June 6, 2012 (Shirley Allen)
Monthly sales of existing single-family homes and condominiums improved again in Iowa during April while home prices were over eight percent higher than at the same time last year according to the latest housing data from the Iowa Association of Realtors® (IAR).
An estimated total of 2,645 existing single-family homes and condos were sold in the Hawkeye State in April. That was 3.7 percent higher than the 2,559 homes sold in March and 2.4 percent higher than the 2,584 homes sold in April 2011. Year-over-year, home sales have increased for the last ten months.
The median sales price for an existing home in Iowa increased by 5.0 percent in April to $124,900, up from $119,000 in March, and was 8.6 percent higher than the median price of $115,000 in April of last year.
Dale Gross, president of the Iowa Association of Realtors®, stated, “We have seen a string of months of strong sales activity and improved prices; and our quarterly data shows good news for the Iowa market as well.”
Of the 44 local boards that provide data for the monthly report, twenty-two of the boards reported gains in home sales or were unchanged from the previous year with the Marion and Mason City Boards (+50.0 percent) reporting the largest increases while the Muscatine Board (-38.0 percent) posted the largest monthly decline in sales in areas with a minimum of 30 sales.
The Des Moines area recorded the most sales for the month with an estimated 769 home sales, up from 710 the previous month, while the Quad City area followed with an estimated 314 home sales for the month, down one from 315 in March.
Year-over-year, twenty-eight local boards posted an increase in their median prices, or were unchanged from the previous year, led by Clear Lake (+103.7 percent) with Humboldt County (-34.0 percent) posting the largest decline in prices.
The total number of homes available for sale across the state increased in April with 21,061 homes actively available, up from 19,802 in March, but down from 23,352 homes available last year.
The average number of days that a home spent on the market was 112, down from 121 days in March, but up slightly from 111 days in April 2011.
Tags: existing homes, condos, sales, median home prices, Iowa
Source:
IAR