Autumn Brings Growth in the Des Moines Housing Market

November 14, 2024

With autumn steadily underway, the Des Moines metro housing market continues to show opportunity for both buyers and sellers. Substantial growth, active listings, and rising sales were captured both month-over-month and year-over-year, demonstrating a strong and balanced market. These and other indicators tracked by the Des Moines Area Association of REALTORS® highlight a resilient market.

“In October, we saw an impressive uptick in closed transactions and active listings,” Erika Hansen, DMAAR president, said. “This momentum is encouraging for home buyers and sellers as we move deeper into the fall season. Now is an ideal time for buyers to connect with their trusted REALTOR® to explore available opportunities.”

Home Sales Increase

October showed a strong performance in home sales, increasing 18.6% to 1,087 homes sold compared to September’s 973 sales. Last year, 955 homes were sold in October, which represents a jump of 20.8% in year-over-year measurements.

Contracts written in October dipped 5.2% with 1,087 homes pending, compared to last month’s 1,146 pending sales. Compared to 2023, pending sales rose 11.6%, from the 974 contracts written.

Active listings in the Des Moines metro rose to 3,938 in October, making a slight increase of 1.3% compared to September’s 3,889 active listings. Year-over-year comparisons for October show an impressive 19% increase in active listings compared to the 3,309 active listings of one year ago. 

In October, we saw the median sale price dip by 0.03% to $289,900 compared to last month’s $290,000. In 2023, the median sale price was $274,745 causing a 5.5% increase year-over-year. 

Days on the market increased this month by 4.08% to 51 days compared to September’s 49 days on the market. Year-over-year, we saw a significant increase of 18.6% from the 43 days on the market in October 2023. 

Of the properties sold in October, 67.9%, or 784 homes were financed conventionally. Cash purchases amounted to 19.5% of the properties sold, and 6.7% were financed with an FHA Loan.

Additional statistics and information about the Des Moines area housing market are available on the DMAAR Housing Stats web page.

The term REALTOR® is a registered trademark, which identifies real estate professionals who adhere to a strict Code of Ethics as members of the National Association of REALTORS®.