Iowa housing market ends 2014 on positive note

Statewide, home prices ended 2014 on a positive note, with the median price up 1.5 percent from 2013, according to the Iowa Association of Realtors. The median price was $134,000 compared with $132,000 in 2013.

Home sales remained steady, dipping 0.4 percent. There were 37,783 homes sold in 2014 compared with 37,930 homes that changed ownership in 2013.

'Overall 2014 was a good year for real estate,” said IAR President Jon Yocum in a news release. 'With home values rising, low interest and strong December numbers, we look forward to a great start to 2015.”

In December, home sales were up 4.8 percent and pending sales were up 8.2 percent.

There were larger drops in the Corridor.

The Iowa City Area Association of Realtors reported year end sales were down 2.5 percent with 5,610 homes sold in 2014, compared with 5,758 sold in 2013. In Cedar Rapids, the number was down 3.2 percent, from 4,527 sold in 2013 to 4,382 sold in 2014, according to the Cedar Rapids Area Association of Realtors.

In Cedar Rapids, the average sale price fell 1.5 percent from $172,683 in 2013 to $170,055 in 2014.

The median sale price was also down, dropping 1.6 percent - from $147,500 in April 2013 to $145,000 in 2014.

December numbers show a rosier picture, with sales up 4.9 percent and the median sales price up 2.9 percent year-over-year.

In Iowa City, average prices rose 1.7 percent from $204,889 in 2013 to $208,563 last year. The median sales price also increased, climbing 3.2 percent from $179,000 in 2013 to $184,900 in 2014.

In December, the median sales price was up slightly, inching up 0.5 percent from $178,000 in December 2013 to $179,000 in December 2014.

Homes sold slightly faster statewide than in recent years, the IAR said. Days on market dropped to 86 in 2014 from 88 in 2013.

The state's inventory of homes is down 2.4 percent. At the end of December there were 17,106 homes on the market compared with 17,525 homes at the end of 2013.