Alta, IA 51002 housing market
Data through Aug 2026 · Balanced market · leverage 34
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Home Value
$213,343
+0.8% vs. a year ago
Buyer Leverage Score
34
Sep 2026
Months of Supply
3.7 months
Aug 2026
Days on Market
30 days
Sep 2026
Price Cut %
0.0%
Sep 2026
Sale-to-List Ratio
97.0%
Aug 2026
Mtg Payment as % of Income
24%
Aug 2026
Overvalued %
32%
Aug 2026
Expected Disaster Loss
$106
Dec 2025
What this means
- Valuation. Prices are 32% above what local incomes have historically supported (this area's pre-2020 price-to-income ratio).
- Prices. Home values are up 0.8% over the past year (U.S.: +1.2%).
- Supply. There are 85% more homes for sale than the 2017-19 norm and rising (+700% vs. a year ago), so buyers have more to choose from than before the pandemic.
- Negotiating. Buyer leverage is low (34/100; U.S.: 54): homes sell for about 3.0% below their final list price; 0% of listings had a price cut (U.S.: 26%).
- Affordability. A mortgage on the typical home takes 24% of the median household income (U.S.: 35%); it takes about $56k a year to keep the payment at 30% of gross pay. That includes about $1,640 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 −8% to +8% over the next 12 months (56% 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: −8.5% to +7.8% (80% range; middle estimate +0.8%), chance of a rise 56%, of a 5%+ drop 19%.
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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Other ZIP codes in Buena Vista County, IA
| Area | Home value | 1-year change | Buyer leverage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Storm Lake, IA 50588 | $195.9K | 0.0% | 55 |
| Newell, IA 50568 | $174.1K | −2.2% | 58 |
| Sioux Rapids, IA 50585 | $173.4K | +7.0% | 10 |
| Albert City, IA 50510 | $160.9K | +5.5% | 47 |
| Marathon, IA 50565 | $101.7K | +3.0% | 19 |
| Rembrandt, IA 50576 | $156.2K | +1.5% | 89 |
| Truesdale, IA 50592 | – | – | – |