Regional Housing Values Show Steady Growth As National Values Level Off
The Federal Housing Finance Agency published the 2025 Q2 Housing Price Index report, and national data show home prices rose 2.9 percent between the second quarter of 2024 and the second quarter of 2025. House prices for the second quarter of 2025 remained unchanged compared to the first quarter of 2025. Nationally, the U.S. housing market has experienced positive annual appreciation each quarter since the start of 2012.
The five-year home appreciation in our region was between 39.56% and 45.94%, with all of our regional Metropolitan Statistical Areas experiencing positive gains.
In the past year, home prices in our markets have increased: 3.42% in Cedar Rapids, 4.72% in the Quad Cities, 5.45% in Dubuque*, 6.12% in Iowa City*, and 3.07% in Waterloo-Cedar Falls*. This compares to other cities: Des Moines, 2.74%, and Chicago, 6.49%. Appreciation varies by location and price range, with more affordable homes often seeing stronger gains due to higher demand and tighter supply, while higher-end properties tend to appreciate at a slower pace.
Information courtesy of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) for the second quarter of 2025. FHFA stats always run one-quarter behind. Their full report is available at www.fhfa.gov.
* Iowa City, Dubuque, and Waterloo-Cedar Falls MSAs did not meet FHFA’s criteria for inclusion in their published summary table because they had fewer than 1,000 total transactions. However, we have provided these values using the FHFA’s Home Price Index (HPI) Calculator, available at fhfa.gov/data/hpi/datasets?tab=hpi-calculator. These figures are based on FHFA’s data and methodology but were manually calculated for inclusion in this report.
“The FHFA shows national prices up over the past year, and our region is in a sweet spot of sustainable appreciation. Rates have eased in recent weeks, giving buyers fresh confidence,” said Chris Beason, President of Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors. “While national price growth has leveled off, our local markets continue to post steady gains. This reflects both our affordability and the resilient demand in our communities. With more homes on the market than a year ago and mortgage costs drifting lower, we expect activity to pick up this fall, with prices generally holding firm or modestly appreciating through the rest of 2025.”
About Ruhl&Ruhl RealtorsA family-owned company since 1862, Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors has grown to 286 sales associates, 59 employees, and 10 offices, selling nearly 4,200 homes in eastern Iowa, northwest Illinois, and southwest Wisconsin in 2024. The company has residential sales offices in Bettendorf, Burlington, Cedar Rapids, Clinton, Davenport, DeWitt, Dubuque, Iowa City, and Muscatine, Iowa; and in Moline, Illinois. For more information on Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors, visit their website at www.RuhlHomes.com.
