Shelby County, IA housing market
Data through Aug 2026 · Seller's market · leverage 12
Open on the mapMarket report (PDF)Compare
Home Value
$216,042
+4.6% vs. a year ago
Buyer Leverage Score
12
Sep 2026
Months of Supply
1.3 months
Aug 2026
Days on Market
31 days
Sep 2026
Price Cut %
15%
Sep 2026
Sale-to-List Ratio
97.7%
Aug 2026
Mtg Payment as % of Income
25%
Aug 2026
Overvalued %
38%
Aug 2026
Expected Disaster Loss
$146
Dec 2025
What this means
- Valuation. Prices are 38% above what local incomes have historically supported (this area's pre-2020 price-to-income ratio).
- Prices. Home values are up 4.6% over the past year (U.S.: +1.2%).
- Supply. Listings are 44% below the 2017-19 norm and falling (−44% vs. a year ago): still a tight market.
- Negotiating. Buyer leverage is low (12/100; U.S.: 54): homes sell for about 2.3% 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 $60k a year to keep the payment at 30% of gross pay. That includes about $1,808 a year for home insurance (U.S.: $1,790).
- Disaster risk. FEMA expects about $146 a year in natural-disaster damage per $100k of building value (U.S.: $155), mostly from flooding.
- Outlook. Leaning up: likely −3% to +13% over the next 12 months (83% chance of a rise).
Next 12 months
Leaning up
Prices are more likely to rise than fall over the next year. Likely change: −3.0% to +13.4% (80% range; middle estimate +6.5%), chance of a rise 83%, of a 5%+ drop 6%.
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.
Follow Shelby County, IA
One email a month: what changed in prices, supply and the outlook. Unsubscribe any time.
ZIP codes in Shelby County, IA
| Area | Home value | 1-year change | Buyer leverage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harlan, IA 51537 | $207K | +4.4% | 5 |
| Shelby, IA 51570 | $257.8K | +2.8% | 18 |
| Elk Horn, IA 51531 | $198K | +0.8% | 53 |
| Earling, IA 51530 | $242.8K | +5.8% | 17 |
| Portsmouth, IA 51565 | $278.9K | +9.1% | 5 |
| Panama, IA 51562 | $261.5K | +8.5% | 84 |
| Irwin, IA 51446 | $161.3K | +4.7% | 13 |
| Defiance, IA 51527 | $214.8K | +3.5% | 4 |
| Westphalia, IA 51578 | – | – | 3 |
| Kirkman, IA 51447 | – | – | 25 |