Palo Alto County, IA housing market
Data through Aug 2026 · Buyer's market · leverage 87
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Home Value
$175,307
+5.0% vs. a year ago
Buyer Leverage Score
87
Sep 2026
Months of Supply
2.6 months
Aug 2026
Days on Market
85 days
Sep 2026
Price Cut %
25%
Sep 2026
Sale-to-List Ratio
94.2%
Aug 2026
Mtg Payment as % of Income
20%
Aug 2026
Overvalued %
14%
Aug 2026
Expected Disaster Loss
$106
Dec 2025
What this means
- Valuation. Prices are 14% above what local incomes have historically supported (this area's pre-2020 price-to-income ratio).
- Prices. Home values are up 5.0% over the past year (U.S.: +1.2%).
- Supply. There are 29% more homes for sale than the 2017-19 norm and rising (+27% vs. a year ago), so buyers have more to choose from than before the pandemic.
- Negotiating. Buyer leverage is high (87/100; U.S.: 54): homes sell for about 5.8% below their final list price; 25% of listings had a price cut (U.S.: 26%).
- Affordability. A mortgage on the typical home takes 20% of the median household income (U.S.: 35%); it takes about $48k a year to keep the payment at 30% of gross pay. That includes about $1,515 a year for home insurance (U.S.: $1,790).
- Disaster risk. FEMA expects about $106 a year in natural-disaster damage per $100k of building value (U.S.: $155), mostly from flooding.
- Outlook. No clear direction: likely −7% to +9% over the next 12 months (65% chance of a rise).
Next 12 months
No clear direction
A rise is somewhat more likely than a fall, but not by enough to call. Likely change: −7.3% to +9.1% (80% range; middle estimate +2.2%), chance of a rise 65%, of a 5%+ drop 15%.
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 Palo Alto County, IA
| Area | Home value | 1-year change | Buyer leverage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emmetsburg, IA 50536 | $171.8K | +1.9% | 87 |
| Graettinger, IA 51342 | $173.1K | +11.5% | 75 |
| Ottosen, IA 50597 | $206.4K | +5.2% | 23 |
| Ruthven, IA 51358 | $189.9K | +6.5% | 61 |
| Mallard, IA 50562 | $165.9K | +5.0% | 100 |
| Cylinder, IA 50528 | $225.7K | +11.3% | 80 |
| Ayrshire, IA 50515 | $147.8K | +9.4% | 57 |
| Curlew, IA 50527 | – | – | 74 |