There are many outside forces that affect the real estate market including weather, interest rates, the economy, presidential elections (see my blog from
July 26, 2024), and events like the
Iowa State Fair. Yes, you read that correctly. The Iowa State Fair is a major disrupter when it comes to selling real estate in Iowa.
It also proves the point I made in the blog about presidential elections. In that blog, I argued that during presidential election years, uncertainty about who will be elected will cause some people to hold off on making a large purchase like a home, but although they delay the purchase, they still make the purchase. That is true in real estate, but not all purchases.
If someone was planning to have dinner in a restaurant, but then decide to stay home and make dinner themselves, the restaurant lost that business. But if someone is wanting to purchase a different home, whether it be in a different neighborhood, a different price range, or a different size, and it is October before the election, they may wait until after the election, but they still make the purchase, just later.
When something like that is taking place, there will be a normal number of sales occurring, then a drop in the number of sales during the event, then there will be a bump in the number of sales when the uncertainty has passed and all the pent up sales take place, until the sales are caught up and it goes back to the normal rate again.
I have been tracking home sales in Central Iowa during the 11 days leading up to the fair, the 11 days during the fair, and the 11 days after the fair for several years, and the results are pretty consistent. Since 2018, on average, the number of accepted offers during the 11 days of the Iowa State Fair are down 8% from the 11 days leading up to the fair. Then the number of accepted offers increases an average of 16% during the 11 days after the fair. In other words, the 8% of sales that didn’t happen during the fair get tacked on to the normal number of sales that happened after the fair.
If you like to time the markets, you could make an offer on a house during the fair when many other buyers are preoccupied, then list your current home right before the fair ends to take advantage in the bump in sales after the fair is over. In early September, I will let you know how the numbers compared for the 2024 Iowa State Fair.
Norwalk IA Real Estate –
Jon Niemeyer, Broker/Owner/REALTOR® at EXIT Realty North Star. I list and sell real estate in Central Iowa including Norwalk, Des Moines, West Des Moines, Cumming, Indianola, Carlisle, Waukee, Urbandale, Grimes, Clive, Johnston, Ankeny, Altoona, and Pleasant Hill in the Counties of Warren, Polk, Dallas, and Madison. Call
Jon Niemeyer at
515-490-4675.