Housing prices and selling conditions
These measures describe housing prices and selling conditions for the areas and periods shown. Compare them alongside repair costs, your mortgage payoff and selling costs.
| Measure | Value | Source and area | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median sale price | $330,000 | Redfin · Ames, IA | Three months ending August 2026 |
| Median days on market | 16 days | Redfin · Ames, IA | Three months ending August 2026 |
| Homes sold | 188 homes | Redfin · Ames, IA | Three months ending August 2026 |
| Typical home value (Zillow ZHVI) | $303,902 | Zillow · Ames, IA | As of August 2026 |
| For-sale inventory | 181 homes | Zillow · Ames, IA | As of August 2026 |
Include utilities, other bills and any mortgage payments while waiting to sell. Allow time for closing, too.
Ames, IA seller resources / Market report
Ames, IA Housing Market and Selling Costs
Use this report to compare local market measures with listing, repairs, and the cost of holding a house. The citywide figures are context, not a price for your particular property.
USA Home Buyers buys houses in Ames and Story County. We buy houses as-is, in any condition — no repairs, no cleaning, no cleanout required to sell to us.
Call 888-274-5006 or send the property address in the form to compare your options.
Market data sources
How to read Ames market data
Realtor.com April 2026 county/CBSA listing context
Realtor.com’s April 2026 county/CBSA listing context for story, ia / Ames, IA showed broader market-priority rank #480, median listing price around $376K, and median days on market about 44.5 days. Use this as dated broader-market context only, not a prediction for one Ames house.
Source: Realtor.com public county/CBSA listing dataset; dated broader-market context only, not a property-specific value claim.
Redfin source-stated market context
Redfin public Story County housing-market context showed recent median sale-price context around $299K, down about 7.4% year over year; use it as county-level sale and competition context only, not a property-specific value promise.
Source: Redfin public housing-market page; use only at the geography stated by the source.
Realtor.com local listing context
Realtor.com Story County public market context showed median listing price around $365K and rental context around $1.3K; Ames listing pages also show local inventory context. Use it separate from county listing-priority. It is comparison context only, not a property-specific value or offer promise.
Source: Realtor.com public local listing/search context; separate from Redfin, Zillow, and county/CBSA data.
Zillow home-value model context
Zillow Story County, IA home-value context showed average home value around $295,500, up about 2.7% over the past year; it is model context only, not an offer promise.
Source: Zillow public home-value page; model context only, not an offer promise.
Official local records
Official Story County links cover property records, deed/recorder paths, taxes, court/probate, sheriff, and related title or authority questions where available.
Specific title, tax, court, tenant, probate, and authority questions need official review.
Helpful Ames public data links
- Realtor.com county hotness source filerealtor.com county hotness CSV
- Redfin Ames housing marketredfin.com
- Realtor.com Ames real estaterealtor.com
- Zillow Ames home valueszillow.com
- Story County Recorder and vital recordsstorycountyiowa.gov
- Story County real estate and property recordsstorycountyiowa.gov
- Story County Assessor and property valuesstorycountyiowa.gov
- Story County Beacon property searchbeacon.schneidercorp.com
- Iowa Land Recordsiowalandrecords.org
Use market data as a starting point. Specific property, title, tax, tenant, probate, and court facts need review before closing.
What the numbers mean
A market figure does not price your particular house
A median sale price summarizes completed sales in the place and period shown. A Zillow home-value measure is modeled, not a record of what one house sold for. Keep each source and date with its number when you compare options.
Your house has its own facts. Its condition and needed repairs, whether tenants live there, access for showings or work, and how long you can wait can change the listing-versus-as-is comparison. A town-wide figure cannot account for those details.
Compare the likely sale price with the money left after repair and cleanout costs, selling costs, payoff amounts, and the bills you carry while waiting. A written offer gives you another number to weigh against a listing plan.
Iowa selling costs
Put the transfer tax in the comparison
When you sell to us, we pay the closing costs, including Iowa real estate transfer tax.
For an Iowa sale, the transfer tax is 80 cents for each $500, or fraction of $500, of the price above the first $500. On a $100,000 sale, the taxable $99,500 is 199 units of $500, making the tax $159.20. Iowa normally makes the person conveying the property—the seller—liable, and lists exemptions for some family, divorce, estate-distribution, and $500-or-less transfers. The closing professional confirms whether an exemption applies and the taxable amount; the deed is not recorded until the tax is paid.
The closing-cost promise is separate from your mortgage payoff, liens, back taxes, and your share of current property taxes. Those amounts remain part of your own sale comparison.
Your net proceeds
Sale price and money left over are different numbers
A sale price is the starting amount. What you keep depends on the costs tied to your route: repairs and cleanout, listing costs, closing costs, mortgage payoff, liens, taxes, and bills while you own the house. Compare those amounts—not just the top-line price—before choosing what fits.
Just an estimate — the actual number could be more or less depending on the home's condition.
Compare what you may keep with the Ames calculator →Ames Home Sale Net Proceeds Calculator
CalculatorCompare what you would keep from listing your house or selling as-is for cash. Change the repair costs, cleanout, monthly bills and closing costs to fit your house.
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Ames market report questions
What do the Ames market measures tell me?
The shared display labels each measure with its source, geography, and period. Redfin sale and activity measures and Zillow’s modeled home value and for-sale inventory describe different things; none prices one particular Ames house.
Does the Ames median sale price tell me what my house is worth?
No. It summarizes sales across the named place and period, not your address. Condition, repairs, tenant occupancy, access, and the date you need to sell can all change the comparison for your house.
What Iowa real estate transfer tax should I include?
Iowa charges 80 cents for each $500, or fraction of $500, above the first $500 of the price. At $100,000, that is $159.20 before any applicable exemption. The closing professional confirms whether the tax applies and the taxable amount. When you sell to us, we pay the closing costs, including Iowa real estate transfer tax.
How can I compare the sale price with what I would keep?
Start with the likely sale price, then account for repairs, cleanout, listing costs, other closing costs, your mortgage payoff, liens, back taxes, current property-tax share, utilities, insurance, and time carrying the house. The Ames calculator lets you compare editable planning assumptions. Just an estimate — the actual number could be more or less depending on the home’s condition.
Do I need to repair or clean out the house before asking us?
No. We buy houses as-is, in any condition — no repairs, no cleaning, no cleanout required to sell to us. We buy houses in Ames and Story County.
How do I start a property review in Ames?
Call 888-274-5006 or use the form on this page. We’ll give you a written cash offer within 24 hours.