Home prices, sales increase in Iowa

More Iowa homes were sold in April with higher average sale prices than in the same month of 2015, driven by attractive mortgage rates and fewer properties on the market.

The Iowa Association of Realtors reported 3,458 homes were sold statewide in April, up from 3,284 in April 2015. The average sale price was $167,454, up from $159,107 in April 2015.

On average, an Iowa home was on the market for 88 days before it was sold in April, down from 91 days in April 2015.

'The majority of our local boards and associations are reporting higher sold properties than a year ago,” said IAR President Ken Clark in a news release. 'We expect this to continue with the current shortage of homes for sale in most metro areas.”

Thirty-year fixed rate mortgages are bringing 3.375 percent, according to the University of Iowa Community Credit Union. Rates are for loan amounts $180,000 or higher.

A total of 446 Cedar Rapids area homes were sold in April, according to the Cedar Rapids Area Association of Realtors, up from 398 in April 2015. The average sale price was $174,429 in April, up from $159,817 in the same month last year.

On average, a Cedar Rapids area home was on the market for 84 days before it was sold in April, up from 81 days in April 2015.

In the Iowa City area, 253 homes were sold in April, up from 205 in the same month of 2015. The average sale price was $204,501, up from $184,910 in April 2015.

On average, an Iowa City area home was on the market for 79 days before it was sold in April, up from 76 days in April 2015.

Mortgage rates have stayed below 4 percent in 16 of the past 17 months, according to the National Association of Realtors. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, expects mortgage rates to continue hovering around 4 percent in coming months, but warns that inflation could potentially surprise the market and cause rates to increase suddenly.

'Even if rates rise soon, sales have legs for further expansion this summer if housing supply increases enough to give buyers an adequate number of affordable choices during their search,” Yun said in a news release.