Iowa foreclosures and housing market
How foreclosure works in Iowa, which counties lean to buyers or sellers, and how many homes are for sale right now.
How's the market in Iowa?
A seller's market.
Listings spent about 64 days on the market, and 20% had a price cut in October 2026.
Market figures: Realtor.com® Economic Research, October 2026. Free weekly email. Unsubscribe anytime.
Distressed properties in Iowa
Pre-foreclosures, auctions, bank-owned and HUD homes from county notices, with the street area instead of the house number.
Representative photoWe are not tracking properties in Iowa yet
Our property list covers a handful of counties so far. Leave your email for the free weekly brief, and we will note that you want property alerts for Iowa.
The closest place we track is Texas, with 2 properties.
The Iowa market in October 2026
Our score compares how many listings went under contract with how many were for sale, ranked against every US county. Low scores lean to buyers, high scores to sellers.
Iowa market score
- Homes for sale
- 12,093
- US: 1,179,101
- Typical days on market
- 64
- US: 66
- Listings with a price cut
- 20%
- US: 21%
- Homes for sale vs pre-pandemic
- −9%
- US: −7%
- October 2026 vs the October average for 2017 to 2019.
Market score by county
Check any countyGray counties had too few listings to score. Tap a county for its full answer.
Most buyer-friendly counties
Lowest scores among counties with 50+ homes for sale.
- 3Hancock County79 days on market · 16% with a price cut · 67 for sale
- 4Jefferson County68 days on market · 13% with a price cut · 119 for sale
- 5O'Brien County80 days on market · 15% with a price cut · 61 for sale
- 6Plymouth County54 days on market · 23% with a price cut · 67 for sale
- 6Winnebago County70 days on market · 19% with a price cut · 56 for sale
Most seller-friendly counties
Highest scores among counties with 50+ homes for sale.
- 99Linn County44 days on market · 14% with a price cut · 456 for sale
- 98Pottawattamie County38 days on market · 22% with a price cut · 187 for sale
- 98Marshall County46 days on market · 11% with a price cut · 83 for sale
- 94Muscatine County66 days on market · 12% with a price cut · 96 for sale
- 89Black Hawk County51 days on market · 21% with a price cut · 345 for sale
Source: Realtor.com® Economic Research, October 2026 county data. County days on market are medians. State and US figures weight each county by its homes for sale. Price-cut share is the share of listings with a price reduction.
How foreclosure works in Iowa
Iowa foreclosures usually go through court.
- Main steps and notices
- The lender sends a notice of default and right to cure at least 30 days before filing suit (45 days for farm property).
- Owner-occupied homes of two units or fewer get notice that counseling and mediation are available.
- The sale is posted and published twice, the first at least four weeks before the sale.
- Catching up before the sale
- The borrower generally has 30 days from the notice to cure (45 days for farm property).
- After the sale
- It depends on how the lender files. With redemption, it's typically one year after the sale, shorter if the lender waives a deficiency, and 60 days for abandoned property. Without redemption, there's none for non-farm property.
- Before any of this starts
- Under federal rules, a mortgage servicer generally can't make the first notice or filing for foreclosure until the borrower is more than 120 days behind.
- Governing law
- Iowa Code § 626.75; § 628.1 et seq.; § 654.1 et seq.
Sources
- Justia, Foreclosure laws and procedures: 50-state survey (last reviewed November 2022)
- Nolo, Foreclosure redemption period rights (state chart)
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, How to avoid foreclosure
General information, not legal advice.
Laws change and each case differs. Anyone facing foreclosure should talk with a local attorney or a HUD-approved housing counselor.
Go deeper
- Check any county's marketPick a county in Iowa and see whether it leans to buyers or sellers.
- Read the buying guidesHow to buy pre-foreclosures, auction homes, bank-owned homes, HUD homes and short sales.
- Help if you're behind on your mortgageWhere you are in the process, your options, free counselors and scam warnings.
Iowa questions
Is foreclosure in Iowa judicial or non-judicial?
Iowa foreclosures usually go through court.
Can a homeowner get the home back after a foreclosure sale in Iowa?
It depends on how the lender files. With redemption, it's typically one year after the sale, shorter if the lender waives a deficiency, and 60 days for abandoned property. Without redemption, there's none for non-farm property.
Can a borrower in Iowa catch up on the loan before the sale?
The borrower generally has 30 days from the notice to cure (45 days for farm property).
Is Iowa a buyer's or seller's market right now?
A seller's market. Iowa scores 67 out of 100 on our market scale, where low scores lean to buyers. Listings spent about 64 days on the market, and 20% had a price cut in October 2026. Source: Realtor.com® Economic Research.
How far behind does a borrower have to be before foreclosure starts?
Under federal rules, a mortgage servicer generally can't make the first notice or filing for foreclosure until the borrower is more than 120 days behind. Source: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.