September 11, 2012 (Shirley Allen)
Monthly sales of existing single-family homes and condominiums fell in Iowa during July but still beat out last year’s tally while home prices followed the same pattern according to the latest housing data from the Iowa Association of Realtors® (IAR).
An estimated total of 3,367 existing single-family homes and condos were sold in the Hawkeye State in July. That was 14.5 percent lower than the 3,940 homes sold in June but still 2.8 percent higher than the 3,274 homes sold in July 2011. Year-over-year, home sales have increased for the last 13 months.
Home sales through the first seven months of this year are 13.3 percent ahead of last year’s sales.
The median sales price for an existing home in Iowa fell by 3.5 percent in July to $134,900, down from $139,743 in June, but was still 3.8 percent higher than the median price of $130,000 in July of last year.
Dale Gross, president of the Iowa Association of Realtors®, stated, “Activity continues to be strong. We anticipate sales to stay ahead of last year through the next couple of months as pending sales are running ahead of last year at this time.”
Of the 44 local boards that provide data for the monthly report, twenty-six of the boards reported gains in home sales or were unchanged from the previous year with the Ottuma Board (+51.9 percent) reporting the largest increase while the Iowa Great Lakes Board (-21.7 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 841 home sales, down from 997 the previous month, while the Cedar Rapids area followed with an estimated 418 home sales for the month.
Year-over-year, twenty-seven of the local boards posted an increase in their median prices, or were unchanged from the previous year, led by the Fremont-Page MLS (+76.0 percent) with the Tama County Board (-65.4 percent) posting the largest decline in prices.
The total number of homes for sale across the state fell slightly in July with 21,332 homes actively available, down slightly from 21,630 in June, and down from 24,807 homes available last year.
The average number of days that a home spent on the market was 96, unchanged from June, but down from 106 days in July 2011.
Tags: Iowa real estate, existing homes, condos, sales, median home prices
Source:
IAR
