The number of homes sold in Iowa dropped last month while prices rose. A total of 2,671 homes were sold in the state in September, according to the Iowa Association of Realtors. That’s down from 3,007 homes sold over the same month last year.
Iowa Association of Realtors president Dale Gross notes sales had been increasing for many months in a row and overall 2012 year-to-date sales are still up by 11.6% compared to last year. “The interesting statistic is that…the month of September over August, we saw a drop of 28-percent in the number of sales,” Gross said.
“That’s an indication that things are moving to a slower side.” The median price for a home sold in Iowa last month was $127,000. That’s up 5.8% from the $120,000 median sale price in September 2011. Gross believes the housing market could remain at somewhat of a standstill until after November 6.
“I would say the continuing market is positive. We have great interest rates out there,” Gross said. “I think as soon as the elections are over, we might see some mindsets changed as to the direction…I don’t know how anybody can predict what’s going to happen based on the election coming up…we really don’t know what’s going to happen.”
The IAR report shows there just under 21,000 homes on the market across the state at the end of last month. That compares to nearly 24,500 homes on the market at end of September last year.