Homes sales down, prices up last year; ‘strong and stable’ the words for the year ahead

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Home sales dropped 2 percent to 14,456 last year from 14,703 in 2017, the Des Moines Area Association of Realtors said in its end-of-the-year report. The median sales price increased last year to $229,000 from $195,000, with homes selling after an average of 65 days on the market, down from 77 the previous year. Active listings were slightly higher in 2018 at 3,515. “2018 was a positive year for real estate. However, the latter part of the year showed signs of slowing due to inventory challenges and the short-term effects of interest rates rising,” DMAAR President Brennan Buckley said in a release. “Looking forward, based on the underpinnings of a strong economy combined with predicted population growth in the metro, we should see a strong and stable year for real estate.”