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Q4 2019: Des Moines Metro Housing Snapshot
By Kalen | Published January 20, 2020
It’s a wrap! Now that 2019 is behind us, it’s a good time to take a look back at the performance of our Des Moines Metro housing market last year. From recent conversations I’ve had with leaders in the real estate and homebuilding industries, there seems to be a mixed bag of opinions about the state of the market and expectations for the coming year. Some feel that they are the busiest they have ever been and see GREAT POTENTIAL for 2020. Others are feeling a bit slower than previous years and see signs of a slower real estate market. As we start peeling back the data, what we can see right away is an overall low supply that has […]
Q3 2019: Des Moines Metro Housing Snapshot
By Kalen | Published October 25, 2019
Like it or not, autumn has arrived and old man winter is fast approaching in Central Iowa. Speaking of crazy Iowa weather, it has actually played a very interesting role in this year’s real estate sales and market activity. Excessive rainfall in recent months helped turn some building sites into impromptu slip-and-slides, causing delays in construction and contributing to a lower-than-expected number of housing starts. Developers, too, haven’t been able to get in all the plats they had hoped and many are playing catch up following a super wet summer and spring. Currently, interest rates, talk of future recession, and a dip in home sales from prior years are each at the forefront of everyone’s mind. In reality, weather conditions […]
Q1 2019: Des Moines Metro Housing Snapshot
By Kalen | Published March 01, 2019
The number of single-family homes listed in the Des Moines Metro inched slightly upward in 2018, as sales growth slowed and the affordability of new construction contributed significantly to our present market conditions. There are currently 2,132 active single-family homes on the Des Moines market, translating into a 2.8-month supply and an approximate increase of 8.7 percent from a year ago. Given that a six-months supply reflects stability, we have continued to view the Des Moines Metro through the lens of a seller’s market, especially in price points below where builders are able to provide inventory. What we are seeing today is the tale of two markets, including a resolute “resale” market with the majority of listings under the $300,000 […]
Q4 2018: Des Moines Metro Housing Snapshot
By Kalen | Published January 16, 2019
The start of a new year is always a great time for developers, builders and real estate professionals to reflect on the past and start mapping out the future. Two-thousand-and-nineteen is going to be a year of change as national homebuilders enter the Des Moines Metro and with affordability and rising interest rates being a concern. Personally, I get excited when I think about the validation of a strong market, one that is strong enough to attract the attention and confidence of national builders. At the same time, now is the time to be more intentional than ever with collecting and analyzing data on what is selling – to help determine where and at which price points to build. When […]
Q3 2018: Des Moines Metro Housing Snapshot
By Kalen | Published October 17, 2018
The word on the street when it comes to housing is that the national market may have peaked and is starting to cool down a bit. At the same time, according to one national article on CNBC’s “Realty Check,” it’s important to follow all the facts as inventory, price point and location each play key roles. IN THEIR WORDS: “The housing recovery isn’t over, it just feels like it…” Following a period of substantial growth, it is a great time to reflect on the local housing market – where strong demographics (the region grew 1.8 percent to 645,911 residents in 2017) and a sizzling labor market (2.5 percent unemployment rate) factor in. Let’s assess our Des Moines Metro housing statistics […]
Q1 2018: Des Moines Metro Housing Snapshot
By Kalen | Published March 01, 2018
With a total of 1,961 active listings of single family homes, translating into a 2.5 months supply, this LOW LEVEL of inventory reflects a trend we’ve been tracking over the past five years, and appeared to continue in Q1 2018. Heading into March, there were 1,257 pending sales of single family homes in the Des Moines Metro, or 74 fewer pending sales than a year ago. The TOTAL MONTHS SUPPLY – six months is considered to be indicative of a stable market – has hovered around two to three months over the past several years, and continues in that range today. The overall inventory has continued to drop and listings of NEW CONSTRUCTION homes are growing. Notably, of the total […]
Q4 2017: Des Moines Metro Housing Snapshot
By Kalen | Published January 19, 2018
Two-thousand-and-seventeen was another BLOCKBUSTER year for the Des Moines Metro housing market as sales of single-family homes in the 18 communities I track reached a record-breaking high of 9,415. INVENTORY in the overall single-family housing category remained low heading into 2018, while the number of total active listings increased slightly to 2,035, compared to 1,910 at the end of 2016 and 2,043 a year prior. New construction made up 1,677, or 18 percent, of the total number of single-family homes sold in 2017, with the SUPPLY AT YEARS-END sitting at 6.7 months. That’s compared to 6.1 months of supply at the end of 2016 and 5.5 months of supply for the year-earlier period. While the price of a NEW HOME […]
Q3 2017: Des Moines Metro Housing Snapshot
By Kalen | Published October 23, 2017
Active listings of single-family Des Moines-area homes fell at the end of Q3 2017 to 2,064, down 4 percent from 2,154 listings on July 1. Fast forwarding to October, what we now see is quite a few new homes going on the market and GROWING INVENTORY in the Des Moines Metro housing market. The total number of single-family homes sold through Q3 2017 is 7,294 existing homes and 1,279 new construction homes. When compared to this time last year, which boasted a phenomenal 7,148 existing homes sold and 1,157 new construction homes sold, the single-family market is POISED TO OUTPACE those figures as we track yet another record-breaking year! As I write, the total number of active NEW CONSTRUCTION homes […]
Q1 2017: Des Moines Metro Housing Snapshot
By Kalen | Published March 03, 2017
With 1,843 active listings of single-family homes, the Des Moines Metro is once again seeing an ALL-TIME LOW in terms of active inventories, and in comparison to previous years. Of these listings, 42 percent are comprised of new construction homes. Overall inventories of residential real estate remain very low as a six-month supply is considered to be a sign of market stability. Today, TOTAL SUPPLY of single-family homes sits at 2.4 months, a slight decrease from 2.6 months as of a year ago. The total number of PENDING SALES of single-family homes stood at 1,331, a year-over-year increase, as pending sales of new homes also rose to include offers on 339 properties, compared with 298 in Q1 2016. Sales of […]
9th Annual Builder and Developer Luncheon
By Kalen | Published February 17, 2016
Here are the slides from the Ninth Annual Builder & Developer Luncheon, presented by Peoples Company and Diligent Development, and my full single-family housing statistics from Q1 2016. Also, for further details on current single-family market statistics in the Des Moines-area, please check back as they will be released on my blog shortly after the information presented at the luncheon! Click here for 9th Annual Builder & Developer Luncheon Slides Click here for Q1 2016 Stats
