March Housing Rates in Des Moines Metro Begin to Bloom

April 14, 2025

The housing market in the Des Moines metro area has started to slowly spring to life. Both inventory and sales increased in March, showcasing that homebuyers are still dedicated to finding, or selling a home.

“The Des Moines Housing Market showed all the signs of a blooming spring with increases in sales, contracts written and inventory," said Eric Webster, DMAAR president. "Despite uncertainty in the markets and overall economic landscape, housing appears to continue on its typical spring trajectory, picking up. Now's the time to contact your trusted REALTOR to take advantage of the spring market."

Available homes tipped the scales at 3,487 units, a 19% increase compared to last year’s 2,931 signalling the arrival of warmer temperatures, and both buyers and sellers alike looking for their next opportunity to put down roots in a new location. Compared to February, active listings are up by 42 units, a 1.4% increase.

March experienced a 35% increase in sales compared to February, jumping an additional 254 units sold, for a total of 975. Though this is a strong start it’s still a 5.5% decrease compared to this time last year, when 1,032 homes sold in the month of March. The year-over-year decrease highlights the importance of market perception for buyers and sellers. Last year, at this time, talks of federal interest rate decreases were ramping up, buoying sentiment. Conversely, uncertainty in the current economic forecast could make those looking to jump into the housing market more cautious.  

Pending sales remained mostly flat in year-over-year metrics, increasing just 0.2% to 1,351 properties pending compared to the 1,348 of March 2024. Monthly, the increase was more stark, jumping 31.7% from 1,026 pending sales of February; another clear sign the spring market is ramping up as we enter warmer months.  

The number of days in which homes spent on the market had seen a mild fluctuation, which bodes well to the indicators of a market that is ramping up. Compared to February, March ticked off one less day on the market, with 72 days. Compared to last year,March added 5 additional days on average, making for a 7.5% increase. 

The median sales price saw a modest increase from $280,000 to $289,900, making for a 3.5% increase since February, and a 1.7% increase compared to last year’s median sales price of $280,000. 

Conventional financing accounted for 69% of sales in March with 677 transactions. Cash purchases made up 159 or 16% of transactions, and FHA financing was used for 10% or 97 purchases in March.

Unique Iowa Housing Data Points

  • The largest property sold in March was 4,994 sq/ft, while the smallest was 432 sq/ft, meaning the smallest property could fit inside the largest property just over 11 times!

  • Per March’s data, homes with 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms sold about one month faster than homes with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, but were 65% less common within March’s data set.

  • The most homes sold were properties with 3 bedrooms, and a listing price of $300,000 - $349,999, per March’s data.