Des Moines Housing Market Report: July Home Sales Drop 18.2%

The Greater Des Moines housing market experienced a contraction during the month of July, according to data released by the Greater Des Moines Area Association of Realtors. Local agents recorded a total of 1,366 home sales across the area. That figure represents an 18.2% drop compared to the 1,670 properties sold during the same period.

Broader Real Estate Trends and Changing Market Balance

While regional markets like Des Moines see localized shifts, the broader national landscape shows signs of stabilization. According to the CNBC Housing Market Survey conducted between June 23 and June 30, 44% of real estate agents nationwide reported seeing a balanced market between buyers and sellers in the second quarter of the year. That share marks an increase from 30% in the third quarter of last year when CNBC initiated its quarterly tracking.

National industry professionals note that leverage is shifting depending on specific property conditions and neighborhood dynamics. It certainly feels like, depending on the home, depending on the neighborhood, depending on the condition and the price point, that both the buyer and the seller do have a little bit of leverage, said Jeremy Kane, an agent with EXP Realty in Denver, as reported by CNBC.

Pricing Adjustments and Declining Asking Prices

Nationwide home sales in May rose 3% compared to the previous year, driven by higher inventory and more realistic pricing from sellers, according to data from the National Association of Realtors. Agents report that sellers have largely moved away from the aggressive pricing strategies seen during the initial years of the pandemic.

No one really seems to be fighting me much on price like they used to, said Bruce Jones, an agent with Compass in Nashville, Tennessee, in findings published by CNBC. We’re not really seeing huge decreases in prices. We’ve kind of plateaued, but I don’t see people arguing too much about that. If it’s priced correctly, it is moving.

Data from Realtor.com shows that asking prices in June dropped 2.5% year over year, marking the largest annual decline since the company began tracking the metric in 2017 and the eighth month of decreases. Correspondingly, agents reporting at least one price cut on active listings fell to 57% in the second quarter, down sharply from 89% in the third quarter of last year.

Buyer Concerns and Mortgage Rate Pressures

Market participants face shifting financial hurdles as mortgage rates and home prices replace the broader economy as the primary worries for buyers. CNBC’s survey data indicates that 37% of agents cited mortgage rates as their buyers’ top concern during the second quarter, up from 26% at the end of last year.

Mortgage rates fluctuated significantly over the first half of the year. According to Mortgage News Daily figures cited by CNBC, the average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage hit a low of 5.99% at the end of February before climbing following geopolitical tensions in March. Rates peaked at an average of 6.75% on May 19 and have since hovered near the 6.6% range. Despite these financing obstacles, more realistic seller expectations have helped reduce contract cancellations, with 40% of surveyed agents reporting a failed contract in the second quarter compared to 51% in the first quarter.