Iowa housing market
The typical home in Iowa is worth $236,623, up 3.3% from a year ago.
Builders got permits for 8,744 homes from January to August 2026, down 3.5% on the same months of 2025.
Iowa lost a net 970 residents to the rest of the U.S. in the year to July 2025.
The FHFA HPI® (all-transactions) for Iowa is up 3.2% over the year to Q2 2026. Unemployment was 3.2% in September 2026, up 0.1 points from a year earlier. Employers had 1.6M payroll jobs in September 2026, up 0.2% from a year earlier.
State · Sep 2026
The latest numbers
Typical home value
$236,623
up 3.3% past 12 mo
Median sale price
$246,000
As of Aug 2026
Typical rent
—
Not published for this level
Homes for sale
14,063
Active listings
Days to pending
25
Median, listing to contract
Permits YTD
8,744
down 3.5% vs same months last year
Population growth
+0.3%
Past year · pop. 3.2M
Net domestic migration
−970
Past year, net moves from elsewhere in the US
FHFA home prices
+3.2%
Past year · Q2 2026
FHFA, past 5 years
+37.4%
Q2 2021 to Q2 2026
Unemployment rate
3.2%
up 0.1 pts vs Sep 2025
Job growth
+0.2%
Past year · 1.6M jobs in Sep 2026
Typical home value, 24 months
up 6.9%Typical home value went from $221,430 in Oct 2024 to $236,623 in Sep 2026, a change of +6.9%.
Source: Data Provided by Zillow Group; U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey; U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates · As of Sep 2026
Source: FHFA House Price Index® (All-Transactions, not seasonally adjusted); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics
BLS figures are not seasonally adjusted; retrieved from BLS.gov Oct 27, 2026. This product uses FHFA data but is neither endorsed nor certified by FHFA. BLS.gov cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from BLS.gov.
State · Yearly figures
Renters and movers
Fair Market Rent, 2BR
—
HUD sets these for metro areas and counties, not states
Rental vacancy rate
5.7%
No significant change vs 2023 (+0.5 pts, within the margin of error)
2024 survey · ±0.9 pts
Net movers
−1,467
People on tax returns filed 2022–23
Income moving in
−$266M
Movers' 2022 adjusted gross income, net
- Rental vacancy.
- Rentals that are empty and for rent, as a share of all rentals, from the Census Bureau's 2024 American Community Survey. A survey estimate, shown with its 90% margin of error; a change smaller than the combined margins is marked not significant.
- Movers.
- People on tax returns (filers and dependents) who moved in minus those who moved out between the 2022 and 2023 filing seasons, moves within the U.S. only. Income is the movers' adjusted gross income for 2022, from returns filed in 2023. The Census estimate of net domestic migration above covers a different, more recent year.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "Tenure" (B25003) and "Vacancy Status" (B25004), American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates; IRS Statistics of Income, U.S. Population Migration Data
Census files accessed Oct 27, 2026. Rental vacancy rates, their margins of error, year-over-year changes and significance tests, and per-resident figures are calculated by Fidelis First from Census Bureau data; the Census Bureau is the source of the original data only. Fidelis First is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Internal Revenue Service.
How Iowa ranks
Each measure next to the national figure, and where Iowa places among the 51 states and DC.
| Measure | Iowa | U.S. | Rank among the 51 states and DC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical home valueZillow ZHVI | $236,623 | $366,157 | 45th of 51 |
| Home value changePast 12 months | +3.3% | +1.2% | 13th of 51 |
| Rental vacancy rateCensus ACS; tightest ranks first | 5.7% | 5.7% | 27th of 51 |
| Days to pendingMedian; fastest ranks first | 25 days | 27 days | 25th of 51 |
| Permits per 1,000 residentsHomes authorized, year to date | 2.7 | 2.8 | 23rd of 51 |
| Permit changeSame months a year earlier | −3.5% | +0.1% | 31st of 51 |
| Population growthPast year | +0.3% | +0.5% | 38th of 51 |
| Net domestic migrationPer 1,000 residents, past year | −0.3 | — | 35th of 51 |
| Income moving inNet per resident; Fidelis First calculation from IRS and Census data | −$82 | — (Not applicable to the U.S.) | 32nd of 51 |
| FHFA home price changePast year, FHFA HPI® | +3.2% | +3.0% | 27th of 51 |
| FHFA, past 5 yearsFive-year change, FHFA HPI® | +37.4% | +41.3% | 36th of 51 |
| Unemployment rateNot seasonally adjusted; lowest ranks first | 3.2% | 4.0% | 12th of 51 |
| Job growthNonfarm payroll jobs, past 12 months | +0.2% | +0.3% | 36th of 51 |
Source: Data Provided by Zillow Group; U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey; U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates · As of Sep 2026
Source: FHFA House Price Index® (All-Transactions, not seasonally adjusted); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics
FHFA figures are for Q2 2026. BLS unemployment is for Sep 2026 and jobs for Sep 2026, not seasonally adjusted; the U.S. figures beside them are for the same months. BLS data retrieved from BLS.gov Oct 27, 2026. This product uses FHFA data but is neither endorsed nor certified by FHFA. BLS.gov cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from BLS.gov.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "Tenure" (B25003) and "Vacancy Status" (B25004), American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates; IRS Statistics of Income, U.S. Population Migration Data
Rental vacancy is from the 2024 American Community Survey. Income moving in is movers' net adjusted gross income for 2022 (IRS returns filed in 2023), divided by the latest Census population estimate (July 1, 2025); a Fidelis First calculation. Rental vacancy rates, their margins of error, year-over-year changes and significance tests, and per-resident figures are calculated by Fidelis First from Census Bureau data; the Census Bureau is the source of the original data only. Fidelis First is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Internal Revenue Service.
Large metro areas in Iowa
Metros among the 100 largest in the U.S. with any part in Iowa.
Who's raising money in Iowa
Real estate offerings filed with the SEC on Form D by issuers based in Iowa, Sep 27 – Oct 26, 2026.
Filings4
Total offered$12.8M
- Garman Legacy Fund LLCHiawatha, IA · Filed Oct 26, 2026 · 506(c)Indefinite
- Sloane Ankeny Investors LLCAmes, IA · Filed Oct 26, 2026 · 506(c)$12M
- Principal Enhanced Property Fund, L.P.Des Moines, IA · Filed Oct 23, 2026 · 506(c)Indefinite
- Meadows Partners, LLC, an Iowa Ltd liability CoCouncil Bluffs, IA · Filed Oct 19, 2026 · 506(c)$800K
Source: SEC EDGAR, Form D
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