Waterloo Times

The housing market in Waterloo and around the country is beginning to see a steep rise in prices.

Housing prices in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls area rose by 3.7% since June 2020, Patch reported last month.

Compared to a year ago, houses in Iowa sold 46% faster, being on the market for 33 days on average. Additionally, sales rose 8.8% since June 2020, the Iowa Association of Realtors said accordion to We Are Iowa.

Median sales prices climbed by 13.2%. Single-family homes led the growth, selling in an average of 31 days, with townhouses and condos behind at 46 days. The cost of homes rose significantly, averaging $205,000 in June, compared to $181,000 in June 2020. The inventory was also 25.9% lower, with only 9,378 on the market during June.

“While homes in June sold very quickly, we are seeing an increase in homes available for sale," Iowa Association of Realtors President Jen Burkamper said in a release. "We’ve experienced a slow increase in homes available for sale the last four months and hope that continues after seeing 11 months of declining inventory. If this trend continues, this will help stabilize our market over the long-term."

Despite the hope of stabilizing the housing market in Iowa, recent data revealed inflation trends are also occurring. 

MarketWatch warned of steeply inflating housing prices and said that “an inflation storm is coming for the U.S. housing market.”

Data released by the National Association of Home Builders revealed that 62% of home builders have increased their prices, 59% are pre-ordering materials and 20% have abandoned projects altogether due to inflated prices. The association's data also showed that 60% of American households cannot afford the median price of a house, which is now $346,577.

Americans are also concerned about the reality of inflation and what it could mean for the country. 

According to recent polling from the Washington Examiner, 88% of Americans believe inflation will continue to increase during President Joe Biden’s time in the White House, and 83% are concerned or very concerned about it.