We can all agree. The past few years have been crazy for our industry. 2022 started strong, but we could feel the market beginning to cool by the end of the second quarter; a feeling that continued into Q3 and Q4. Many, many factors have been driving the real estate ups and downs as of late. The loudest of which has been the fluctuation of interest rates. The volatile rate environment in the latter half of 2022 does seem to be stabilizing and industry optimists are hopeful buyers will return. The Federal Reserve may even be prepared to help, by slowing the uptick in interest rates as they see inflation numbers declining. Other promising factors are at play as well. […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]