January Housing Stats
February 13, 2018
Des Moines January 2018 Housing Trends Report
Des Moines, Iowa – February 13, 2018 – January is typically a slower time in real estate. “With the weather being so cold and an increase in snow fall, I would have expected more of a decline in numbers,” said Brennan Buckley, President of the Des Moines Area Association of REALTORS®. However, the year has started off well according to the housing trends reported by the Des Moines Area Association of REALTORS® (DMAAR), the housing market continues to show encouraging signs as January’s home sales, median sale price, and inventory were up over last January.
741 homes sold in January 2018 which is up from 729 sold in January 2017. In typical fashion, Des Moines January home sales were down from December, but up over last year.
Days on market saw a 26 percent decrease from last January and dropped to 73. December saw 77 days on market and January 2017 was at 99 days on market. We did show a 5 percent increase in inventory from last year, so buyers had more homes to choose from compared to last January.
The number of properties currently for sale is down from December with 3,094 properties on the market in the metro area.
56 percent of homes sold in January 2018 were financed conventionally. 19.8 percent of homes sold in January were cash purchases and 9.9 percent were financed with an FHA loan.
The 49th Annual DMAAR Banquet was a huge success January 26th at Prairie Meadows in Altoona. Sara Hopkins was named REALTOR® of the Year which is DMAAR's highest honor. Sara's spirit, hard work, dedication to her clients, advocacy for the profession and entrepreneurial success makes her a great candidate for this honor. Her acceptance and challenge to become chairperson for the Habitat of Humanity Women's Build, her civic engagement in numerous arts, cultural and human services organizations show that she is committed to strengthening her community. Brennan Buckley was inaugurated as the 2018 President of DMAAR as well. He was joined in leadership by Jenn Clark, Lance Hanson, and Ted Weaver.
Additional Statistics and information about the Des Moines area housing market are available at the DMAAR website, www.dmaar.com