the market once again saw a slight increase, with 33 more homes sold. Year-to-date, closed sales of single-family homes remains down 27.8%, with 3,298 sales closed compared to the 4,570 during the same two month period of time in 2022.
The pending sales of 2,175 homes represents a 16.7% decrease year-over-year, and a 1.6% decrease from the 2,212 homes sold last month. The days on the market increased to 52 days in February, compared to 48 days last month and 46 days in February last year. Median sales prices increased 7.1% year-over-year to $197,000.
Townhomes and Condos
While in past months the market for townhomes and condos in Iowa remained steady despite a decrease in single-family home sales, February evened the playing field between the sectors with decreases across the board in the townhome and condo market.
New listings decreased 13.5% with 430 properties listed, compared to the 497 on the market one year ago. February’s market also represents a decrease of 6.7% month-over-month.
The number of townhomes and condos that sold continued to decline in February with 249 homes sold, a 25% decrease from the 332 sold in February 2022. However, the sales did represent a slight increase of about 50 homes sold compared to last month.
Pending sales of townhomes and condos were relatively stable through February, with 344 pending sales, a decrease of 3.4% year-over-year and a 1% decrease from January 2023.
Like single-family homes, days on the market increased for townhomes and condos. On average, the properties were listed for 55 days, an increase of 15.8% compared to the 52 days on market last year. Median sales price once again increased, this time by 10.2% year-over-year to an average of $218,000.
View housing market reports based on an Iowa county
For more information, please contact Ashlee Kieler, Director of Marketing and Communications - ashlee@iowarealtors.com
The information used to create the IAR February Housing Trends Report was current as of March17. 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 8,000 members and affiliates. The IAR releases a Housing Trends Report each month.
Sources: National Association of REALTORS®, Iowa Association of REALTORS®, Data from Multiple Listing Services in Iowa, and ShowingTime.