Key Takeaways
- Prices up, supply up faster: the metro median hit $319,725 in August 2026, up 5.5% year over year, while listings rose 11.8% to 4,702 (Des Moines Area Association of Realtors, August 2026).
- Volume slipped: 1,263 closed sales, down 2.1% year over year, with 1,143 pending sales and a median 50 days on market.
- Metro is not city: the Zillow Home Value Index for Des Moines proper was $212,006 on July 31, 2026, down 0.1% year over year, versus the metro's $319,725.
- Cash is about one sale in six: buyers paid cash for 216 of 1,263 August transactions, roughly 17%.
- A new homestead exemption starts now: Senate File 2472, signed May 18, 2026, swaps Iowa's homestead credit for a 10% exemption of taxable value, $5,500 to $20,000, from assessment year 2026.
Des Moines housing market 2026 numbers include two figures that disagree by roughly $107,000: a seven-county median sale price and a city value index. Both are correct, but averaging them prices against a house that does not exist.
This guide keeps the sources separate and labeled, covering what August 2026 closed, market speed, mortgage rates and insurance costs, the homestead exemption, and what it means if you need to sell on a deadline.
What is the Des Moines housing market doing in 2026?
Prices are still climbing, and supply is climbing faster. The metro median sale price reached $319,725 in August 2026, up 5.5% from $302,925 a year earlier, while active listings rose 11.8% to 4,702 (Des Moines Area Association of Realtors, August 2026).
Sales volume did not follow the price. The metro closed 1,263 transactions, down 2.1% from 1,290 a year earlier and 7.5% from July's 1,366, while pending sales fell 3.8% year over year, to 1,143.
The DMAAR reporting area covers seven counties (Dallas, Polk, Warren, Jasper, Marion, Madison, and Guthrie); treat every figure in that release as a metro number, not a city of Des Moines price.
| Des Moines metro (DMAAR) | August 2026 | August 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median sale price | $319,725 | $302,925 | +5.5% |
| Closed sales | 1,263 | 1,290 | -2.1% |
| Pending sales (contracts written) | 1,143 | 1,188 | -3.8% |
| Active listings | 4,702 | 4,206 | +11.8% |
| Median days on market | 50 | 53 | -5.7% |
Month over month, the median barely moved, slipping 0.1% from July's $320,000. Year to date the metro has recorded 9,856 closed units, current through September 8, 2026.
Why is Zillow's Des Moines value lower than the metro median?
The two numbers measure different things; averaging them produces a figure true of nothing. The Zillow Home Value Index put the typical Des Moines house at $212,006 on July 31, 2026, down 0.1% year over year (Zillow Home Value Index, July 2026). That is roughly $107,000 below the DMAAR metro median.
Two things explain the gap:
- Geography. The DMAAR median spans seven counties, including Dallas County suburbs where prices run above the city, while the Zillow city index stops at the city limits.
- What is being counted. A closed-sale median is the midpoint of what changed hands in one month, including higher-priced new construction. A value index estimates every standing house, including a 1920s bungalow untraded since 1971.
| Zillow Home Value Index, July 31, 2026 | Typical value | Year over year |
|---|---|---|
| Des Moines (city) | $212,006 | -0.1% |
| Des Moines, IA metro | $295,955 | +0.8% |
Read each table on its own terms: sale medians come from the DMAAR August 2026 release, value figures from Zillow's public research files. Keep them apart.
Inventory and Days on Market as Demand Signals
Supply loosened while speed held. Active listings rose 11.8% year over year and another 4.8% from July's 4,486, yet the median sold in 50 days, three days faster than August 2025 and one day slower than July (DMAAR, August 2026).
For a seller, that means a wider selection at roughly the same pace. Pending sales fell 3.8% year over year, so the extra listings are not absorbing as fast as they arrive, and more supply without more demand starts to soften a price.
Read it as a signal, not a promise
Fifty days measures the listing period only. It excludes cleanout, repairs, and photography beforehand, plus a financed buyer's closing timeline afterward.
A house with a wet basement, a fuse box, or an aging roof sells on its own timeline, not the metro median. Central Iowa's clay soil and freeze-thaw cycle make foundation issues routine in pre-1960 stock.
