Whether you are buying a home in North Iowa or selling one, it is important to understand what market you can expect to be dealing with in your specific state. Surely, it varies from area to area, and the current COVID-19 pandemic has slowed things down a bit, but overall trends can help offer a bird’s eye view of what to expect in the coming year.
For much of the last decade, most real estate markets all over the country have favored the seller. The reason for that has been because there were simply more people interested in buying than there were people interested in selling their homes. That fact extends to Iowa as well.
That being said, the actual and expected impact that the novel coronavirus has had on the market is starting to show. The economy is slowing down, and millions are currently out of work. That being said, as the economy has declined, so too have mortgage rates.
This has offered a little bit of both good news and bad news for those within the housing markets. While the short-term decline in the stock market can hurt, borrowers who are able to lock in mortgage rates during this time are going to be able to benefit in a big way in the long term.
When it comes to the overall state of Iowa, new listings bumped up by an impressive 23.6 percent for single-family detached homes. It also bumped up 26.5 percent for townhouses and condos.
When it comes to the median sales price, the price increased 2.7 percent to $154,000 for single-family detached homes and 3.2 percent to $165,000 for townhouse and condo style homes. These numbers are significant if you are looking for Mason City Homes For Sale because these prices reflect an increase in median sales price from last year. This is good news for those looking to sell their homes despite the current global crisis.
It is also good news for those who are looking to purchase a home right now, because it represents a large amount of confidence that the market will return to great strength once the current COVID-19 crisis comes to an end. Those increasing median sales prices paired with historically low mortgage rates actually makes right now a fantastic time to buy, from a financial point of view.
Still, it is important to keep in mind that there is perhaps a greater risk involved that in previous recent years. The reason why is because while confidence exists now, it is hard to predict how the current crisis will impact the economy going forward. While the housing market could come out of this entirely unscathed, it is possible that it will also be impacted by the economic downturn eventually.
Just like many things right now, it is hard to predict what will happen with the North Iowa housing market in the coming months. What seems quite clear, however, is that confidence will remain high in a strong market until clear signs show that it should be considered otherwise.
