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Sarah Mitchell

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Compass Real Estate · Iowa

“Your trusted relocation specialist since 2009. 350+ homes sold. Zero-pressure, data-first approach.”

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Iowa housing market

The typical home in Iowa is worth $239,547, up 3.5% over the past year. Homes that actually closed went for a median of $258,700 after 37 days on market. On supply, pricing discipline, and speed of sale, Iowa currently reads as a seller's market at 2.4 months of supply. At today's 7.03% 30-year fixed rate, that typical home costs $1,279 a month in principal and interest with 20.0% down.

Sources: Zillow, August 2026 · Refreshes monthly · Redfin, through May 2026 · Freddie Mac via FRED, September 2026

Iowa housing market at a glance

Every tile carries the provider and the month it was published

Typical home value

$239,547

+3.5% YoY · Zillow, August 2026

Median sale price

$258,700

Redfin, through May 2026

Typical asking rent

$1,202/mo

Median of 40 cities · Zillow, August 2026

30-yr fixed rate

7.03%

Freddie Mac via FRED, September 2026

Monthly P&I

$1,279

20.0% down, 30-yr fixed

Days on market

-4 days YoY

Active listings

9,236

-7.7% YoY

Median household income

$73,147

U.S. Census ACS, 2023

Typical home value is Zillow's ZHVI — the value of a typical home across the whole housing stock, not just the homes that sold. Median sale price is what actually closed. Redfin stopped publishing public market trackers in June 2026; latest available period is May 2026.

Where Iowa home prices are heading

Iowa's typical home value is $239,547, up 3.5% over 12 months. The two-year number matters more than the one-year number: it spans a full rate cycle rather than a single seasonal swing. Values are at or within a rounding error of their two-year high.

Against the national picture, Iowa runs 35.0% below the U.S. typical home value of $368,697, and its 12-month move of +3.5% is outpacing the national pace of +1.2%.

What would have to change for Iowa prices to fall. Prices fall when supply outruns demand for long enough that sellers compete on price rather than waiting. Iowa is carrying 2.4 months of supply — below the four-month line, so inventory would have to roughly double before sellers lose pricing power. Active listings are -7.7% year over year and new listings -3.2%, so supply is still tightening, which supports prices even with weak demand. The other lever is the rate. At 7.03%, existing owners with cheaper mortgages have little reason to list, which is what has kept supply artificially low across most of the country. A sustained move down in rates unlocks those sellers and adds inventory; it also adds buyers. Which side moves first decides the direction.

Market trends

Statewide monthly series · Redfin, through May 2026 · No longer updating · Redfin stopped publishing public market trackers in June 2026; latest available period is May 2026.

What it costs to buy in Iowa at today's rate

Down payment

$47,909

20.0% of value

Loan amount

$191,637

30-yr fixed

Monthly P&I

$1,279

at 7.03%

Income needed

$54,814

28.0% front-end ratio

A buyer purchasing the typical Iowa home at $239,547 puts $47,909 down, finances $191,637, and pays $1,279 a month in principal and interest. Property taxes, homeowners insurance, HOA dues, and mortgage insurance sit on top of that and vary by county — budget for them separately rather than assuming the P&I figure is the payment.

Lenders typically want principal and interest under 28.0% of gross income, which puts the qualifying income for that purchase at roughly $54,814. Iowa's median household earns $73,147 (Census ACS 2023) — a gap of $18,333 below what the median household brings in. Put differently, the median household would spend 21.0% of gross income on principal and interest alone — inside the ratio most lenders underwrite to.

The value-to-income ratio in Iowa is 3.3x. Under about 3.5x, local earnings still support local prices — historically the normal range. Model your own numbers in the affordability calculator or the mortgage calculator.

Figures are illustrative, not a quote or a pre-approval. Rate: Freddie Mac via FRED, September 2026 · Value: Zillow, August 2026 · Income: U.S. Census ACS, 2023

Buying in Iowa in the next 12 months?

Tell us your timeline. We send the Iowa market brief: the price ranges that are actually clearing, the cities where your budget goes furthest, and what to fix on your credit before you apply.

Rent or buy in Iowa?

Zillow publishes its rent index per city rather than per state, so the honest statewide read is the median across the 40 largest Iowa cities that carry it: $1,202 a month. Set against a typical home value of $239,547, that is a price-to-rent ratio of 16.6x.

Between 15x and 20x the two options are close enough that the tiebreaker is how long you stay, not the ratio itself. Principal and interest on the typical home runs $77 more per month than that typical rent — and that is before taxes, insurance, and the roughly 1% of value a year most owners spend on maintenance.

For a second read on the same question, the Census ACS puts median gross rent across all Iowa households — every unit type, not just what is currently listed — at $949 a month (2023), with 71.5% of Iowa households owning rather than renting. Asking rents lead the ACS figure because they reflect today's new leases rather than the whole stock of existing ones.

