Weather boosts Iowa home sales in November

Homebuyers and sellers may be fondly remembering the warmer-than-normal weather in November as more homes changed owners in the Corridor and in the state of Iowa.

The Cedar Rapids Area Association of Realtors recorded 346 home sales last month, up from 325 in November 2015. The average sale price slipped to $186,144 from $189,834 in the same month of 2015.

Homes were on the market an average 61 days before they were sold last month, an improvement over an average 74 days in November 2015.

In the Iowa City-Coralville area, 214 homes were sold last month, according to the Iowa City Area Association of Realtors, up from 194 homes sold in November 2015. The average sale price fell from $265,039 in November 2015 to $210,221 last month.

Houses were on the market an average of 69 days before they were sold last month, an improvement from an average 79 days in November 2015.

Statewide, 3,020 homes were sold in November, up from 2,633 in the same month of 2015, according to the Iowa Association of Realtors. The average sale price rose to $174,672 in November, from $168,178 in the same month of 2015.

A home in Iowa was listed for an average of 76 days before it sold last month, up slightly from 74 days in November 2015.

'Great weather in October and November helped buyers and sellers,” said Cindy Miller, president of the Iowa Association of Realtors, in a news release. 'We are happy to see the strong numbers in November and expect our year-end statistics to show a solid year in real estate.”

Along with favorable weather, home sales also have benefited from attractive mortgage rates. But that has begun to change in the weeks since the November presidential election.

In the week ended that ended Thursday, the average rate on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 4.16 percent, from 4.13 percent the previous week, according to mortgage company Freddie Mac. That compares with 3.57 percent in the week ended Nov. 9.

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