September Sneak Peek at Des Moines Home Sales

Heading into the last quarter of 2018, the bulk of the real estate sales activity has now occurred. The months of October, November and December are traditionally the time when the real estate market winds down. 2017 ended the year with just over 14,000 homes sold in our market. We are currently at 11,000 homes sold year-to-date so far in 2018 leaving us the upcoming last quarter to close 3,000 additional sales.

Homes For Sale Inventory Recovery

2018 is proving to be the year that Des Moines real estate is changing back to what many would call a normal market. The number of homes for sale is finally on rise. October 20th, 2014 was the last time that there were more than 4,000 homes for sale in the Des Moines real estate market and we are finally back at that level four years later. 64% of homes for sale are resale properties and 36% are new construction.

Pending Sale Activity

The time from offer acceptance to closing has sped up in 2018 allowing home buyers and sellers to make their moves faster than previous years. The shortening of time in Pending status may also end up in a higher year-to-date closing rate as we proceed to the end of the year.

Closed Transactions and Median Sale

At this point in 2018, closed transactions are even with last year’s pace. This puts the Des Moines real estate market on track to again hit 14,000 transactions. The median sale price at the end of September is 8% higher than the same period last year. Some of this increase can be attributed to higher new construction list pricing. The median sale price of new construction is currently $313,000 compared to $184,000 for resale properties.

Days on Market Surprise

Typically, by the end of September, the pace of sales has slowed down to around 45-60 days on market. However, this September continues to see Days on Market numbers around 18-20. Whether this bump in market activity going into fall is due to delayed business from the summer storms or if the buyers are enjoying the increased inventory to choose from, no one is complaining.