Howard County, IA housing market
Data through Aug 2026 · Balanced market · leverage 57
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Home Value
$209,374
+9.0% vs. a year ago
Buyer Leverage Score
57
Sep 2026
Months of Supply
4.9 months
Aug 2026
Days on Market
45 days
Sep 2026
Price Cut %
15%
Sep 2026
Sale-to-List Ratio
87.6%
Aug 2026
Mtg Payment as % of Income
25%
Aug 2026
Overvalued %
48%
Aug 2026
Expected Disaster Loss
$116
Dec 2025
What this means
- Valuation. Prices are 48% above what local incomes have historically supported (this area's pre-2020 price-to-income ratio).
- Prices. Home values are up 9.0% over the past year (U.S.: +1.2%).
- Supply. Listings are 32% below the 2017-19 norm and rising (+13% vs. a year ago): still a tight market.
- Negotiating. Buyer leverage is moderate (57/100; U.S.: 54): homes sell for about 12.4% below their final list price; 15% of listings had a price cut (U.S.: 26%).
- Affordability. A mortgage on the typical home takes 25% of the median household income (U.S.: 35%); it takes about $57k a year to keep the payment at 30% of gross pay. That includes about $1,514 a year for home insurance (U.S.: $1,790).
- Disaster risk. FEMA expects about $116 a year in natural-disaster damage per $100k of building value (U.S.: $155), mostly from flooding.
- Outlook. Leaning up: likely −2% to +14% over the next 12 months (85% chance of a rise).
Next 12 months
Leaning up
Prices are more likely to rise than fall over the next year. Likely change: −2.5% to +13.9% (80% range; middle estimate +7.0%), chance of a rise 85%, of a 5%+ drop 5%.
HouseVane's model, refit every month on local market signals and national ones, trained only on data known at the time. How accurate it has been.
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ZIP codes in Howard County, IA
| Area | Home value | 1-year change | Buyer leverage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cresco, IA 52136 | $214.9K | +9.2% | 22 |
| Riceville, IA 50466 | $241.9K | +7.2% | 63 |
| Elma, IA 50628 | $233.3K | +10.6% | 36 |
| Lime Springs, IA 52155 | $249.2K | +11.0% | 18 |
| Protivin, IA 52163 | $133.7K | −2.9% | 19 |
| Chester, IA 52134 | $179.3K | +5.3% | 10 |