Run the rent-vs-buy calculator with your own holding period and down payment — the statewide ratio is a starting point, not an answer.

Supply: what is on the market in Iowa

Iowa inventory, new listings, sales, and supply, latest month versus the same month a year earlier
Measure	Latest	Year earlier	Change
Active listings	9,236	10,005	-7.7%
New listings	4,585	4,738	-3.2%
Homes sold	3,780	4,056	-6.8%
Months of supply	2.4	2.5	-0.1
Sale-to-list ratio	98.2%	98.1%	Below asking

What these mean. Active listings is the shelf — everything a buyer could tour today. New listings is restock rate; when it falls faster than sales, the shelf empties. Months of supply is active inventory divided by homes sold per month: at the current sales pace, how many months it would take to sell every home currently listed. Under 4 months of supply tilts toward sellers, 4 to 5 months is the neutral band, and above 5 months tilts toward buyers — above 7 months is a glut. These are the same thresholds the market verdict on every city and ZIP page is scored against. Sale-to-list ratio is the discipline check — above 100% means homes are clearing over asking on average, below means sellers are conceding.

Redfin, through May 2026 · No longer updating — Redfin stopped publishing public market trackers in June 2026; latest available period is May 2026. Zillow's inventory and new-listing counts are published per city and appear on the individual city pages.

Where Iowa home values are moving fastest

12-month change in typical home value · Zillow, August 2026

Rising fastest

Falling

Computed from Zillow's typical home value for each city at August 2026 against the same month a year earlier, across the 150 largest Iowa cities by population. Small markets swing hardest because a handful of transactions moves the index — read the city page before treating a large move as a trend.

The most and least expensive cities in Iowa

Typical home value across the 150 largest cities · Zillow, August 2026

Most expensive

1.Panora$502,389
2.Solon$453,340
3.Peosta$442,965
4.Clive$430,770
5.Polk City$427,599
6.Van Meter$425,171
7.Robins$410,323
8.Adel$400,593
9.Johnston$399,597
10.Le Claire$391,196

Most affordable

1.Keokuk$84,736
2.Fort Madison$114,173
3.Ottumwa$125,640
4.Burlington$128,671
5.Fort Dodge$132,254
6.Clinton$135,834
7.Waterloo$147,780
8.Sumner$148,261
9.Manning$152,678
10.Manly$153,941

The spread between Panora and Keokuk is 5.9x — one reason a single statewide number is close to useless for a buyer with a fixed budget. Pick the city first, then the price band. Speed is a separate axis from price: Carlisle was the quickest of these markets to clear at 1 days on market (Redfin, through May 2026).

How Iowa compares

Iowa typical home value, 12-month change, median household income, and value-to-income ratio compared with the United States and neighboring states
Market	Typical value	12-mo change	Median income	Value / income
Iowa	$239,547	+3.5%	$73,147	3.3x
United States	$368,697	+1.2%	—	—
Illinois	$297,573	+5.3%	$81,702	3.6x
Minnesota	$350,752	+2.5%	$87,556	4.0x
Missouri	$267,879	+3.5%	$68,920	3.9x

The three states above are Iowa's nearest land neighbours — the markets buyers most often price against when a move is still negotiable. Iowa is the cheapest of this group on a typical-value basis, which is what makes it a destination rather than an origin for cross-state moves.

Values and 12-month changes: Zillow, August 2026 · Refreshes monthly. Income: U.S. Census ACS, 2023. ACS publishes household income per state, not for the nation on the same basis, so the U.S. row shows home value only.