Mortgage Rates and Insurance Behind Des Moines Home Prices 2026
Borrowing costs rose into September 2026. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.76% for the week of September 10, 2026, up from 6.71% the prior week and 6.35% a year earlier (Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, September 2026). The 15-year averaged 6.09%.
Financing mix in August 2026: conventional loans covered 878 of the 1,263 closings, about 70%; FHA covered 86, about 6.9%; and cash covered 216, about 17% (DMAAR, August 2026).
Insurance is a quieter squeeze. Iowa home insurance rose 28% during 2025 to an average of $2,802 a year, one of six states above 20% (Insurify, 2026). Higher premiums work against the price a lender will support.
The New Iowa Homestead Exemption Changes the Tax Math
Senate File 2472, signed May 18, 2026, replaces Iowa's homestead credit with a 10% exemption on qualifying homestead taxable value (Senate File 2472, enrolled). It runs no less than $5,500 and no more than $20,000, starting with assessment year 2026, and that maximum adjusts annually for inflation from 2027 forward.
The act also steps down the school foundation levy under Iowa Code § 257.3. It drops from $5.40 to $5.10 per $1,000 for the budget year beginning July 1, 2028, then to $4.90 for July 1, 2029 and after.
Local city and county general levies are capped at 102% of the current year's certified property tax dollars, excluding new construction, for fiscal years from July 1, 2027. The Governor's office put the package at $4.2 billion in savings over six years (Office of the Governor of Iowa, May 19, 2026).
The exemption only applies to an owner-occupied homestead. An inherited, rental, or vacant house does not qualify.
The Polk County Calendar a Des Moines Seller Sells Into
Two dates set the pace here: the odd-year reassessment and the June tax sale. Iowa reassesses real property in odd-numbered years, values effective January 1 (Iowa Code § 428.4), and Polk County's next notice lands in 2027.
Delinquent taxes go to the county treasurer's annual sale on the third Monday in June (Iowa Code § 446.7); the 2026 Polk County sale took place June 15, 2026 (Polk County Treasurer, May 2026). A certificate holder must wait one year and nine months, then serve a 90-day notice, before starting the tax-deed process, as our guide to the Iowa property tax sale and redemption clock explains.
One more line item at closing: Iowa's real estate transfer tax runs $0.80 per $500 of consideration, about 0.16%, and is customarily paid by the seller (Iowa Code ch. 428A).
Des Moines Housing Stock, Block by Block
Housing stock varies sharply across Des Moines, and no neighborhood median appears here because inventing one would mislead a seller pricing a real address.
Beaverdale, the city's largest neighborhood, is a 1920s and 1930s brick Tudor belt, with roughly four in five houses built between 1923 and 1941 and long-tenure ownership.
Drake, near Drake University, runs on 1880s to 1920s houses turned student rentals, where annual turnover pushes owners to exit. South Park near Gray's Lake carries modest older stock at the value tier, where thin equity makes a commission bite hardest. Union Park and Birdland sit behind a levee that failed in 1993 and 2008, and mapped parcels there still trigger a lender's flood insurance requirement. Easter Lake in the far southeast is newer, mixing twinhomes with postwar streets.
What does the Des Moines housing market 2026 mean if you need to sell?
It depends on the house and the deadline: an 11.8% increase in listings changes some sellers' math, not others'. A rising median and a 50-day pace describe a clean, financeable house, and the three routes below sit differently against the August data.
| Route | What the August 2026 data says | What it asks of you | Fits when |
|---|---|---|---|
| List it now | 50 days on market, but 4,702 listings, up 11.8% | Repairs, cleanout, staging, showings, commission, lender timeline | Shows well, passes inspection, you can carry it 3 to 4 months |
| List, then cut the price | Pending sales down 3.8% year over year, so added supply is not clearing | Carrying costs through the stale period | You mispriced at launch, with runway on taxes and insurance |
| Take a cash offer | 216 of 1,263 August sales, about 17%, closed without a mortgage lender | Nothing: as-is, no repairs, no showings, no commission | Condition, a tenant, an estate, or a tax deadline drives the decision |
The heir settling an estate
An inherited Des Moines house generally needs court administration before anyone can sign a deed, because Iowa's $50,000 affidavit under Iowa Code § 633.356 covers personal property only. Simplified administration under Iowa Code ch. 635 reaches real property up to $200,000 in gross probate assets, while the estate keeps paying taxes, insurance, and utilities.
