The local real estate market is experiencing its traditional winter slow down. And during this slower time of year, Realtors find other ways to continue to serve their communities. There are so many Realtors who give back to their communities all during the year but especially during the holidays by choosing charities, causes or organizations that they care about. My office, in fact, was able to help 3 families celebrate the holidays with a ton of gifts for each family member and a holiday meal.

Onto the market stats for November: For the first time in several months, the number of active listings saw a decline, though minimal. The 3,249 active listings of November accounted for a 1.8% decline from the 3,309 active listings of October. Compared to November 2022, however, the active listings saw a 10.1% increase from the 2,952 active listings last year. 

The number of home sales, or homes that closed, in the Des Moines metro area dipped 4.5% in November with 912 homes sold compared to the 955 homes sold in October. Year-over-year the margins were a bit closer, a 2.3% decline from the 933 homes sold in November 2022.

Pending sales saw a wider decline month over month of 19.4% with 785 pending sales recorded in November, compared to the 974 that took place in October. Year-over-year pending sales had a more moderate decline with a 4.3% decline when compared to the 820 pending sales of November 2022.

November’s median sale price inched a bit upward from that of October. The median sales price of $274,900 represented a 0.1% increase from October’s median price of $274,745, and a 9.9% increase from the $250,000 median sale price of November 2022.

Last month, homes averaged 47 days on the market, up from the 43 days homes were on the market in October, but up significantly from the 33 days on the market one year ago.