May 2018 Des Moines area high priced homes report

May closings of luxury homes priced over $700,000 on the Des Moines MLS shadowed April's performance with 8 closed in May vs. 7 closed in April. Pendings slowed a bit dropping from 20 in April to 17 in May. The first two weeks of June is when our market traditionally hits its sold/pending peak for the year and that seems to have come about a bit earlier in the luxury market.  Inventory of active listings jumped though from 76 units to 93 for a 22% gain month on month. Without a corresponding pickup in closings or pendings this probably does not bode well for sellers in the second half of the year in this crowded space. 

With 93 active at the end of the month there was an 11.65 months supply at May's sales pace which would indicate the buyer's market for luxury homes in the Des Moines area stubbornly persists with supply remaining appx 30% above the trend of 8.6 months of inventory on average for 2017. 

Urbandale broke West Des Moines' streak as the luxury sales leader this year with 4 closed sales followed by West Des Moines with 2 closed trailed by by Clive and Van Meter with 1 apiece. West Des Moines still led the metro with the largest number of listings at 21 active, and 4 pending, followed by Waukee with 10 active and 2 pending, and Urbandale with 9 active, and 2 pending. 

The highest priced home sold was 3407 161st St in Urbandale which sold for $1,540,000 down from the initial list price of $1,600,000 but clocking in at an impressive $481 a square foot . The highest pending was again 3555 Oakmont Court in West Des Moines at the last listed price of $1,795,000 and $476 sqft, followed by 1738 S 40th Ct in West Des Moines, a relative bargain at $220 sqft. The $700,000 to $850,000 category was the most active again with 5 sold and 9 pending.

Average days on market were Active: 170, Pending: 148, and Sold: 45. The longest cummulative days on market for a sold was 462 for 4814 162nd Ct in Urbandale which was first listed 01/25/2017.

The dollar value of inventory rose from $82,731,483 in April to $94,767,372 in May, reflecting an 14.5% gain. Seventeen Des Moines MLS areas with homes above $700,000 saw no sales for the month. Inventory continues to build but with less than robust sales to work it down. Shadow inventory of avilable lots awaiting a luxury build out if the right buyer comes along probably contunes to dog the resale market. For the past year new construction builds have pretty consistently been about 25-30% of all MLS sales.

If you need your home to stand out in this market or if you're planning to buy a luxury home this year I can help. Please call or text me at 515-988-3726 for a consultation today.