Central Iowa Listings Up 13% as Days on Market Hold at 65

Central Iowa heads into October with more homes to choose from and listings selling at about the same pace as last year. According to Realtor.com's September 2026 data, active listings in the Des Moines metro are up 13.3% from a year ago while the median listing has been on the market 65 days, the same as last September. In Ames, listings are up 23.0% and homes are moving faster than a year ago. That combination is the story this month: buyers have real choice and room to negotiate, and sellers who price to the market are still getting homes sold.

Days on Market: Steady in the Metro, Faster in Ames

Days on market tells you how long a home sits before it goes under contract. It is the clearest read on how much breathing room each side has. Here is where it stands, according to Realtor.com's September data for active listings:

• Des Moines metro: 65 median days on market, unchanged from August and unchanged from September 2025
• Ames metro: 54 median days on market, up from 51 in August and down from 66 a year ago

Redfin measures something slightly different: how long the homes that actually sold were on the market. Its August 2026 numbers show the well-priced homes are still moving quickly:

• Ankeny: 34 median days on market, 3 days faster than August 2025, with a 99.2% sale-to-list ratio
• Ames: 16 median days on market, unchanged from a year ago, with a 98.7% sale-to-list ratio and 26.5% of homes selling above list

Put those two views side by side and you see a two-speed market. Homes that are priced and presented well go under contract in about a month or less. The listings that sit are the ones dragging the overall median up. I covered this same pattern earlier in the year in Central Iowa Homes Are Selling - They're Just Taking Longer, and September confirms it has held through the summer.

Inventory: More Choice Than a Year Ago

Inventory is where the year-over-year change is biggest. According to Realtor.com's September 2026 data:

• Des Moines metro active listings: 3,856, up 5.9% from August and up 13.3% year over year
• Des Moines metro new listings: 1,250, up 6.7% from August and up 1.0% year over year
• Des Moines metro pending listings: 1,467, down 12.5% from August and down 6.1% year over year
• Des Moines metro price-reduced share: 23.9% of listings, up 1.4 points from August and 1.5 points from a year ago
• Ames metro active listings: 382, up 15.1% from August and up 23.0% year over year
• Ames metro price-reduced share: 24.4% of listings, up 3.8 points from August and 7.3 points from a year ago

Pending listings dip every September. In Realtor.com's history for the Des Moines metro they fell about 5% from August to September in both 2024 and 2025, so this year's 12.5% drop is steeper than usual and worth watching. New listings are running about even with last year. The difference is that more homes are carrying over from month to month, which builds the active count. Median list prices tell the same story: $339,996 in the Des Moines metro, down 1.5% from a year ago, and $312,900 in Ames, up 4.3%. Ames continues to hold value better than the metro, a trend I looked at in Ames Is Outrunning the Rest of Central Iowa.

What It Means for Buyers

Buyers have a more balanced setup than they did a year ago. Here is where the opportunity is:

• Negotiating room: With roughly 1 in 4 listings carrying a price reduction in both metros, a home that has been on the market past the 30-day mark is often open to a conversation on price.
• Inspection time: Fewer Ankeny homes are selling above list (19.9% in August, down 1.7 points from a year ago, according to Redfin), which makes it more realistic to keep a full inspection period in your offer and use it well. If you want a refresher on how that process works here, read What to Expect From a Home Inspection in Iowa.
• Choice: More active listings means you can compare two or three homes in your price range instead of reacting to the only one available.

One caution: the best homes still sell fast. A well-priced Ankeny home going under contract in 34 days means the opportunity is in patience with the listings that have sat, not in assuming every seller will wait. Setting up listing alerts keeps you first in line when a new one fits.

What It Means for Sellers

Sellers have real opportunity too. It just rewards preparation more than it did in the tighter markets of past years.

• Pricing to the market: Ankeny homes that sold in August closed at 99.2% of list price. The homes that priced correctly from the first day are getting close to full price. The rising price-reduced share shows what happens when a list price starts too high. My framework is in How to Price Your Home in Central Iowa.
• Presentation: With more listings to compare, buyers notice condition. Focus on the repairs that matter to buyers and skip the ones that do not. I break that down in What Repairs Are Actually Worth Doing Before Listing Your Iowa Home.
• Timing: New listings are running only 1.0% above last year in the metro, so a well-prepared home listed this fall is not facing a wave of new competition. The added supply is mostly homes that have been sitting, and a fresh, correctly priced listing stands apart from them.

A Note for Investors and House Hackers

Rising inventory and more price reductions give investors something they have not had much of lately: time to run the numbers before making an offer. In Ames, where list prices are up 4.3% year over year while listings are up 23.0%, the larger selection makes it easier to find a property that fits a house hacking plan. If you are weighing a property where you live in one unit and rent the others, my House Hacking in Ames guide walks through how to approach it. Your lender will confirm the exact financing terms for any property you consider.

What this means for your strategy: Central Iowa in October is a market that rewards preparation on both sides. Buyers should use the extra inventory and the longer days on market for older listings to negotiate with confidence and keep a full inspection period. Sellers should price to the most recent comparable sales from the first day and put their effort into presentation, because the homes that do both are still selling quickly and close to list price. Investors should take advantage of the added selection to compare more deals before committing to one.

If you want to see how these numbers apply to your own plans, the seller net proceeds calculator shows what a sale could put in your pocket, and every past update lives on the market updates page. When you are ready to talk it through, reach out anytime. No pressure, just a clear, straightforward conversation about your next step with Jackson Krile and the Flanders Team at RE/MAX Real Estate Center.

Jackson Krile | Flanders Team | RE/MAX Real Estate Center
515.490.8614 · Jackson@FlandersTeam.com