The owner facing a tax or foreclosure date
Iowa forecloses mainly through the courts, and post-sale redemption generally runs one year from the sheriff's sale under Iowa Code ch. 628. It shortens to six or three months where the lender waives a deficiency, and to 60 days on an abandoned property. Our guide to stopping foreclosure in Iowa lays out the full sequence.
Where a cash offer from Propcash fits
Propcash is a direct cash homebuyer, founded in 2026 and based in Nashville, making offers as a principal rather than listing property. Sellers pay no fees or commissions, houses are bought as-is, and the seller picks the closing date. Cash transactions can close in as few as 7 days once title work is complete.
The useful move is to see both numbers side by side: get a cash offer, set it next to a listing estimate after repairs, commission, and carrying costs, then decide. If listing is the stronger option for your house, Propcash will say so and point you toward a local agent who fits. We may receive compensation from agents we refer.
To see your options on a specific address, get a cash offer on your Des Moines house at no cost, or see our Des Moines cash home buyer page and Iowa cash buyer overview.
Why wait? Sell your house “as is” for cash today
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Let's chatFrequently Asked Questions
What is the median home price in Des Moines in 2026?
The Des Moines metro median sale price was $319,725 in August 2026, up 5.5% from $302,925 a year earlier (Des Moines Area Association of Realtors, August 2026), covering the seven-county DMAAR area, not city limits. For the city, the Zillow Home Value Index put the typical house at $212,006 on July 31, 2026, down 0.1% year over year.
Why is Zillow's Des Moines value lower than the metro median sale price?
The two figures measure different things and should never be averaged. A closed-sale median is the midpoint of what changed hands in one month across seven counties, including higher-priced suburban sales. A value index estimates the whole standing stock of one city, including older houses untraded in decades. Zillow's own metro index, $295,955 on July 31, 2026, sits far above its Des Moines city index for the same reason.
How long does it take to sell a house in Des Moines right now?
Metro listings sold in a median of 50 days in August 2026, down from 53 days a year earlier and up from 49 days in July (Des Moines Area Association of Realtors, August 2026). That number counts the listing period only, leaving out cleanout, repairs, photography, and the 30 to 45 days a lender typically needs afterward.
How does Iowa's new homestead exemption change a Des Moines property tax bill?
Senate File 2472, signed May 18, 2026, replaces Iowa's homestead credit with an exemption equal to 10% of a qualifying homestead's taxable value. The exemption cannot be less than $5,500 or more than $20,000, starting with assessment year 2026 and adjusted for inflation later. The same act steps the school foundation levy down from $5.40 per $1,000 to $5.10 for the budget year beginning July 1, 2028, and $4.90 for budget years beginning July 1, 2029.
How many Des Moines area houses sell for cash?
Cash paid for 216 of the 1,263 metro transactions closed in August 2026, about 17% of all sales (Des Moines Area Association of Realtors, August 2026). Conventional financing covered 878 sales, roughly 70%, and FHA loans covered 86, about 6.9%, meaning roughly one closing in six skipped a mortgage lender entirely.
Can I sell my house fast in Des Moines without making repairs?
Yes, a cash buyer can purchase a house as-is, skipping the repair and appraisal steps a financed sale requires. Iowa still requires a written disclosure statement before a written offer is made or accepted (Iowa Code § 558A.2), so selling as-is does not change what goes on the form. Propcash is a direct cash homebuyer, and cash transactions can close in as few as 7 days once title work is complete.
Data Sources: Des Moines Area Association of Realtors, August 2026 housing statistics; Zillow Home Value Index public research data, July 31, 2026; Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, September 10, 2026. Additional sources: Insurify home insurance report, 2026; Iowa Senate File 2472 (enrolled); and the Office of the Governor of Iowa, May 19, 2026. Also cited: Iowa Code §§ 257.3, 428.4, 428A, 446.7, 558A.2, 628, 633.356, and ch. 635; the Polk County Treasurer; and the Polk County Assessor. Propcash is a direct cash homebuyer, not a law firm, a tax adviser, or a licensed Iowa brokerage; confirm any tax or legal question with an Iowa-licensed professional.