Iowa housing market
Data through Aug 2026 · Balanced market · leverage 49
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Home Value
$239,547
+3.5% vs. a year ago
Buyer Leverage Score
49
Sep 2026
Months of Supply
3.1 months
Aug 2026
Days on Market
59 days
Sep 2026
Price Cut %
25%
Sep 2026
Sale-to-List Ratio
97.9%
Aug 2026
Mtg Payment as % of Income
26%
Aug 2026
Overvalued %
25%
Aug 2026
Expected Disaster Loss
$119
Dec 2025
What this means
- Valuation. Prices are 25% above what local incomes have historically supported (this area's pre-2020 price-to-income ratio).
- Prices. Home values are up 3.5% over the past year (U.S.: +1.2%).
- Supply. Listings are 11% below the 2017-19 norm, still somewhat tight.
- Negotiating. Buyer leverage is moderate (49/100; U.S.: 54): homes sell for about 2.1% below their final list price; 25% of listings had a price cut (U.S.: 26%).
- Affordability. A mortgage on the typical home takes 26% of the median household income (U.S.: 35%); it takes about $66k a year to keep the payment at 30% of gross pay. That includes about $1,581 a year for home insurance (U.S.: $1,790).
- Disaster risk. FEMA expects about $119 a year in natural-disaster damage per $100k of building value (U.S.: $155), mostly from flooding.
- Outlook. Leaning up: likely −4% to +10% over the next 12 months (79% chance of a rise).
Next 12 months
Leaning up
Prices are more likely to rise than fall over the next year. Likely change: −4.0% to +9.6% (80% range; middle estimate +4.4%), chance of a rise 79%, of a 5%+ drop 8%.
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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Counties in Iowa
Metros in Iowa
| Area | Home value | 1-year change | Buyer leverage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Omaha, NE-IA metro | $308.2K | +2.5% | 23 |
| Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA metro | $294.2K | +0.6% | 64 |
| Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL metro | $196.6K | +5.2% | 25 |
| Cedar Rapids, IA metro | $245.4K | +3.9% | 11 |
| Iowa City, IA metro | $302.2K | +3.3% | 25 |
| Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro | $199.7K | +1.2% | 37 |
| Sioux City, IA-NE-SD metro | $233.4K | +3.4% | 50 |
| Ames, IA metro | $279.8K | +2.9% | 51 |
| Dubuque, IA metro | $279.7K | +4.6% | 29 |
| Mason City, IA metro | $203.1K | +3.4% | 66 |
| Clinton, IA metro | $182.2K | +6.3% | 24 |
| Burlington, IA-IL metro | $146.4K | +3.3% | 53 |
| Muscatine, IA metro | $206.5K | +6.0% | 19 |
| Marshalltown, IA metro | $196.6K | +3.6% | 25 |
| Fort Dodge, IA metro | $140.9K | +1.4% | 74 |
| Ottumwa, IA metro | $131.7K | +2.5% | 54 |
| Pella, IA metro | $275.4K | +2.8% | 69 |
| Fort Madison, IA metro | $125.8K | +1.8% | 66 |
| Le Mars, IA metro | $295K | +5.2% | 60 |
| Oskaloosa, IA metro | $204.9K | +8.8% | 13 |
| Storm Lake, IA metro | $189K | 0.0% | 59 |
| Carroll, IA metro | $213.2K | +7.1% | 81 |
| Spirit Lake, IA metro | $386.1K | +2.0% | 67 |
| Spencer, IA metro | $197.8K | +4.8% | 65 |