Kate Padilla

Can you believe we’re four months into the year already? Every year seems to go by more and more quickly, and now that spring has officially arrived to Northwest Iowa we are seeing the market speed up as well.

That all said, how is the market doing?

Based on the data from the Iowa Great Lakes Board of Realtors MLS, here are the numbers:

In Clay County:

• 19 homes were listed between April 1 and April 30, three more homes than the same time frame last year (18.8% increase)
• The average list price in was $212,436, which was $19,968 higher than last year (10.4% increase). Additionally, the median home price was $170,000, a $21,750 (14.7%) increase from last year.
• 14 homes sold between April 1 and April 30, nine fewer homes than the same time frame last year (39.2% decrease)
• The average sold price was $165,092, which was $26,950 (22.5%) higher than last year. The median sold price was $146,950, an increase of $11,097 (7.2%) from 2022.
• House last month sold for 97% of their listed price.
• Houses sold last month were on the market for 135 days, an increase of 59 days (77.6%) over last year.

In Dickinson County

• 58 homes were listed between April 1 and April 30, 15 more homes than the same time frame last year (34.9% increase)
• The average list price was $584,331, a $45,280 (8.4%) increase over last year. The median list price was $388,750, a $250 increase over last year.
• 22 homes sold between April 1 and April 30, 17 fewer homes than the same time frame last year (28.8% decrease)
• The average sold price was $410,839, which is $91,942 (28.8%) more than last year. The median sold price was $321,000, which is $51,000 (18.9%) higher than last year.
• Houses sold last month sold for 96% of their listed price.
• Houses sold last month were on the market for roughly 110 days (average of 128 and median of 92), an increase of 46 days (72%) from last year.

So, what does this all mean? Well, taken broadly, we are seeing the market continue to increase in price, but slow in speed when compared year-over-year.

It’s hard to determine specifically why things are slowing down, and very likely there is more than one reason. But, there are a few things we can take away from this data:

First, home sellers should expect their house will sit on the market a bit longer than it would have if they had sold it last year. This is not to say that homes aren’t still selling in 24 hours or less (I know that they area). But, on average, we are seeing longer days on market than we were in 2022.

Second, we are not seeing a crash in prices as some buyers may have been expecting. Perhaps one reason for this is low inventory — a five-year average shows 24 houses listed in the month of April in Clay County and 68 homes in Dickinson County (2018-2022). But there is no indication that housing prices will fall significantly as we move forward through the year.

Are you interested to see what your home could be worth? Are you thinking about selling your home in the next year? Please give me a call! I’d be happy to run some numbers for you.

Information is deemed to be reliable but is not guaranteed.