(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Association of Realtors says home inventory saw a boost in both new listings and overall available homes in Iowa for May. Statewide housing analyst Les Sulgrove says there’s a couple of factors involved.

There were some 71-hundred homes on the market in May, an increase of 36 percent from last year, and a nine-point-four percent increase from May 2023.

The number of homes sold in May was up almost four percent from last May and up 20 percent from April.

He says interest in rural areas close to metros have gained more attention in recent years.

Sulgrove says April through July is the busiest period as people look to move after school is out, and that trend has held this year.

Sulgrove says things appear to be shifting right now.

The days on the market increased four-point-nine percent to 43 days in May compared to the 41 days of one year ago. The median sales price is up from 238-thousand dollars this year compared to 225-thousand dollars last year at this time.