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The Real Estate Market Heading Into the 4th Quarter
Just like the weather in fall, the real estate market changes with the seasons and as we head into the 4th Quarter of 2024, I thought it would be good to visit the real estate market and see what is happening.  
 
The trend in Central Iowa has been moving in a direction that is better for buyers, but we are still in a sellers' market. This is determined by how many months of inventory we have, meaning that if no new homes came on the market, how long would it take to sell all the homes currently on the market at the rate they are currently selling. A sellers' market is defined as an inventory of 4 months or less, a balanced market is defined as 4 to 6 months of inventory, and a buyers’ market is defined as more than 6 months of inventory.  For example, if there were 100 homes for sale today and 20 homes sold in the last month, we would have 5 months of inventory and we would be in a balanced market. We were in a balanced market the first 3 weeks of 2024, but have been in a sellers' market ever since. 
 
The inventory of homes for sale has been increasing and we currently have just under 4,000 homes for sale, which is more homes on the market than any time since 2020. There are close to 2,000 homes that have accepted offers, but haven’t closed yet. The pace of homes being sold has been slowing and this is normal for late in the year, but we are slightly ahead of last year’s accepted offers and I would say that is because of improving interest rates. These two factors combined causes the months of inventory to increase and we may see a balanced market before the year is over. I don’t foresee getting into a buyers' market, however.    
 
The median sale price of homes is starting to go down as we enter the 4th quarter. The current median home price in central Iowa is just over $288,000, which is higher than last year, but we are in that usual seasonal drop as the year is ending. Sellers are getting serious about selling their homes. Last week alone saw 487 price reductions averaging $10,230 which is approximately a 3% reduction in price, and these are both big numbers. These 487 homes had been on the market an average of 81 days. Agents have been holding more open houses than before. Last week there were over 1,200 open houses. This, too, is a product of the slowing pace of home sales.  
 
Interest rates are much better than they were a year ago and that is helping home sales. Buyers can currently expect to get a 30-year mortgage at an interest rate in the high 5%s. Historically, it is common in a presidential election year for interest rates to decrease leading up to and even after the election and I believe this is what we are experiencing now. I had a lot of clients ask why mortgage interest rates went up right after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates recently. Keep in mind that mortgage rates aren’t tied to the Federal Reserve and more closely follow the 10-Year Treasury rate. The explanation for this is more complex than I can explain here, but just trust me on this. Please keep in mind that interest rates are currently very good historically. The average interest rate for a 30-year mortgage over the last 50 years is over 7%. Yes, I know we saw interest rates below 3% just a couple years ago and we all got pretty used to that, but that was an anomaly that we will likely never see again.  
 
So, this is a snapshot of the current real estate market in Central Iowa. If you have any questions, comments, or want more detail, please contact me directly. I am always happy to discuss real estate. I have to give a lot of credit for the information I used here to my good friend Les Sulgrove at Simply Des Moines Real Estate. Les has been tracking real estate data in the Des Moines market for many years.  
 
Norwalk IA Real EstateJon Niemeyer, Broker/Owner/REALTOR® at EXIT Realty North Star. I list and sell real estate in Central Iowa including Norwalk, Des Moines, West Des Moines, Cumming, Indianola, Carlisle, Waukee, Urbandale, Grimes, Clive, Johnston, Ankeny, Altoona, and Pleasant Hill in the Counties of Warren, Polk, Dallas, and Madison. Call Jon Niemeyer at 515-490-4675
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