The last thing we heard from the housing market, it was really clicking under the spring tax credit, but after that big surge, it's back to stagnant.
"We knew that July was not going to keep up that pace," said Joanne Mangold, president of the Des Moines Area Association of Realtors. "It just couldn't. We had shoved our June and July buyers into earlier months."
Realtors aren't wasting time with a spin. The homes are there but the buyers aren't, at least not in numbers.
"When you see that we have interest rates down to 4% and we don't have people just ringing our phones off the hook, obviously there are people concerned about today's economy."
The Forestdale neighborhood in northwest Des Moines has long been a very desirable place to live, but even there, sales are slow.
"We have had it on since February, the beginning of February."
Mary Evans' home has the kind of curb appeal that makes realtors drool. Character and quiet, updated inside and landscaped out but it's been on the market more than six months.
"It's really weird to think that this house in this neighborhood has sat that long," she said.
There was one offer, but the buyer couldn't meet the new stricter financing requirements. That's another challenge to the current market. Evans and her husband need to sell because they've committed to a larger home.
"We've lowered the price significantly here and we're going to go ahead and close on (the new home) in October."
Dream homes are available in town or out and there are record-low mortgage rates. It's the best buyer's market in recent memory, provided the buyer doesn't first have to sell.
"We knew that July was not going to keep up that pace," said Joanne Mangold, president of the Des Moines Area Association of Realtors. "It just couldn't. We had shoved our June and July buyers into earlier months."
Realtors aren't wasting time with a spin. The homes are there but the buyers aren't, at least not in numbers.
"When you see that we have interest rates down to 4% and we don't have people just ringing our phones off the hook, obviously there are people concerned about today's economy."
The Forestdale neighborhood in northwest Des Moines has long been a very desirable place to live, but even there, sales are slow.
"We have had it on since February, the beginning of February."
Mary Evans' home has the kind of curb appeal that makes realtors drool. Character and quiet, updated inside and landscaped out but it's been on the market more than six months.
"It's really weird to think that this house in this neighborhood has sat that long," she said.
There was one offer, but the buyer couldn't meet the new stricter financing requirements. That's another challenge to the current market. Evans and her husband need to sell because they've committed to a larger home.
"We've lowered the price significantly here and we're going to go ahead and close on (the new home) in October."
Dream homes are available in town or out and there are record-low mortgage rates. It's the best buyer's market in recent memory, provided the buyer doesn't first have to sell.
