2014 Housing Trends: Home Values Rose while Sales Remained Steady
WASHINGTON, D.C. – February 17, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) –2014 Home Prices in Iowa continued to rise this year according to the official yearly housing trends released by the Iowa Association of REALTORS®. The median sale price improved 1.5 percent. The median price was $134,000 compared to $132,000 in 2013.
“It is great news to see home values on the rise. This is the third consecutive year with an increase in home prices.” stated IAR President Jon Yocum.
Home Sales remained steady when compared to last year. Sales dipped by less than .4%. 37,783 homes sold in Iowa in 2014. In 2013, sold properties totaled 37,930. For the month of December, home sales were up 4.8 percent and pending sales were up 8.2 percent. This improvement coupled with low interest rates bodes well for a good start to 2015.
Homes sold slightly faster than in recent years. The Days on Market dropped to 86 in 2014 from 88 in 2013. This is the lowest number we have seen in 9 years.
The total inventory of homes is down 2.4 percent. At the end of December there were 17,106 homes on the market in contrast to 17,525 homes at the end of 2013.
The month’s supply of inventory (MSI) is holding steady at 5.2 months. MSI is the number of months it would take to clear the existing inventory from the market, based on the average number of sales over the last 12 months. 6 months is considered a neutral market. Our current market conditions favor home sellers; however, current low interest rates make it a great time to be a buyer as well.
“Overall 2014 was a good year for real estate. With home values rising, low interest and strong December numbers, we look forward to a great start to 2015,” Yocum summarized.
Iowa and several of its cities made many top 10 lists for livability, starting a business, reasonable housing prices and retiring. “All the national attention Iowa received in 2014 only confirms what many of us already knew – Iowa is a great place to live,” said IAR President Jon Yocum.
The information used to create the IAR November 2014 Housing Trends Report was current as of January 14 at 9:00 a.m. The information is subject to change due to the dynamic nature of the IAR’s housing statistics system, which is updated hourly based on information present in local participating MLS (multiple listing service) systems.
The term Realtor® is a registered trademark, which identifies real estate professionals who follow a strict Code of Ethics as members of the National Association of Realtors®.
The Iowa Association of Realtors® is the state’s largest real estate professional organization representing over 6,700 members and affiliates. The IAR releases a Housing Trends Report each month. Data is collected from local Realtor® boards through their multiple listing service (MLS), which tracks sales activities in the board area. IAR compiles all of the local board data into the statewide report each month. Reports are available online to IAR members and affiliates with a login and password. Anyone is eligible to become an IAR affiliate. For membership information, visit www.iowarealtors.com.
For additional information please contact Mark Gavin, Director of Communications & Events at
