Storm Lake, IA Housing Market
AI-powered market intelligence for the Storm Lake, IA metro area.
PropertyIQ Scores
Storm Lake, IA Market Analysis
Market Overview
Storm Lake, IA leans weak-to-moderate, with a PropertyIQ Score of 34 out of 100. Top score drivers include 12-month home value momentum of 5.44%, 3-month home value momentum of -1.20%, median days on market of 63, and a 20.7% share of listings with a price cut. The median home value is $190,130, roughly $50,305 below Iowa’s $240,435 state average.
Compared with state benchmarks, Storm Lake offers lower prices but also lower incomes. The rent index is $835, or $114 below the state average of $949, while median household income is $66,564, about $6,583 below Iowa’s $73,147. Unemployment matches the state at 3.2%. With 57 homes for sale and 63 median days on market, supply is limited but not tight enough to create rapid sales. The median home value year over year is $-16, essentially flat, despite positive 12-month momentum.
Key Trends
Affordability is relative. The median home value of $190,130 is about 21% below the Iowa median of $240,435, and the rent index of $835 is about 12% below the state average. However, median household income is also below the state benchmark, so lower prices do not necessarily mean stronger local purchasing power.
Near-term price signals are soft. The 3-month home value momentum is -1.20%, and 20.7% of listings have had a price cut. With 63 median days on market, sellers are adjusting to weaker immediate demand. The 12-month momentum of 5.44% remains positive, but the median home value year over year is $-16, so annual pricing is essentially flat.
Inventory and pace present a mixed picture. Only 57 homes are for sale, which limits competition among sellers, yet homes still take about two months to sell. Price cuts on more than one in five listings indicate that buyers may have negotiating room despite limited supply.
Who Is This Market For
Storm Lake may suit first-time buyers and budget-conscious owner-occupants drawn to a median home value of $190,130, well below the state average. The rent index of $835 is also below Iowa’s benchmark, which may make buying more attractive than renting for some households. However, with median household income of $66,564 below the state average, buyers should weigh local incomes rather than assuming lower prices guarantee easy affordability.
Investors may see lower entry costs and potential negotiation opportunities, given the 20.7% share of listings with price cuts and 63 median days on market. But the rent index of $835 is $114 below the state average, so rental income may be more modest than in higher-rent Iowa markets. Move-up buyers or those seeking quick appreciation may find less support, because annual median home value change is flat and 3-month momentum is negative.
Outlook
Near-term data points to a cautious, buyer-leaning market. The 3-month home value momentum of -1.20%, a 20.7% price-cut share, and 63 median days on market suggest soft demand may continue. The 12-month momentum of 5.44% and a median home value year-over-year change of $-16 indicate annual pricing is not sharply falling but also not growing strongly.
Limited inventory at 57 homes for sale may prevent steep price declines as long as supply stays constrained. Unemployment at 3.2
AI-generated analysis based on current market data. Last updated August 26, 2026.
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Storm Lake, IA market data
Storm Lake, IA Housing Market Overview
Storm Lake, IA's median home value is $190K, up 5.4% over the past year. Homes here sell in a median 63 days. Its PropertyIQ Score of 34 sits below the state average of 50, marking a market positioned to lag its state over the next three years.
Understanding the Storm Lake, IA housing market requires looking beyond headline price figures. The PropertyIQ Score reads both sides of market strength: Zillow price momentum across 3- and 12-month windows, and Realtor.com flow signals — days on market and the share of listings with price cuts. Together they predict how this IA metro is set to perform relative to the rest of its state.
Midwestern housing markets are characterized by affordability and economic diversification. From manufacturing hubs undergoing tech-sector transitions to university towns with stable demand, the region offers value-oriented opportunities with lower entry costs than coastal markets. Within the Midwest, Storm Lake, IA's PropertyIQ Score of 34 runs below the Midwest norm.
Each month, PropertyIQ updates its score for Storm Lake, IA using four inputs: Zillow ZHVI twelve-month and three-month momentum, Realtor.com median days on market, and the Realtor.com share of listings with price cuts. These four signals are combined into a single 1 to 99 score computed across all metro markets and calibrated so 50 represents the state average, making it a direct read of how this market is positioned to perform relative to its state. Momentum here has been positive, with home values up 5.4% over the past year.