Iowa housing markets by city

445 cities tracked — the 60 largest by population shown

Des Moines

$210,572

Cedar Rapids

$212,086

Davenport

$196,283

Sioux City

$202,482

Iowa City

$303,890

Ankeny

$338,606

West Des Moines

$322,185

Waterloo

$147,780

Ames

$303,902

Council Bluffs

$229,838

Dubuque

$250,358

Urbandale

$351,515

Marion

$279,823

Cedar Falls

$269,111

Bettendorf

$339,608

Marshalltown

$180,076

Mason City

$160,992

Waukee

$346,182

Ottumwa

$125,640

Fort Dodge

$132,254

Clinton

$135,834

Johnston

$399,597

Burlington

$128,671

Muscatine

$195,204

Coralville

$261,923

North Liberty

$311,296

Altoona

$320,530

Clive

$430,770

Indianola

$312,612

Grimes

$349,321

Newton

$206,224

Norwalk

$334,184

Boone

$213,280

Oskaloosa

$194,697

Spencer

$199,945

Storm Lake

$178,255

Pleasant Hill

$304,077

Pella

$360,345

Waverly

$279,728

Carroll

$210,508

Fort Madison

$114,173

Keokuk

$84,736

Fairfield

$157,685

Bondurant

$329,978

Perry

$172,729

Clear Lake

$338,228

Knoxville

$211,086

Washington

$198,381

Hiawatha

$262,180

Nevada

$248,771

Eldridge

$361,425

Adel

$400,593

Asbury

$390,805

Polk City

$427,599

Anamosa

$255,845

DeWitt

Pop. 6K

Spirit Lake

$338,625

Winterset

$294,070

Tiffin

$344,849

Windsor Heights

$287,320

Browse all 445 Iowa cities Compare every state →

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What to do next in Iowa

If you are buying

Set the payment before the price. Start from what you can carry monthly, then work backwards with the affordability calculator — the typical Iowa home is $1,279/mo in P&I today.
Pick the city, not the state. Values across Iowa run from $84,736 in Keokuk to $502,389 in Panora.
Put two finalists head to head in the city comparison tool before you tour anything.
Fix the credit file before you shop the rate. A better score moves the payment more than haggling over price does at 7.03%.

If you are selling

Price against your city, not the statewide figure — the spread between Iowa markets is wider than the year-over-year move in any of them.
Read the supply table above. At 2.4 months of supply, you still set the terms — but only if the home is priced to the comps on day one.
Watch days on market in your city, not the state. The statewide median was 37 days (Redfin, through May 2026); your city page carries its own.
Time the listing against new-listing volume. New listings are -3.2% year over year — less competition than a year ago.

Iowa housing market questions

What is the typical home value in Iowa?

The typical home value in Iowa is $239,547 (Zillow, August 2026). That is a +3.5% change over the past 12 months. The median price of homes that actually sold was $258,700 (Redfin, through May 2026); sale prices skew toward whatever segment is transacting, which is why they differ from the typical-value figure.

Are Iowa home prices going up or down?

Iowa home values are up 3.5% year over year (Zillow, August 2026). Values are at or near their highest reading in the past two years.

How much income do you need to buy a home in Iowa?

At the current 30-year fixed rate of 7.03%, a $239,547 home with 20.0% down carries roughly $1,279 a month in principal and interest. Using the 28% front-end ratio most lenders underwrite to, that implies a household income of about $54,814 before taxes, insurance, HOA dues, or mortgage insurance are added. Iowa's median household income is $73,147 (Census ACS, 2023), a gap of $18,333 below the median household. These figures are illustrative, not a quote or a pre-approval.

Is it cheaper to rent or buy in Iowa?

Typical asking rent across the largest Iowa cities Zillow publishes rent data for is $1,202 a month (median of 40 cities, Zillow, August 2026). Against a typical home value of $239,547, that is a price-to-rent ratio of 16.6x. Ratios under about 15x generally favour buying if you plan to stay put; above about 20x, renting and investing the difference tends to win over short horizons. Principal and interest alone runs $77 more than that typical rent each month, before taxes, insurance, and maintenance.

Which Iowa cities are the most affordable?

Among the largest cities we track in Iowa, the lowest typical home values are in Keokuk ($84,736), Fort Madison ($114,173), Ottumwa ($125,640), Burlington ($128,671), Fort Dodge ($132,254). Values are Zillow's typical-home-value index for August 2026.

Which Iowa cities are the most expensive?

The highest typical home values among the largest Iowa cities are in Panora ($502,389), Solon ($453,340), Peosta ($442,965), Clive ($430,770), Polk City ($427,599). Price per square foot, inventory, and days on market for each are on the individual city pages.

Which Iowa cities are appreciating the fastest?

Over the past 12 months the largest home-value gains among Iowa cities we track were in Glidden (+34.7%), State Center (+20.8%), Guthrie Center (+15.4%), Dunlap (+11.9%), Vinton (+11.6%). Fast appreciation usually reflects constrained supply, in-migration, or a small transaction base — check the individual city page before reading it as a trend.

How long do homes take to sell in Iowa?

Homes in Iowa spent a median of 37 days on market in the last month Redfin published (Redfin, through May 2026). That is 4 days faster than the same month a year earlier. The quickest market among the state's largest cities was Carlisle at 1 days. Redfin stopped publishing public market trackers in June 2026; latest available period is May 2026.

How does Iowa compare to neighboring states?

Iowa's typical home value of $239,547 compares with Illinois at $297,573, Minnesota at $350,752, Missouri at $267,879. The U.S. typical home value is $368,697, putting Iowa 35.0% below the national figure.

Is now a good time to buy in Iowa?

That depends on your timeline, not the headline. The measurable inputs today: a 30-year fixed rate of 7.03%, 2.4 months of supply statewide (Redfin, through May 2026), active listings -7.7% year over year, and home values +3.5% over the past year. Buyers with a five-year-plus horizon are mostly exposed to the payment, not the price, so the rate you can qualify for matters more than the month you buy. Properties Incorporated is an independent data platform, not a brokerage or lender — this is information, not advice.

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