As fall ramps up, the Des Moines metro housing market presents a mix of stability and change, offering buyers and sellers important insights into the housing market. Listing inventory has seen a notable increase for another month in a row, giving buyers more choices, while the median sales price and days on the market have remained steady year-over-year.

Active listings saw an increase of 5.45% month over month with 3,889 homes listed in September versus the 3,688 homes listed in August. Year over year comparisons for September showed an impressive 20.37% increase in active listings compared to the 3,231 homes listed last year.

September home sales, or homes that closed in September, decreased month-over-month and year-over-year by 10.40% each. September saw 973 contracts closed compared to August’s 1,182 contracts closed. September 2023 had 1,086 homes sold.

Pending sales in September saw a slight dip of 1.29% with 1,146 contracts written compared to last month’s 1,161. Last year’s pending sales were lower by 16.94% or 980 contracts written.

Median sale price in the metro fell 0.34% in September, bringing the new median sale price to $290,000 compared to August’s $291,000. Year over year, the median sale price was the exact same with $290,000 in September 2023.

Days on the market remained the same from August to September at 49 days. Year-over-year, there was a slight increase of 6.52% from 46 days.