The Des Moines area housing market showed its typical seasonal signs through the month of December with lower inventory and sales. Since October, we have seen both sales and listings trending downward.

The number of active listings was a mixed bag when viewed monthly and yearly. December saw 2,945 active listings, which is a 9.4% decrease from the 3,249 active listings of November. Year-over-year we saw a 7.2% increase from the 2,747 active listings of December 2022.

Home sales, or homes that closed in December, saw decreases in both month-over- month and year-over-year metrics. Sales dipped 5.5% in December with 862 homes sold compared to the 912 sold in November. And year-over-year, the decrease was a bit less, dropping 4.9% from the 906 homes sold in December 2022.

Pending sales proved to have the most interesting stats with ONE more pending sale recorded in December versus November. December had 786 pending sales; November had 785. But! pending sales were up 19% from December 2022! I believe that boost in year-over-year pending sales was the bit of energy given to buyers who saw a decline in the interest rate and wanted to take advantage of it.

December’s median sale price increased by a mere $45, to $274,945 from one month ago. The slight increase could be a sign the market could be leveling out which is a good sign for 2024. The median sale price still represents a 10% increase from the $250,000 median sales price of one year ago.

Last month, homes averaged 51 days on the market, up from the 47 days homes were on the market in November, but up just one day from the 50 days on average recorded in December 2022.