Home sales in Iowa have increased for nine consecutive months according to a new report from the Iowa Association of Realtors. The group’s president, Dale Gross, credits a number of factors.
“With the weather we’ve had from January on, our statistics have continued to rise. That, along with the continued low, four-percent, 30-year mortgages and just good lending practices are making it a great time for people to get into the market,” Gross says.
A total of 2,559 homes were sold in the state last month. The report also shows home prices climbed just over 8% over the year. The median home sale price in March was $119,000, compared to $110,000 in March 2011. That marks the biggest increase in prices since January 2006.
“The prices, I feel, are at a low right now and there is a tendency for them to increase,” Gross says. “That’s my one concern — that people are going to wait for a while and they’re going to miss this wonderful opportunity to buy.” Pending sales climbed 3.5-percent to 2,903 last month.
Gross says that’s a good sign that the trend of increased home sales will continue through April. Iowa homes were on the market an average of 121 days before being sold last month. That’s up from 116 days on the market a year earlier.