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Housing Statistics
Q3 2021: Des Moines Metro Housing Snapshot
By admin_leng | Published October 18, 2021
Temperatures are dropping, days are feeling shorter, and our farmers are harvesting their fields. Fall has come to the Des Moines metro and the third quarter of 2021 housing market is wrapping up very similarly to the second quarter. We still have a hot market, high prices and a drought of inventory. What is driving this, you ask? Record low mortgage rates and a scarcity of inventory. Home ownership is within reach for a large number of prospective purchasers as our economy continues to support work-from-home options. This is directly fueling an increase in housing demand. Those in the Des Moines metropolitan areas want detached single-family homes that provide greater living space and separation from adjacent properties. As Q3 comes […]
Hot Summer and Real Estate Market: Q2 Update
By admin_leng | Published July 14, 2021
Can you believe we are already halfway through the year? Time’s flying as businesses are opening back up, giving us a sense of normalcy. This season we’re back with our friends and family and enjoying summer activities. Speaking of summer — it’s been a HOT one! And the real estate industry has been following very similar trends to this year’s summer forecast. Hot, high temps, and we’re in a drought: the market remains hot, prices are high and we are in a drought with home inventory! Though lumber prices are slowly declining, prices still remain high; we have a shortage of material; and also are seeing labor shortages — all of this plays a factor in the increased prices of […]
Q1 2021 is HOT despite record freezing temps!
By admin_leng | Published February 26, 2021
The ending of the first quarter of 2021 marks the one year mark for the global coronavirus pandemic. Who could have predicted we would also be in the one of the robust housing markets any of us have ever experienced? What brought about this market, we ask ourselves? Was it the extremely low interest rates? Could it be the stimulus money that was introduced into our economy? Is the work from home requirements that our workforce was forced to accommodate? We may never fully understand all the factors that got us to where we are today but everyone can agree; this is uncharted territory for the housing market, both in new construction and resale. When looking at 19 different communities […]
Des Moines Real Estate in 2020
By admin_leng | Published January 15, 2021
“What a year 2020 has been!” How many times have we all heard that before? Yet it always seems to be so very, very true. It definitely applies when we look at the housing market! 2020 saw phenomenal sales for new construction homes in the Des Moines area, representing 20% of all single family home sales in 2020. The last time we reached a number even somewhat close to this was in 2007 at 19% market share. A truly remarkable year 2020 has been. What is driving this consumer desire for newly built homes? The Urban Land Institute* refers to the current boom as “the great American move”, which was ignited by the pandemic, creating a growing desire to live […]
How has the pandemic effected the housing market?
By admin_leng | Published October 15, 2020
Can a pandemic be the best thing to happen to the housing market? Interesting enough, it can be! The home building and residential real estate market is booming. 2020 has set a record for the highest number of new construction homes sold in more than a decade. This is going to be a record year for real estate sales! Amidst this unprecedented time, certain economic sectors are struggling, unemployment is high, and construction costs and supply chain issues are a daily problem. At the same time, interest rates are at an all time low and the market is begging for inventory. No one expected a quarter like this, yet alone a year like this! Earlier this spring, many speculated that […]
Housing Market is HOT Despite COVID-19 Pandemic
By admin_leng | Published July 21, 2020
Summer is upon us and not just the weather is hot; the housing market is HOT! In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the second quarter housing market numbers show that now is a great time to both sell and buy a house. Overall, there is a lack of homes for sale while at the same time, interest rates are very low. These factors together make these summer months the time to move. Sellers will see quick sales while buyers can take advantage of small monthly mortgage payments. When comparing July single family homes for sale 2019 verses 2020, there are 862 less houses available. This is a 36% market reduction, which includes resales and new construction homes. Looking at […]
Single Family Home Sales Increase from 2019
By admin_leng | Published April 28, 2020
COVID-19 is upon us and the population is quarantined at home. However, it seems that many are feeling that now is the time to find a new home. Customers are taking advantage of online research tools and non-traditional ways of buying and selling property. Interest rates continue to remain low, making this a great time to buy. Kalen Ludwig Real Estate Specialists are practicing social distancing and helping customers in unique ways to keep up with the demand. Single family home sales are up by 116 homes when comparing data from April 2020 (2279 homes) to that of April 2019 (2163 homes). New construction sales are up a total of 43 homes when compared to the same time frame last year. […]
Q1 2020: DES MOINES METRO HOUSING SNAPSHOT
By admin_leng | Published February 26, 2020
Earlier this month, the groundhog told us “spring is coming” as he crept out of his burrow after his long winter sleep. Spring, indeed, is coming and for the real estate and homebuilding industries this is an exciting time of year! We left off in January looking ahead to 2020 with mixed expectations as some were feeling there was great potential laying ahead while others felt a market slow down could be predicted. As we approach the end of February 2020 and let the data do the talking, it seems the optimists were right and there IS great potential to come. Total active listings has decreased and mortgage rates have stayed low. To begin, let’s look at the Des Moines-area […]
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 […]