View Storm Lake, IA's complete market profile including historical price trends, score history, and AI-generated analysis. Compare this market against any other US metro to find the best opportunities for your investment strategy.
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Market data through July 2026. Sourced from Zillow, Realtor.com, Redfin, U.S. Census Bureau, FRED, BLS, and BEA. Per-statistic source and date shown above.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Storm Lake, IA a good place to buy real estate in 2026?
PropertyIQ doesn't label markets simply good or bad. Instead, the PropertyIQ Score measures a market's demand momentum against its own state, where 50 marks the state average. Storm Lake, IA currently scores 34, a weak-momentum reading that leaves it positioned to lag its state over the next three years. For buyers, cooling demand usually brings more inventory, longer sale times, and real leverage to negotiate on price. Backing that up, the median home value here is $190K, up 5.4% over the past year. So whether Storm Lake, IA is right for you comes down to your goals: a rising-momentum market can favor long-term appreciation but offers less room to negotiate, while a cooling one hands buyers more leverage. Treat the score as a timing signal to weigh alongside your budget, holding period, and plans for the property, not a verdict on the market's quality.
What is the PropertyIQ Score for Storm Lake, IA?
Storm Lake, IA's PropertyIQ Score is 34, indicating weak momentum on a 1-to-99 scale. The score distills four transparent inputs into a single number: Zillow home-value momentum over the past 12 months, Zillow home-value momentum over the past 3 months, the median days homes spend on the market from Realtor.com, and the share of listings with a price cut, also from Realtor.com. Rising values and faster sales push the score up, while slow sales and frequent price cuts pull it down. The scale is calibrated so 50 equals the state average, meaning a score above 50 predicts the market will outperform its state over the next three years and a score below 50 predicts underperformance. PropertyIQ computes the score across every US market nationally, then recenters it against each state, so 34 places Storm Lake, IA below its state benchmark.
Are home prices in Storm Lake, IA rising or falling?
Home prices in Storm Lake, IA are rising. Over the past year, the median home value increased 5.4%, reaching $190K. Over the latest three months, values slipped 1.2%, a sign near-term demand is softening. PropertyIQ derives these figures from Zillow's home-value index, which tracks the typical value across the market rather than only the homes that happened to sell, giving a steadier read than a raw median sale price. Both the 12-month and 3-month momentum readings feed directly into the PropertyIQ Score, so this price trend is one of the core signals behind Storm Lake, IA's current score. Keep in mind that appreciation can vary widely by neighborhood and price tier across the metro area, so treat these figures as the market-wide baseline rather than a guarantee for any single property.
How quickly do homes sell in Storm Lake, IA?
In Storm Lake, IA, homes sell in a median of 63 days from listing to pending sale, based on Realtor.com market data. Median days on market is one of the clearest real-time reads on local demand: when homes move quickly, buyers are competing and sellers hold the advantage, while lengthening timelines signal cooling interest and more room to negotiate. Alongside sale speed, about 21% of active listings here have taken at least one price cut — a complementary demand gauge, since a rising share of reductions often precedes slower sales and softer prices. Both median days on market and the price-cut share feed directly into the PropertyIQ Score, where faster sales and fewer cuts push the score higher. As a general guide, medians under about 30 days indicate a brisk, competitive market, while medians well beyond 60 days point to buyers regaining leverage. Actual time on market still varies by price band, property type, and season, so treat the median as a market-wide baseline.
How current is this metro area data?
This Storm Lake, IA market data is refreshed on a monthly cycle, with the latest figures current through July 2026. PropertyIQ ingests fresh data every month from a range of authoritative sources: home values and rents from Zillow, days on market and price-cut activity from Realtor.com, additional housing signals from Redfin, demographic and housing-stock data from the U.S. Census Bureau, mortgage and macroeconomic series from FRED, and employment figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The PropertyIQ Score itself is recomputed every month once the new source data lands, so the score and its four underlying inputs always reflect the most recent complete reporting period rather than a static snapshot. Because official housing data is typically released with a short lag, the current-through date usually trails the present by a few weeks, which is normal across the industry and not a sign the data is out of date.