The story of this market
The typical home in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa sells for about $204,976, or $118 per square foot.
Prices are up +3.16% from a year ago, so sellers still have some momentum. Homes take about 21 days to sell, which is fast. Over the long run, values in this county have grown 110% since 2000. Last year 5 of 12 neighborhoods saw prices rise, so the story isn't the same street to street. The biggest natural hazard here is tornado, which FEMA rates very high. HUD's fair market rent for a two-bedroom is $927 a month.
HUD sets the fair market rent for a 2-bedroom at $927 a month. FEMA's National Risk Index rates overall hazard risk here as Relatively Moderate.
Price climate
Every year of price change, 2000–2025
0%
2025
Each stripe is one year's median price change across the area's census tracts (FHFA repeat-sales index). Deep blue is a strong gain year, red a falling year. Best: 2022 (+13.5%). Worst: 2010 (-1.6%). Hover to read a year.
Monthly price momentum
Home values since 2015
+1.5%
IA · past 12 months
Freddie Mac House Price Index, single-family homes, monthly through 2026-08. Each line starts at 100 in January 2015, so a reading of 180 means prices are up 80% since then.
Rent benchmark
Fair market rent by size
$1,218
3-bed / month
HUD Fair Market Rents, fiscal 2027, for this county. A typical rent for a modest unit, used to set housing-voucher payments.
Neighborhood price trend
Long-run price trend, 2000–2025
0%
2025 change
FHFA repeat-sales index, median of 12 census tracts in this county (2000 = 100). Bars are each year's median change.
Natural hazard exposure
The area's risk shape
74
Relatively Moderate
FEMA National Risk Index. Each spoke is a hazard ranked nationally, where 100 is the most exposed. Expected annual loss: $27,357,627.
Mortgage activity
Home lending in this county
83.4%
2019 approval rate
| Year | Applications | Loans made | Approval | Investor share | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 884 | 548 | 78.8% | 4.8% | $145,000 |
| 2019 | 937▲ | 603▲ | 83.4%▲ | 3.7% | $135,000 |
CFPB Home Mortgage Disclosure Act records: every mortgage application reported by lenders for homes in this county. Approval rate is approved ÷ decided (withdrawn and incomplete files excluded). Investor share and home value are the median census tract.
Cerro Gordo County, Iowa
The Cerro Gordo County housing market shows moderate growth with a year-over-year price increase of 3.16%. Inventory remains stable, and the market is currently balanced between buyers and sellers with a median price-to-income ratio of 3.0x.
No ARED distress-ledger coverage for this county yet — the foreclosure ingest rotates the national county directory, and filings appear here once the county's posted notices are read. Key-figure check: no independent anchor retained yet — first-researched cycles establish the anchor baseline this pass.
Select a city to expand its ZIP intel reports beneath · 8 cities · 11 ZIP reports
Median prices moved up 28.0% year over year.
Homes spend a median of 78 days on market with 0.2 months of supply — a fast-moving market.
0% of listings have cut prices · homes sell at 76.96% of asking — demand is holding steady.
no recorded foreclosure-ledger notices (0.0 per 10,000 residents) · unemployment 3.4% · poverty 10.6% — a stable, low-distress profile.
ACS 2024 5-year estimates. Aggregate published statistics for this county — never individual records, and never an attribute of any individual property or resident.
Deterministic aggregate of 11 researched ZIP reports — sales_count-weighted (population fallback); per point, children lacking the value or its weight are excluded. Tax rates, sentiment and context notes are tier-native and never roll.
Cerro Gordo County, Iowa — researched county-level history with a deterministic 1 / 3 / 5-year projection
Solid: researched ten-year history · dotted: 1 / 3 / 5-year projection extended from the historical 6.0%/yr trend — a deterministic estimate, not a published forecast or guarantee.
No researched properties in this county yet — the property base layer populates as property research runs, and each property feeds its ZIP's roll-up.
researched Sep 27
researched Sep 27
researched Sep 27
researched Sep 27
researched Sep 27
researched Sep 27
researched Sep 27
researched Sep 27
researched Sep 27
researched Sep 27
| 50401 | Mason City | $158,000 | $113 | +3.4% | 62 | — | — | — | 158 | $875 | researched Sep 27 |
| 50428 | Clear Lake | $400,000 | $316 | +23.1% | 173 | 98.5% | 5.7% | 15.5 | 140 | $817 | researched Sep 27 |
| 50448 | Kensett | $199,848 | $126 | +5.1% | 71 | 98.5% | — | 0.2 | 1 | $650 | researched Sep 27 |
| 50450 | Lake Mills | $157,500 | $115 | +2.1% | 87 | 97.5% | 15% | 4.2 | 12 | $640 | researched Sep 27 |
| 50457 | Meservey | $275,000 | $135 | +86.7% | 55 | 98% | — | — | 9 | $631 | researched Sep 27 |
| 50464 | Plymouth | $224,590 | $86 | — | 123 | 100% | — | — | — | $831 | researched Sep 27 |
| 50468 | Rockford | $185,000 | $112 | +2.8% | 48 | 98.2% | 12.5% | 4 | 8 | $791 | researched Sep 27 |
| 50475 | Sheffield | $234,450 | $115 | +2.1% | 88 | 97.5% | 12% | 4.5 | 64 | $704 | researched Sep 27 |
| 50477 | Swaledale | $52,321 | — | +9.3% | — | — | — | — | — | $752 | researched Sep 27 |
| 50479 | Thornton | $185,000 | $115 | +2.1% | 92 | 97.5% | 8.3% | 4 | 12 | $839 | researched Sep 27 |
Figures are each ZIP report's own latest research — the county roll-up aggregates them sales_count-weighted (population fallback); ZIPs cycle quarterly.
Reporting agencies in Cerro Gordo County recorded a violent crime rate of 252 per 100,000 residents in 2024, which is around the middle of the national range.
The county serves as a micropolitan hub anchored by Mason City, with economic activity centered on regional manufacturing and services.
Property taxes are assessed by the county based on local millage rates; Iowa law provides for homestead tax credits and military exemptions for eligible owner-occupied residential properties.
The rental market is characterized by lower-than-national-average rents, with an average monthly rent of $918 as of mid-2026.
The economy is anchored by the Mason City micropolitan area, which serves as a regional hub for manufacturing, healthcare, and retail services.
Data retrieved from Census Reporter profiles for Cerro Gordo County.
Iowa generally requires judicial foreclosure proceedings. Borrowers are entitled to a notice of right to cure default prior to the initiation of foreclosure actions. Redemption rights exist post-sale unless specific statutory exceptions (such as foreclosure without redemption for nonagricultural land) are met.
Iowa Code Chapter 654
applies when — Property must be occupied as the owner's homestead
Provides legal protections for the homestead property, including specific exemptions from judicial sale for debts, as defined under state law.
Iowa Code Chapter 561
The taxable value is determined by applying an assessment limitation (rollback) to the assessed market value. The limitation is calculated annually to restrict the growth in aggregate taxable value for the residential class to 3% statewide.
Iowa Code Chapter 441; Iowa Department of Revenue Property Tax Overview
≈ $6,149/yr on a $204,976 median
Governance registry — every jurisdiction re-researches on a rolling 90-day cycle. Property reports compose these inherited burdens into a per-parcel ledger with conditional determinations. Informational only — not legal advice.