The prices of homes being sold in Iowa are on the rise. The Iowa Association of Realtors (IAR) reports the median sale price for a home sold in February was $118,000. IAR President Don Marple says that’s up nearly 13-percent from one year ago.
“Things are going really good in regards to the value of homes,” Marple says. “The issue we’re having right now is we just don’t have enough homes on the market for the buyers who are out there. If you’re thinking about selling your home, you better get it on the market because buyers are looking.”
The $118,000 median sale price in February increased from $116,050 in January. The statewide inventory of homes at the end of February was down nearly 19-percent compared to a year ago. Marple is hoping more sellers will enter the market as the weather warms up.
“People may be waiting for spring to get things in order,” Marple says. “I really believe we just have to keep talking to the sellers out there and let them know that the market’s good, prices are up, buyers are out there and we’re getting strong offers and even multiple offers on a lot of properties.”
Overall home sales across the state in February dropped 2.9-percent compared to the same month one year ago. Marple says he’s not too concerned about that statistic since there were a couple of big snow storms last month.
“If you take the average of the last two months compared to January and February of last year, we’re still up about six-percent, which is good,” Marple said. A total of 1,851 homes were sold in Iowa last month.
The average days on the market was 104 days, down nine days from last February.