May home sales in Iowa slip 7.7%

Median sale price up 12.6%, hits new all-time high

Home sales homeownership 2023
A home "sold" sign in northeast Cedar Rapids. CREDIT RICHARD PRATT

May’s real estate sales in Iowa slipped 7.7%, according to the Housing Trends report from the Iowa Association of REALTORS (IAR), but the median sales price rose 12.6% over May 2021.

May home sales in Iowa saw a total of 4,013 homes sold. In May 2021, 4,349 properties were sold. On a brighter note, pending sales were only down 2.8% from May 2021. Compared to the first 5 months of 2021, sales are only 2% lower this year.

The median sales price for May 2022 was $224,000, compared to $199,000 in May of last year. This is a record high for median sale price in Iowa.

The number of homes available for sale continues to be near record lows. The inventory of homes was 28% lower than in May 2021, with only 6,519 homes on the market statewide.

Homes continue to sell extremely fast. May home sales in Iowa saw an average of 32 days on the market. That is 20% faster than May of last year.

“The overall housing market may be starting to level off after two straight months of declining sales,” IAR president Byron Menke said. “The increase in home prices coupled with the rise in interest rates are slowing some buyer activity. National economists predict sales will continue to soften in the near future, which may put downward pressure on home prices. The slowdown in sales may provide a much-needed lift to the number of homes on the market.”

Nationally, existing home sales retreated for the fourth consecutive month in May, falling 3.4%, according to the National Association of Realtors.