Home Sales and Prices Up in March, Ninth Month in a Row

CLIVE, IA (04/11/2012)(readMedia)-- The Iowa Association of Realtors® (IAR) announces that Iowa home sales and prices were up in March.

According to IAR's March 2012 Housing Trends Report, home sales increased 18 percent from last year at this time. March was the ninth consecutive month of increased sales. The report indicates a total of 2,559 homes sold/closed in March 2012, while 2,168 homes sold/closed in March of last year.

Thirty-two of Iowa's 44 local Realtor® boards across the state reported increases in number of sales last month. In addition, there were 2,903 pending sales in March 2012, up 3.5 percent from last year, when there were 2,805 pending sales in the month.

Prices were also up last month, as the median sale price increased by 8.2 percent since last March. Prices had been holding steady for the past several months. March 2012 showed the largest increase in prices since January of 2006.

The median sale price in March 2012 was $119,000, while the median sale price in March 2011 was $110,000. Thirty local Realtor® boards reported increases in median sale price from last year.

One area of the market that still has room for improvement is days on the market. The average number of days on the market in March was 121 days, up 5 days or 4.3 percent from last March. However, twenty-two local Realtor® boards still reported a decrease in the average number of days on the market.

Iowa's statewide inventory of homes on the market at the end of the month was 19,802 homes, down 9.1 percent from last year. There were 5,761 new active listings in March 2012 and 5,945 new active listings in March 2011, a decrease of 3.1 percent.

"These housing statistics show that Iowans are realizing there is a good supply of homes on the market, the economy continues to show signs of recovery, and interest rates remain incredibly low," says Dale Gross, president of the Iowa Association of Realtors®.

"The bottom line is, homeownership is still the great American dream. IAR encourages Iowans interested in finding a home to contact one of the 6,200 REALTORS® across the state, and start their journey to realize their homeownership dream."

The information used to create the IAR March 2012 Housing Trends Report was current as of April 10 at 10:00 a.m. The information is subject to change due to the dynamic nature of the IAR's housing statistics system, which is updated hourly based on information present in local participating MLS (multiple listing service) systems.

The term Realtor® is a registered trademark, which identifies real estate professionals who follow a strict code of ethics as members of the National Association of Realtors®. The Iowa Association of Realtors® is the state's largest real estate professional organization representing nearly 6,200 members and affiliates. The IAR releases a Housing Trends Report each month. Data is collected from local Realtor® boards through their multiple listing service (MLS), which tracks sales activities in the board area. The IAR compiles all of the local board data into the statewide report each month. Reports are available online to IAR members and affiliates with a login and password. Anyone is eligible to become an IAR affiliate. For membership information, visit www.iowarealtors.com.