Iowa home sales climb in October, fourth consecutive month

DES MOINES — The average amount of time an Iowa home was on the market before it sold in October was 56 days.

Iowa Association of Realtors president Scott Wendl says the market is entering its “seasonal slowdown” as fall flips to winter. “The other thing is there’s a little bit more inventory on the market,” Wendl says. “And I know that some of the higher priced homes are moving a little bit slower…Some of the lower priced homes are still selling relatively quickly and below that average.”

More than 37-hundred Iowa homes were sold in October — a four-point-two percent increase from October of last year. There is a shortage of homes available for sale in both rural and urban Iowa. Wendl, who is a realtor in the Des Moines area, says Iowa’s largest metro is expanding fast — and running out of inventory. “There’s all sorts of businesses coming in — the Googles, the Microsofts, the Apple’s and now even the Amazon distribution centers that are coming in,” Wendl says. “…Just the cost of living is a lot lower. You know, you go to the east coast and the west coast and things are a lot higher and less affordable.”

According to data from the Iowa Association of Realtors, the median price for an Iowa home that was sold last month was 161-thousand dollars.